Embassy Row

DEBATE IN KENYA

The United States is encouraging Kenyans to adopt a new constitution, while insisting it is not telling them how to vote on a draft measure at a referendum later this year. U.S. diplomats also are trying to stay out of a dispute over abortion that has become a lively sideshow in the constitutional debate.

Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has been holding high-level talks with Kenyan officials and discussing the proposed constitution with Kenyan journalists.

“As Kenya’s most important partner and friend, we have made clear our determination to press for full implementation of the reform agenda,” he told reporters after a meeting last week with Foreign Minister Moses Wetang’ula.

“We have consistently emphasized that the implementation of the reform agenda is essential to ensure the future democratic stability and prosperity of the country. A new constitution will strengthen democracy and prosperity by creating a framework to protect the interests of all Kenyans.”

However, he also insisted that the Obama administration is not telling Kenyans how to vote.

“Each Kenyan voter must decide how to vote, based on his analysis, judgment and conscience,” he said.

Mr. Ranneberger urged Kenyans to ignore arguments by supporters or opponents of the constitution who appeal to Kenya’s ethnic or tribal conflicts, such as the bloody clashes between Luo and the minority Kikuyus in January 2008 after a disputed presidential election.

“All Kenyans need to stand up and refuse to be manipulated on ethnicity or political perspective,” the ambassador said. “I am particularly confident that young people will do this. I believe the Kenyan people want to see fundamental change, and a new constitution is crucial to that.”

The new constitution would impose reforms to the court system and land laws that now protect powerful interests, reduce the power of the presidency and establish a bill of rights, among other reforms. However, the language over abortion has created an international debate, attracting pro-life American Christians and entangling the U.S. Embassy in the dispute.

The draft constitution declares that life “begins at conception,” but exempts abortion to protect “the life or health of the mother.”

The embassy, earlier this month, acknowledged reports of American nongovernment groups supporting opponents of the proposed constitution.

“We wish to clarify that these activities are not encouraged by the U.S. government,” the embassy said.

MALDIVES, GITMO

The U.S. ambassador to the Maldives is discussing the possibility of transferring some terrorism suspects from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean, which some analysts say is a “paradise for Islamic radicalism.”

Ambassador Patricia Butenis, who is also the U.S. envoy in Sri Lanka, met Monday with members of the Maldives parliament to discuss a “resettlement offer” from the Maldives government, according to the Haveeru daily newspaper.

“They sought information from us, and we sought information from them, concerning the Guantanamo Bay resettlement,” said Mohamed Nasheed, a member of the Maldives parliament.

The Maldives, once considered a liberal Islamic nation, has been increasingly adopting fundamentalist Muslim practices, hosting Taliban terrorists from Afghanistan and breeding a youth attracted to Islamic jihad. Many analysts report that Maldivian young people have been recruited by Pakistani terrorists.

The Maldives already has accepted one detainee from Guantanamo Bay. Ibrahim Fauzee, a native Maldivian, was transferred there in 2005 after spending three years in U.S. detention, following his arrest in Pakistan for suspected al Qaeda connections.

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.