Posted on 07/29/2010 1:04:03 PM PDT by wagglebee
Editor's Note: Joseph Meaney is director of international coordination for Human Life International, the world’s largest pro-life organization with affiliates and associates in over 100 countries worldwide.
July 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The people of Kenya will vote on August 4, 2010 on a new constitution that includes sweeping provisions allowing abortion. A pro-abortion and unelected international “Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review” added several significant lines to article 26 of the proposed constitution in the final drafting process. It begins well with: “Every person has the right to life. The life of a person begins at conception.” The added section 4, however, elaborates that: “Abortion is not permitted unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other law.” These are exceptions that could easily create de facto abortion-on-demand in this pro-life nation.
The situation in Kenya on the eve of their national constitutional referendum is reminiscent of Chicago’s dirty politics at its worst. Abortion was inserted into the draft constitution by backroom maneuvers. When pro-lifers raised the alarm, the highest Kenyan government officials tried to sow confusion by publicly denying that abortion’s legality would change.
Another new constitutional provision allowing for “kadhi,” or Islamic, courts, which rule on the basis of Sharia Law in marriage, divorce and inheritance cases, is widely seen as an attempt to garner Muslim votes despite their traditional opposition to abortion.
Most tragically, a large rally for the “No” side in Nairobi was the scene of a grenade attack that left six dead and almost 100 wounded on June 14, 2010.
Chicago-style tactics can hardly come as a surprise since the Obama administration has injected itself forcefully into the process from the beginning. U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger openly and repeatedly endorsed the new constitution in the press, causing a national scandal. Vice-President Joe Biden even stopped in Nairobi on his way to the World Cup in South Africa and made the most hypocritical statements imaginable to reporters and crowds. He advised Kenyans he would not presume to tell them how to vote and then made it very clear financial incentives were at stake:
Putting in place a new constitution and strengthening your institutions and the rule of law will not only unleash the energy of the youth, deepen the roots of your democracy, and ultimately guarantee your security -- it will also further open the door to major American development programs like the Millennium Challenge. There’s so much more we could do, and want to do, in partnership with you. It could provide millions of dollars in grant assistance to Kenya that you would know how to use well to build this great nation.
Actually, U.S. money is already flowing to pro-abortion groups in Kenya. A preliminary report issued by the Inspector General (IG) has found that at least $23 million in U.S. tax dollars have been spent so far to ensure passage of the proposed new Kenyan Constitution. Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, one of three members of the U.S. Congress who pushed for the IG’s investigation, was shocked by the sheer arrogance of the Obama administration’s meddling in the internal politics of another sovereign nation. Thanks to the Siljander Amendment’s provision that it is illegal for the U.S. government to spend funds to lobby for or against abortion in foreign countries, Smith and others can seek legal redress. As could be expected, Obama and his officials have denied criminal wrongdoing, and have even suddenly become much more nuanced in their pronouncements in favor of the constitution.
The undeniable fact remains that radical pro-abortion groups actively engaged in the Kenyan “Yes Campaign” have been bankrolled by the U.S. government. These include the Kenyan Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya), a member organization in the Kenyan Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance (RHRA), The African Woman and Child Features Service and Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). Many other “Yes” campaigners have also received U.S. funds. Even the infamous Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review, which inserted the abortion language against the wishes of Kenya’s Parliamentary Select Committee (a group of Kenyan legislators), received funding from the Obama administration.
The Catholic Church and many other denominations in Kenya have forcefully condemned the proposed constitution. Cardinal John Njue, the Archbishop of Nairobi, stated recently that it is “fundamentally flawed” and cannot be supported in good conscience. He, and the other bishops of Kenya, made the analogy that the draft constitution is like rotten egg from which you cannot separate the good from the bad.
Polling data consistently shows that Kenyans are overwhelmingly opposed to legalizing abortion. Paradoxically, a majority of respondents in recent polls (of questionable merit, considering their funding sources) say they plan to vote for the new constitution. It is a clear case of propaganda jeopardizing a truly well-informed vote. There is no doubt that millions of dollars are being spent to determine the outcome of Kenya’s constitutional referendum by the international abortion lobby, and Barack Obama is the head of that team.
Deceptive backroom tactics, intimidation, violence and bribery are all on display in the run-up to the Kenyan referendum on their proposed new constitution. Clearly, prayer is sorely needed in this dire situation. Human Life International and many other pro-life groups have asked for prayers to go up to defeat this attempt to force abortion on yet another country. It would be a terrible tragedy indeed if Obama’s Chicago-style thuggery successfully imposed abortion on a nation whose people clearly do not want it.
