Bush envoy denounces Carson on Kenya poll By KEVIN J KELLEY ( email the author)
Posted Thursday, February 21 2013 Ms Frazer said the US has consistently maintained contact with Sudan President Omar al Bashir since his indictment by the ICC in 2008 on charges of war crimes. New York The woman who held the State Department’s top Africa post prior to Ambassador Johnnie Carson denounced on Wednesday his recent warning to Kenyan voters of possible “consequences” stemming from their choice of president in the March 4 election. “I am troubled by Johnnie Carson’s statement that is essentially meddling in Kenya’s election,” declared Jendayi Frazer, who served as the Bush administration’s assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2005 to 2009. “It is very reckless and irresponsible, given that the election is very close, for us to try to intervene in Kenya’s election decision,” Ms Frazer added. “We should not be threatening Kenyans about their choice by pointing to an ICC case that is not proven.” “I think the ICC case against Uhuru Kenyatta is a weak one and is based on hearsay,” Ms Fraser added. Speaking at a Washington think tank forum on Kenya’s election, Ms Frazer questioned the ICC’s legitimacy, saying the court is “a very manipulated institution, particularly by the West.” Ms Frazer's stinging criticism of Ambassador Carson's "consequences" statement struck some observers as a partisan attack by a Republican Party supporter on a Democratic administration's leading Africa diplomat. Ms Frazer's remarks drew a sharp rejoinder from Karuti Kanyinga, a professor at the University of Nairobi who took part in the forum at the Brookings Institution. "The ICC is the best thing for Kenya," Prof Kanyinga said. He described Kenya as "a country where senior and influential people are never held to account for anything whatsoever." The ICC serves to warn those suspected of serious crimes that "no matter how far you run, no matter where you go, you will be treated like an ordinary person." Ms Frazer's comments also prompted a critical response from Makau Mutua, the dean of a law school affiliated with the State University of New York. The Republican former official, along with her boss, President Bush, "never liked the ICC," Prof Mutua told the Nation. "And how does she know the case is hearsay? That's a Uhuru line." Asked at the forum how she would respond to a Kenyatta victory if she were still a senior State Department official, Ms Frazer replied that the US government “should continue to work with the Kenyan government until the point somebody is tried and convicted.” “I would be very pragmatic,” she said, noting that the United States is not a signatory to the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. Ms Frazer added that the US has consistently maintained contact with Sudan President Omar al Bashir since his indictment by the ICC in 2008 on charges of war crimes. “Even if the Kenyan people vote for Uhuru to be president, I’m positive the US administration will deal with him,” Ms Frazer said. She noted in this context that Secretary of State John Kerry had engaged in diplomacy with Sudan’s leadership as an emissary of President Obama. The former assistant secretary of state expressed optimism that widespread violence will be avoided in the coming election. Ms Frazer, who now serves as distinguished service professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, cited Kenya’s new Constitution, the country’s more independent judiciary and the comparative credibility of its new election commission as key factors that will help produce a peaceful outcome. In addition, Kenya’s strong civil society “is not going to allow politicians to mobilise violence” in 2013, she said. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
