Individuals at Risk

Call on Kenya's leaders to respect and protect human rights

The upcoming International Day of Action for Kenya organized by Amnesty International on February 27, 2008 will demonstrate solidarity with the people of Kenya and call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence. Countries across the world will protest the continuing human rights abuses in Kenya by taking part in a series of international events, including online actions and street demonstrations.

Please join us this Wednesday, February 27, in an exercise of solidarity!

Echo the voices of the Kenyan people by leaving messages of support on our blog!

Words can translate into actions. Words can offer hope. Words can inspire change.

The stakes go beyond Kenya, whose socio-political stability is an essential ingredient for the security of eastern and central Africa. Kenya's stability also ensures a relatively safe environment for hundreds of thousands of Somali and Sudanese refugees. In an increasingly volatile region, Kenya must remain standing. Extend a hand in support!

Until late 2007, Kenya was widely regarded as one of the most stable countries in Africa, opening itself to the world and presenting a different face of a continent still trying to find its own definition of stability. However, recent developments in the aftermath of the December 2007 elections have placed Kenya on the map of many international organizations, forcing a lucid reassessment of its socio-political landscape. The disputed presidential elections fueled outbreaks of violence across the country that reportedly killed more than a thousand people and displaced approximately 250,000 individuals. Amnesty International is particularly concerned with the ethnic dimension to the political violence and the potential prolonged effects this will have on Kenyan society, especially if the current human rights violations are not rapidly addressed. Kenya's political volatility has led to numerous human rights violations and abuses in different parts of the country. Amnesty International has received reports of unlawful killings, gender based violence, death threats against prominent human rights defenders and activists (UA 29/08), violations of freedom of expression and excessive use of force by security officials.

The media collage resulting from post-election coverage simplistically portrayed the emerging violence as tribal, ignoring poignant economic and political considerations. Despite conventional perceptions, Kenyans have not traditionally identified themselves by ethnic lines and studies conducted in a pre-election timeframe have shown they do not have significant feelings of ethnic injustice. A 2003 Afrobarometer survey indicates that 70 percent would choose to be Kenyan if faced with a choice between a national identity and their ethnic group (28 percent refused to identify themselves as anything but Kenyan). From a recent historical perspective, much of the unrest that erupted after the December 2007 election appears to be the latest symptomatic display of politically organized violence. Kenya‘s young democratic (and consequently weak) institutions seem to be at the foundation of the current political crisis, not its assumed ethnic divisions. Political coalitions on both sides have implicitly (and explicitly) encouraged militias and youth gangs to make violent statements, with deadly attacks preponderantly targeted at civilians. From a demographic perspective, Kenya is an mosaic of ethnicities - there are forty-one different groups; the Kikuyu, with 22 percent of the population, is the most educated and prosperous group. When former president Daniel arap Moi was confronted with the prospect of losing power to an opposition party dominated by Kikuyu, he started an anti-Kikuyu campaign, inciting intertribal clashes. Amnesty International has reported extensively on the state-sponsored nature of this violence.

Looking beyond the politically manipulative nature of the violence, economic considerations have brought new factors into play. According to the 2007/2008 UN Human Development Index, Kenya ranks 148 of 177 countries on income inequality. Economic disparity and the lack of real prospects fuel latent frustrations that tend to materialize in unstable circumstances. Economic issues solidify across class boundaries, increasing the magnitude of social clashes.

On February 4, representatives of the Kenyan government and the opposition party met in a mediation effort led by the former UN Secretary-General, Koffi Anan, and signed an agreement on immediate measures to address the humanitarian crisis and to promote reconciliation, healing and restoration. However, the evidence of human rights abuses and violations gathered by Amnesty International demonstrates the necessity of ensuring that a human rights agenda is at the core of the current political negotiations, and that there is no impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations.

Extend a hand in support!

In order to enable as many of activists as possible to express their solidarity and help protect human rights in Kenya, Amnesty International has called for an International Day of Action for Kenya on Wednesday, February 27.

