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Kenya talks go to secret location Kenya talks go to secret location
(about 1 hour later)
Ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has announced mediation talks to defuse the Kenyan election crisis are being moved to a secret location in the country. Former UN chief Kofi Annan has briefed Kenyan MPs about the progress of talks aimed at defusing the election crisis before they move to a secret location.
A senior UN official who is helping to oversee the discussions said it was to move the sensitive discussions away from close media attention in Nairobi. He did not give any details but a BBC correspondent says he seems to be moving towards the idea of a grand coalition with new polls next year.
The discussions have been taking place for the past fortnight in a five-star hotel in the centre of the capital. Mr Annan has ruled out a recount and says Kenya is too unstable for new elections for at least a year.
Some 1,000 people have died in violence since the elections on 27 December. At least 1,000 people have died after the opposition said polls were rigged.
Negotiators have been subjected to the full and relentless glare of the media during mediation talks. More than 600,000 people have been forced to flee their homes amid clashes between rival ethnic groups, seen as pro-opposition or pro-government.
News blackout Blackout
Members of the two panels involved in the discussions from the government and the opposition have been ambushed going in and out of the hotel by a small army of cameramen and reporters. As they enter a third week, the talks between government and opposition teams are being moved away from the capital, Nairobi, for three days to avoid the glare of publicity.
This has prompted Mr Annan to move the talks out of the capital for the next three days and he has requested the negotiating teams not to disclose the contents of the talks to anyone. The current crisis is a big challenge but it provides an opportunity for Kenyan leaders to steer the country to a new level of stability Kofi Annan class="" href="/1/hi/world/africa/7239554.stm">Around Kenya: After the violence
The former secretary general has asked for a complete news blackout, saying at the appropriate time, he will release the outcome of discussions to the media. Mr Annan said he had asked both sides not to discuss the contents of the talks with anyone else, calling for a complete news blackout.
Later on Tuesday, he will go to the Kenyan parliament to address an informal gathering of MPs to inform them of progress so far. He says that at the appropriate time, he will release the outcome of discussions to the media.
He will also outline areas of institutional and constitutional reform that they might need to examine to try to prevent such a crisis happening again. Caution
Mr Annan has hinted that the deal will include comprehensive constitutional, judicial and electoral reforms.
Both the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) have tabled proposals for a power-sharing agreement.
Mr Annan has however cautioned against speculation over the proposals being discussed and hinted that a deal may be reached in three days.
He described the teams at the negotiating table as level-headed and expressed confidence that they will deliver a negotiated settlement.
"The current crisis is a big challenge but it provides an opportunity for Kenyan leaders to steer the country to a new level of stability," Mr Annan told MPs at a special session in parliament.
He commended the government for lifting a ban on live media coverage and holding of political meetings.
The former UN chief reiterated that both ODM leader Raila Odinga and President Kibaki have been well briefed of the progress so far and are in total support of the process.
Mr Annan also called on the MPs to travel to their constituencies and preach peace and tolerance insisting that both teams have agreed to ensure that those behind the recent clashes are investigated and prosecuted.