From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 25 Jan 93 10:02 PST
Subject: KENYA: U.S. report says basic freed
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476701033:000:4648
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jan 25 10:02:00 1993


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: KENYA: U.S. report says basic freed

/* Written 12:14 am  Jan 25, 1993 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in
igc:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1993, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: KENYA: U.S. report says basic freedoms have increased,
but...

washington, jan 22 (ips) -- kenya, which held multi-party
elections in december for the first time in 26 years, enjoyed more
basic freedoms in 1992 than in the recent past, according to the
u.s. state department.

but daniel arap moi's kenya african national union (kanu)
government, which claimed victory in the december poll, continued
to seriously restrict human rights, said the department in its
human rights report on the east african nation.

in its report on human rights around the world, the state
department says that among the most ''egregious'' abuses in kenya
were acts of violence which were either assisted or inspired by
the government.

it says this violence was directed at political opponents and at
certain ethnic groups and resulted in ''hundreds of casualties and
thousands of displaced persons''.

in 1991, president moi bowed to foreign and domestic pressure to
lift the ban on opposition parties and allow open elections.

but both before and after the december ballot, charges persisted
that the government had manipulated the process.  opposition
leaders and a monitoring team from the united states charged there
was little access for the opposition to state-controlled radio and
television.

they charged there were violent police crack-downs, and a
government abuse of a law requiring rally permits to limit public
appearances by opposition candidates.

but the state department report says that in practice, kenyans are
now generally free to take part in the political process, to run
for office, and to support candidates or parties, despite
government interference.

government officials at a number of levels were, however,
''intolerant of opposition activities,'' the report says.

the new u.s. administration of president bill clinton will have to
now decide what policy it wants to adopt towards kenya.

the u.s. congress had cut all direct assistance to moi's
government after a crack-down against the opposition two years
ago.  u.s. assistance to kenya is limited to less than 20 million
dollars for development,  channeled through non-governmental
organisations (ngos) and a one-million-dollar military training
programme. (more/ips)

kenya: u.s. report says basic freedoms have increased,
but...(2-e)

kenya: u.s. (2)

washington has also backed a freeze on all new aid programmes.
the decision on the freeze was adopted by all of kenya's major
western donors in nov. 1991.

according to the state department report, the most serious human
rights issue in 1992 was what were described as the tribal clashes
in several regions in which 800 people were killed and thousands
made homeless.

the report says kanu politicians were reported to have banned
opposition members in areas which were presumed to support
opposition parties and to have threatened reprisals against such
supporters.

''without any rebuke from president moi or other high-level
government officials, kanu (members of parliament) continued in
1992 to encourage the heightening of tribal tensions by making
threats and issuing ultimatums,'' says the report.

the state department also charged that though torture is
proscribed under the kenyan constitution, police brutality and
abuse of prisoners continued throughout the year, ''including
credible evidence of torture presented before the courts''.

former political prisoners ''consistently and credibly'' reported
abuses in prison. methods of torture used in past years, including
flooded cells and beatings, continued to be employed,'' it said.

the report says that in 1992, there were an estimated 400,00
refugees residing in camps in kenya -- somalis, ethiopians, and
sudanese, fleeing chaos in their homes.

the moi government also estimates that 100,000 refugees were
living outside the camps in cities and in rural areas. the u.n.
high commissioner for refugees, however, puts this figure at
20,000.

the state department reports that refugees outside the camps are
''extremely'' vulnerable to arrest.

''refugees who purchase fake identification documents and visas
put themselves even further at risk. there is increasing violence
in the northeast, where most of the camps are situated, and there
were cross-border incursions by armed somlis,'' says the report.
(end/ips/yjc/jemg/93)