Zero's thugs exist to impose Zero's evil agenda on those who do not want it.
Pro-Life Ping
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
And he has basically told Kenya that he will cut them off from all future foreign aid if they don’t impose abortion,
The irony is that if Obama weren't doing this, Hillary would be -- or the RiNO women around John McCain, people like Elizabeth Dole and Sens. Collins and Snowe, and Christie Whitman.
kadhi courts = sharia courts
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/faith/2010/07/kenya_constitution_muslim_cour.html
Even some conservative American groups are weighing in on the Muslim courts issue ahead of the vote.
“This is a government-sponsored Islamic law system,” said Jordan Sekulow, the director of international operations at the Center for Law and Justice.
It was founded by U.S. evangelical Pat Robertson and has recently opened a branch in Kenya.
Press releases sent by the organization describe Sekulow as “heavily involved in grass-roots efforts with Christian organizations in opposition to the Kadhi courts.”
Sekulow says public funds should be directed to reforming Kenya’s secular courts instead, where cases that can be resolved within a month in the Kadhi courts can wait years for a judgment.
Charge: U.S. promoting abortion in Kenya
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=33429
Smith, R.-N.J., has based his charge of illegal activity by the Obama administration on the Siljander Amendment, which Congress has adopted annually stating that “no foreign assistance funds may be used to lobby for or against abortion.”
Smith, citing USAID information that $23 million has been expended in Kenya to fund nonprofit organizations promoting voter turnout, has waged his allegation of illegality since mid-July, including a July 21 news conference and written statement.
To date, Smith’s allegations have resulted in the U.S. Embassy in Kenya suspending funding to nine of as many as 200 recipient organizations.
Smith has noted that one of the groups — which helped draft the broadened abortion language — has ties to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The nine organizations “may be only a tip of the iceberg,” Smith asserted at the July 21 news conference.
Q+A – Contentious issues in Kenya’s referendum
http://af.reuters.com/article/kenyaNews/idAFLDE66S0ZT20100801
WHY ARE CHRISTIANS AGAINST KADHI COURTS?
Opposition to the Muslim kadhi courts has brought together Christian clergy and some politicians to oppose the proposed constitution.
The kadhi courts deal with matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance among Muslims.
The referendum has heightened differences between Kenya’s Muslims and its Christian churches, which have criticised the draft constitution for including the kadhi courts, saying it would give power to religious courts in a secular nation.
The religious tensions coincide with security concerns in the region with authorities on high alert against Muslim insurgents in neighbouring Somalia.
Al Shabaab, a Somali rebel group which professes loyalty to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks in Uganda which increased concerns about Shabaab’s ability to carry out more attacks in the region and beyond.
Kenya’s constitution has provided for kadhi courts since 1963, with the courts serving the mainly coastal Muslim population, but the east African country’s secular High Court has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters.
A kadhi court verdict can be appealed at the High Court.
The constitution proposes to widen the sphere of the kadhi courts beyond Coast Province, meaning their jurisdiction would expand across the nation and their scope would increase.
Kenya’s population of about 40 million is about 45 percent Protestant, 33 percent Roman Catholic and 10 percent Muslim, the rest following indigenous faiths or other beliefs.
***
kadhi courts = sharia courts
Ten Reasons to Vote NO
7. THE DRAFT DOES NOT MAKE KENYANS EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW
If the draft is passed as it is, then there will be two classes of people in Kenya: Kenyans and Muslims.
This is because Muslims are exempted from the Bill of Rights by Article 24 (4).
All Kenyans should be equal before the law.
8. THE DRAFT ENTRENCHES KADHI’S COURTS EVEN THOUGH THE HIGH COURT SAID THEY ARE UN-CONSTITUTIONAL
The landmark ruling by the High Court on 24th May 2010 said that inclusion of Kadhi’s Courts in the Constitution is discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional!
In disregard of this ruling, the draft in Articles 169 and 170 entrenches them.
The Kadhi’s Courts are an internal dispute resolution mechanism for Muslims, and therefore they should not be in the constitution.
The High Court also said that the government should not use tax payers’ money to maintain the Kadhi’s Courts or pay their salaries.
If the Kadhi’s Courts are not constitutional in the current constitution, why should they be put in the new constitution?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.