Headache for the region: Testy times for diplomatic relations
Posted by African Press International on January 10, 2010
Kenya’s role on the diplomatic front this year is likely to be defined by the events of the decade gone by, the apex of our role as a major peace-maker in the region.
It will be shaped by the scars of the massive terrorist bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi that killed 257 people, the attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger jet at Mombasa’s Moi International airport and the bombing of an Israeli hotel in Kikambala that killed 13 people and injured 80 others.
Our eyes will remain fixed on our dalliance with Western powers which, in the last decade, led to the capture of Turkish rebel Abdullah Ocalan on his way to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, even though it is not clear yet what role the Kenya government played in the operation, and whether the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved.
Commenting on why terrorism remains a major issue in Kenya, Prof Egara Kabaji, the director of Public Affairs and Communication in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says: “We are victims. We are hit not because they want to hit us, but because they want to hit Israel or the US.’’
To look into our diplomatic future, we will have to face the problems of the past decade, the final years of the Moi administration. The entry of Mwai Kibaki into State House in 2002 was flawless, the envy of the entire world, and put us up there as a beacon of hope in a hopeless continent.
Sudan was still technically at war, though a truce held as talks between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the then rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement took a long-winded path to Machakos — while Somali negotiators met in Eldoret and, later, at Mbagathi.
But, even as Kenya played a key role in appeasing its neighbours, its house was in shambles, politically speaking. The man in charge at the Foreign ministry then was the current Vice-President, Kalonzo Musyoka, who, by the time the Sudan peace deal was signed at the Nyayo National Stadium on January 9, 2005, had already been demoted to the less appealing post of Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, replaced by Chirau Ali Mwakwere.
The country, though terribly split, could take pride in having mid-wifed the Sudan peace deal and the formation of the Somali Transition Government, which later moved to Baidoa as the capital, Mogadishu, was then under the tight grip of Islamist forces. Prof Kabaji says the last 10 years have seen a sterling performance by Kenyan diplomats. “Kenya did very well in peace diplomacy. She is the guarantor of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).’’
Big market
He says Southern Sudan is a very big market for Kenya, and that we had to make sure that there was peace to open up the area to our economic engagement. Kenya has since opened a consulate in Juba that is headed by a diplomat at the level of an ambassador, Dr Joseph Kiplagat.
As we usher in 2010, the main task of our peace diplomacy is the Somali conflict. Says Prof Kabaji: “We understand very well that an unstable Somalia impacts negatively on Kenya. Piracy is a sign of the breakdown of law and order in Somalia.’’
Besides Somalia and Sudan, Kenya also played a key role in attempts to end the conflict in eastern Congo, and hosted talks that were led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. In East Africa, Kenya has been out to consolidate ties with its neighbours, as shown by the recent opening of a very modern embassy in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam.
Sore thumb
The sore thumb in Kenya’s regional ties, however, is the Migingo Island dispute with Uganda, but Prof Kabaji gives our handling of the controversy top marks: “Even here, we are scoring very well. Those who were drumming for war did not understand our strategic interests. Uganda is our leading trading partner. Much of what we produce goes to Uganda.’’
Prof Kabaji says Kenya’s economy is the third largest in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa, yet the country has no minerals and relies mainly on agriculture, tourism and other service industries. On the regional front, the issue of the Rwanda genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga has haunted Kenya for years, and may scuttle our attempts to clean our image in the eyes of the West this year.
As recently as November last year, the US Ambassador for War Crimes Issues, Stephen Rapp, told reporters in Nairobi that Kabuga was hiding in Kenya, adding: “I have seen pictures of him in Kenyan neighbourhoods.’’ Internationally, the country has opened a new high Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan, and has signed an agreement with Rwanda that allows citizens of both countries to take up jobs in either state without the need for work permits.
As we ponder over the failures and successes of the year gone by, we must not lose sight of the huge task that lies ahead of us. Two events will determine whether we shall remain in the good books of the diplomatic world: the coming constitutional referendum and the 2012 General Election. We just can’t afford to bungle these up.
source.standard.ke
