|
Regional peace NGO calls for quick reform process in Kenya
2008-03-20 09:01:44
By Felister Peter
The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace, dubbed Amani Forum, has called for immediate reforms on structural set ups that led to the outbreak of Kenya`s post-election turmoil in the current constitutional reform process.
The Vice Chairman of the peace forum, Dr Raphael Chegeni said this on Monday during the launch of a report on Regional Parliamentarians Fact-Finding Mission on Kenya`s Post-Election Violence held in Nairobi.
Dr Chegeni mentioned the important issues that need immediate structural reform as identity, land, resettlement and equitable sharing of resources.
``The outbreak of election related violence in Kenya has become a pattern over the last fifteen years. As members of Amani Forum we must think on how this pattern can be broken so that our 2008-2012 strategic plans to pursue peace in Great Lakes region is successful,`` said Dr Chegeni.
He said after the election in 2007, Amani Forum jointly and publicly called for calm and sobriety. It also mobilised the newly elected Members of Parliament to dialogue on the crisis.
Dr Chegeni requested Amani Kenya Chapter to host a regional conference that would provide opportunity for members of parliament in the Great Lakes region to learn from each other and identify the roles parliamentarians can play in combating such violence in their constituencies, countries and the region.
He said Amani Forum would soon expend its coverage to include Central African Republic, Congo Brazaville, Angola and Sudan.
Amani Forum was born out of the desire to find African solutions to African problems and currently it has 700 members, drawn from legislators in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the East African Legislative Assembly.
|
