The Guardian writes "the unprecedented show of unity among media groups of differing political views indicates just how grave the situation has become. Independent television stations joined in, running Save Our Country banners across the bottom of the screen. Radio stations read out the newspaper editorials. The Daily Nation, Kenya's biggest selling newspaper, began its page one story with, "Our beloved country, the Republic of Kenya, is a burnt-out, smouldering ruin", and blamed the political leaders who were "issuing half-hearted calls for peace"."
Most blog readers will have found it hard not to be aware that last week, Kenya held a national election tainted with vote-tampering. It ended in a victory claim by the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki over the challenger Raila Odinga who had led the polls. Violence has broken out across the country, with roving gangs of machete-wielding youth terrorizing the population. Tourists are to be air-lifted out and there are fears this country could be sliding toward genocide.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has flown into Nairobi, joining the African Union in an effort to broker a power-sharing agreement and review the election results. But if talks are to succeed, foreign governments must avoid prematurely recognizing a fraudulently elected government and locking in their power. That's where we come in. Avaaz are calling on their many hundreds of thousand supporters to send a note to our foreign ministers today, asking them to withhold recognition of any Kenyan government until agreement is brokered and the election results are independently reviewed – you can do so using our simple online tool at the link below:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/5.php
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