You can join our effort either online or in person, taking part in the events organized throughout the country. Ordinary Kenyans are using online tools to send photos and accounts of violence. Let them know they are being heard by posting solidarity messages on the Individuals at Risk Blog (http://blogs.amnestyusa.org/urgentaction). We have also set up a Flickr page   for people to post photos of their vigils and collective messages of support (http://www.flickr.com/photos/reachoutforkenya). To upload the photos, send an email to cold27south@photos.flickr.com (use the subject line to give your photo a title and the body to add a description). Your messages will resonate with the voices of the Kenyan people and increase the magnitude of their call for peace.

An often-used proverb gives us insight into the cultural values Kenya holds closest to its national spirit:  "We have not inherited this land from our ancestors; rather we have borrowed it from our children."  Reach out for Kenya and echo its confidence in a peaceful future!

In Solidarity,

Elena Marrs

For more (and updated) information on Kenya and the Reach Out for Kenya Day of Action, go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/By_Country/Kenya/page.do?id=1011181&n1=3&n2=30&n3=931

The Olympic Games provides a gathering ground for the international community, where the blending of culture, education, and athleticism promote core universal principles of human dignity and compassion. For any country, hosting a successful Olympics means taking part in this long-standing tradition, a pinnacle of national pride and a prestigious opportunity to promote and uphold such principles in the pursuit of human excellence both domestically and internationally. As host to the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing has promised to maintain this tradition of moral excellence.

In 2001, the Games were seen as leverage, providing the impetus to compel the Chinese government into easing socio-political restrictions and making improvements to human rights conditions and standards. These improvements include reevaluating the continued and rampant use of the death penalty and other abusive forms of detention such as the Re-Education through Labor program, the widespread imprisonment, torture, and harassment of human rights defenders including journalists and lawyers, and the easing of restrictions on censorship and free speech, particularly in regards to the Internet. Now, in 2008, we can retrospectively see that conditions within China have in fact deteriorated further, as authorities scramble to crack down on anyone and everyone in order to "clean up" Beijing before August. China wants to look good for its peers, if only at face-value. The international community and the IOC should be appalled at the thought of accepting this gesture and China should be ashamed for offering, knowing that it is at the expense of silencing and repressing an already muted population.

In 2004, Chinese journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! account to send an email to a U.S. based pro-democracy website, regarding a government order for media censorship. The Chinese government used email account holder information provided by Yahoo! to convict Tao of "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities" and sentenced him to ten years in prison, for simply expressing his views in an email (See Special Focus Case). Human rights activist Hu Jia and his wife Zeng Jinyan were arrested (again) in December 2007, for continuing to be active in publicizing human rights violations in China, despite a previous incommunicado imprisonment and house arrest for involvement in other peaceful human rights activities (UA 01/08). In preparation for the Olympics, the incidence of land seizure and forced eviction with inadequate compensation has become appalling. Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu was sentenced to four years in prison after attempting to organize a demonstration against Olympic-related forced evictions in Beijing (AI Media Kit: Legacy of the Beijing Olympics, China's Choice). While in detention, it is reported that he was beaten by guards with electro-shock batons. The imprisonments of Shi Tao, Hu Jia, and Ye Guozhu are singular examples amongst countless others who have been arrested or "re-educated" by Chinese authorities in a monumental effort to silence internal protest and dissent before the arrival of the international community in August 2008.

As participants and spectators of the Olympic Games, we too share the responsibility of condemning such repressive and violating policies in China. The Olympics are meant to embody and promote principles of global excellence and human dignity, but what is left to be proud of if we allow China to crush the dignities and rights of its own population, in a half-hearted effort to meet only the aesthetic requirements of hosting the Games? China should be ashamed of its actions and the international community needs to hold the Chinese government responsible. There are six months left until the 2008 Olympic Games begin in August, but it is not too late to remind and shame China into upholding its thus-far broken promises.

Take Action: Hold China accountable!

On Monday, February 11^th, Amnesty International will be holding a rally in front of the White House urging President Bush (who will be attending the Olympics), to pressure China into living up to its promises of improving human rights policies and conditions. Join us and rally, in the spirit of what the Olympic Games should stand for, but most importantly, on behalf of those victims in China whose suffering and repression continues to deepen as a consequence.....

More Information on the Rally

In Solidarity,

Angie