Kenya's opposition urges mass protests next week

Kenyan opposition leader calls for 3 days of demonstrations across the country.
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NAIROBI, Kenya — Saying talks with the government have collapsed, Kenya's main opposition party called Friday for three straight days of nationwide demonstrations next week, raising fears of more violence in the wake of a disputed election.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga's party urged supporters to rally in 28 cities across Kenya starting Wednesday. Police said they wouldn't allow the demonstrations.

Odinga's action follows the latest failure by international mediators to broker a political settlement with President Mwai Kibaki, who Odinga says stole re-election last month.

Opposition leaders called on protesters to demonstrate peacefully and asked that police exercise restraint. Since Kibaki claimed a narrow victory over Odinga in the election Dec. 27 — despite widespread allegations of vote-rigging — clashes among rival tribes and between police and protesters have killed more than 500 people, the worst violence in Kenya in more than a decade.

The unrest has raised concerns at the White House, which sees Kenya as an important partner in the war on terrorism and a hub of stability in a volatile region. Under President Bush, U.S. assistance to Kenya has grown to nearly $1 billion annually, half of which goes to anti-AIDS efforts, according to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Friday's announcement appeared to be an effort by Odinga to put pressure on Kibaki before the highest-profile mediator yet arrives to try to intervene in Kenya's political crisis: former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Annan is scheduled to arrive Tuesday for talks.

U.S. and European officials, who have said the presidential election didn't meet democratic standards, say they are growing frustrated with Kibaki. The 76-year-old president has begun to consolidate power by naming half his Cabinet and convening the first session of parliament next week.

Odinga's party, which won 102 of 222 parliamentary seats compared with 59 for Kibaki's party, has said it will nominate a parliamentary speaker at Tuesday's opening session.

Party leaders also have said they'll try to occupy the government's side of the chamber — signaling that they're in power — perhaps setting the stage for confrontations on the floor.