The EU thanks the president of Kenya for withdrawing economic reform to de-escalate the situation

Borrell shows his concern about the outbreak of violence that has left more than a dozen dead

June 27 () – The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, thanked this Wednesday the Kenyan president, William Ruto, for having made the decision not to enact the economic reform that he unleashed on Tuesday protests that ended in an assault on the Parliament headquarters in Nairobi and resulted in the death of more than a dozen people.

“The European Union calls on all parties to continue de-escalating the situation and is confident in the strength of Kenyan democracy and institutions to achieve these objectives. President Ruto’s recent decision to withdraw the finance bill contributes reduce tensions and should help create an environment conducive to dialogue,” Borrell said in a statement.

Furthermore, he has shown his concern about the “outbreak of violence”, and has recalled that the security forces must act “with moderation” and respect “fundamental rights and freedoms, including the rights to freedom of demonstration, association, peaceful assembly and expression”.

Likewise, he has asked protesters to act peacefully to avoid further human loss and damage to both public and private property.

Ruto has announced that he will not enact economic reform and has confirmed “immediate austerity measures” that will include the reduction of expenses of official institutions, including the Presidency.

During a speech, the Kenyan president defended the “concessions” that the budget plan already included and the importance of public spending to pay for essential services, and admitted that the approval of the law led to “broad discomfort” on the part of citizens. which “unfortunately caused deaths, destruction of property and the assault of constitutional institutions.”

The protests began last week, but escalated on Tuesday when a mob broke into Parliament after the final approval of a reform that included a tax increase. So far, more than a dozen deaths have been confirmed.

The violence of the last few hours has led Parliament to approve this Wednesday the deployment of the Armed Forces to try to guarantee security, while in the political sphere requests have already begun to be heard to clarify responsibilities.