His call came on a national day of prayer for peace and as some religious and political leaders suggested the formation of a truth, justice and reconciliation commission, similar to that in South Africa after the fall of apartheid, to bring a long-term closure to Kenya's political crisis.

"My appeal to Kibaki and Raila is to sit and talk without giving each other conditions ... If you respect your dignity, come together and talk," the cardinal appealed while speaking in Juja, near Nairobi, on January 21.

"Our country needs healing. I think this [truth and reconciliation commission] is the right way to go," the Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of Mombasa, one of the cities hit by post-lection violence, told Ecumenical News International in an interview on January 22.

Kalu said the political leaders needed to listen to mediation, agree on the problem and its solution. The leaders would need to ask Kenyans to forgive each other. "Right now, the patient [Kenya] has multiple injuries, and we don't know where to treat [them]. The patient needs to be put on observation so that the right diagnosis can be administered," said Kalu.

More than 650 people have been killed and another 250,000 displaced through ongoing violence, which in some areas has turned into inter-ethnic conflict, following disputed presidential election results. Most of those displaced are in the Rift Valley Province in the west of the country, where inter-ethnic clashes had been flaring up since 1992.

"Go beyond where you are. Look ahead and realize that for Kenya to be peaceful, for current tribal divisions to end and for the killings of innocent Kenyans to stop, you must dialogue," said Njue who heads Kenya's Episcopal Conference, which groups the country's Catholic bishops.

Those who are working for a peaceful settlement are now looking to former U.N. secretary general, Kofi Annan, who arrived in Kenya on January 22, to use his influence and skills to bridge the impasse between the opposing groups. Both sides say they have not set any pre-conditions for negotiations, but some government ministers have said there is nothing to warrant international mediation. The opposition has demanded such mediation.

After the presidential elections in December 2002, which were won by Kibaki, following the retirement of Daniel arap Moi after 24 years as president, the government had proposed such a truth and reconciliation commission.

"It was never formed. But I think at the moment there is no substitute for it. It is long overdue," said the Rev. Fred Nyabera, a Kenyan who heads the Fellowship of Churches and Councils in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. "The tallying of the votes only served as a trigger [for the violence]."

In Edinburgh, the Church of Scotland added its voice to those of religious leaders in Kenya in calling for an end to the violence and bloodshed and for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission.

The church's World Mission Council convener, the Rev. Colin Renwick, said: "We have been deeply shaken to hear from our Kenya partner, the 3-million strong Presbyterian Church of East Africa, of the devastating impact it has suffered over the past three weeks." He noted that "the church has had to close three Presbyteries [church districts] because all the church members have fled from those areas."

Renwick reiterated the calls of the Inter-Religious Forum in Kenya, made up of Christian, Hindu and Islamic leaders, which has among its targets: a review and closure of the 2007 general elections and the establishment of a truth, justice and reconciliation commission to address the issues underlying the conflict sparked by the election. These include ethnic, economic, social and justice concerns.