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"content": "like Ethiopia has actually gone to war in Somalia, but you will rarely hear of the kind of things and attacks that we get in Kenya. You will also rarely hear of them in Rwanda, Ethiopia, et cetera . So, the problem is elsewhere. That is what we, as Kenyans, should all ask ourselves. The withdrawal is not the solution. The moment we are going to do so, number one, we will accept to fall into the trap and the road map of the terrorists. We not know what they will ask next. Maybe the next thing they will tell us is to close all our embassies in Britain, America and Tel Aviv, among other countries. You will get the country into an unnecessary mess. As I said, I do not want to politicize this issue. Honestly, as a Kenyan, on the issue of insecurity and terrorism, which the President raised in his speech on how we can learn from each other, I believe the solution of a safer Kenya does not lie in withdrawing our military from Somalia. Of course, in the long term, we have to withdraw them. However, that is not the solution as of now. Lastly, my two points, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, because I do not want to say much; in any case the speech was not very long. We are also encouraged that beyond the level of Parliament, the two countries, Rwanda and Kenya, have had visits at the higher level; at the level of Heads of State. The President of Rwanda has been a guest in this country severally. This year alone, I think he has been here twice or thrice. The President of Kenya has similarly been a guest in Rwanda I think twice or thrice. There is even a time I know he went to Rwanda, then he went to Turkey or Brussels; he then came back to Rwanda again before coming back to Nairobi. That is how easy it is even at higher levels. Political will is the surest way of uniting people and driving the integration that we so desire to have in this region. Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, just as the President said towards conclusion, the role of Parliaments in this region in putting people together, in trying to discuss the difficult issues that our citizens in this region are unable to deal with--- That role cannot be over emphasized. It is high time that Parliaments in this region interacted more. I am not against other associations we have, including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping of Parliaments and others. I am not against them because all those are important. However, even before we strengthen those international parliamentarian institutions, we need to forge very close, cordial relationships in this region. The Parliament of Kenya should engage with the Parliament of Burundi. The Parliament of Burundi should also be engaging with the Parliament of Tanzania. This way, some of the issues that we are unable to unlock either as citizens or even as politicians at presidential level, can be resolved through parliamentary institutions. I say so because already I know, for example, that within this region, there is a big challenge between the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Tanzania on several issues relating to regional integration. Sometimes when you listen, it might just boil down to just a bit of misinterpreting each other’s position at senior levels or at personal levels. Therefore, this is why parliaments become important; both the Senate and the National Assemblies in this region can help our leaders to come together to understand some of the difficult issues of development and of social cohesion that this region is facing. On that note as I conclude, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is why we are saying that even if there are serious issues affecting our country, I, as the Senate Majority The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}