Nairobi - Kenya's leaders need to urgently form an independent tribunal to try the suspected perpetrators of post-election violence last year that killed more than 1 000 people, diplomats in the African country said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The 25 heads of diplomatic missions in Kenya did not specify what action their countries would take if Kenya fails to meet a new deadline to set up such a body, but made clear they will not just stand by and watch.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet failed to agree on the issue of a tribunal. Last week, former UN chief Kofi Annan gave the names of suspected ringleaders to the International Criminal Court.

Annan's action does not preclude Kenya forming a local independent tribunal because The Hague-based court can only be used as a last resort, the ambassadors said.

'Wider justice for all those affected'

"Action by the ICC to begin formal investigations will not absolve the Kenyan government of responsibility to provide wider justice for all those affected by the violence," Swedish Ambassador Anna Brandt said, reading the statement on behalf of the other ambassadors.

If the government fails, however, it will send, "a signal to the entire international community that Kenya is not in a position (to) or able to deal with the long-standing problems of impunity here and that has longer (term), broader implications for Kenya's interest," Canadian High Commissioner Ross Hynes said without elaborating.

Last year's violence came after rival campaigns disputed the results of the December 2007 presidential election. Several human rights bodies blamed businessmen and politicians in the current administration for orchestrating the violence, which was the worst since Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed an agreement last year to form a tribunal with Kenyan and foreign judges by February to try people suspected of planning, organising or financing the post-election violence. But when they went to parliament to get the necessary legislation passed, lawmakers voted against it.

Legislators fear being investigated

Some lawmakers question whether such a body can resist political manipulation by powerful individuals suspected to be involved in the violence, but critics say the legislators fear being investigated.

Annan, who mediated an agreement to end the violence last year under the auspices of the African Union, gave the government more time to form a tribunal, culminating in his action last week to pass on the suspected ringleaders' names to the ICC.

An independent commission that investigated the post-election violence came up with the names and chose to keep them secret, placing them in an envelope given to Annan, saying they are powerful individuals who could interfere with future investigations.

In a meeting earlier this month, senior Cabinet ministers signed an agreement with ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo that the tribunal will be set up by August 2010 or else the cases will be referred to The Hague-based court

By SAPA