Only dialogue and an independent election review will resolve the crisis. The world can play a crucial role: by reinforcing the efforts of mediators like Kofi Annan, and refusing to recognize any government not legitimately established. 50,000 of us have already sent this message to our foreign ministers, and almost all have listened so far. But inside Kenya, hardline leaders are sowing conflict and the country hangs in the balance.
President Kibaki and opposition leader Odinga need to hear that international legitimacy will only come after they engage honestly in mediation. To send this message, we are taking out a full page ad in The Daily Nation, an influential Kenyan newspaper. The ad will list the number of messages we have sent to our governments, the more the better — so please, click here to see the ad and send your own message. [1]
It’s not too late to help Kenya back from the brink!
About Shailja Patel [2]
Shailja Patel is a Kenyan poet, writer and theatre artist who has performed at venues from New York's Lincoln Center to the Zanzibar International Film Festival. Patel's first full-length show, Migritude, premiered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and toured Kenya to critical acclaim in 2007. The show was selected as the subject of the 2007 season premiere of SPARK! – KQED TV's award-winning arts programme .Patel's work has received awards from, among others, the Ford Foundation, the National Performance Network, and Indian American Women Empowered. Most recently, she is a founding member of Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice, a coalition of Kenyan citizens and legal, governance, and human rights organizations, working towards a viable peace in the Kenya Crisis stemming from the December 2007 elections.
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