LONDON (Reuters) - International mediators cannot afford to fail in Kenya, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who has been leading efforts to end violence in the East African country, said on Friday.
"I'm not ready to contemplate failure. I'm not ready togive up now, and the team working with me are of the samespirit," Annan told Britain's BBC radio. "We cannot afford tofail."
Annan, who has met President Mwai Kibaki and oppositionleader Raila Odinga to try to end violence that erupted after adisputed election in December, said he expected the country'spolitical leaders to give way in their standoff.
"It always begins with intransigence. But then one beginsto encourage them to move and shift. And there have been someshifts. Perhaps not enough, but we will get there. They willhave to shift. They will shift," Annan said.
Official results pronounced Kibaki the winner and he wassworn in for a second term, but Odinga and his followers saythe results were falsified.
Hundreds of Kenyans have since died in violence, oftenbetween members of Kibaki's long-dominant Kikuyu tribe andother tribes whose followers support Odinga. Annan acknowledgedthere had been an ethnic component to the bloodshed.
"I think there is a gross and systematic abuse of humanrights, and there have been ethnic overtones, where there havebeen attacks and then revenge attacks. But if it's brought downquickly I think we will be able to stem the mayhem and thekilling and the murders that have been going on," he said.
He said he believed ordinary Kenyans were tired of theviolence and would persuade their leaders to reach anaccommodation.
"There has been a failure of leadership because at certainlevels they should have anticipated some of the events. Thesignals have been around for a long time," he said.
"The people are traumatised. They are angry. They are upsetwith their leaders, and if anyone remains recalcitrant anddifficult, I don't think the population will accept it. Theaverage citizen of Kenya will know who to blame.
"And I don't think people who are ambitious and believethey have a political future would want to place themselves inthat position."
(Reporting by Peter Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
