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İstanbul conference raises hopes for war-torn Somalia
“If we do not tackle the basic causes onshore, we will never be able to stop the piracy offshore,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said at the end of the conference on Saturday. “Despite the risk ... the UN and the international community will not stand by and watch Somalia’s struggle alone.”
Somalia has been a state of anarchy since 1991, when warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Piracy is flourishing off the coast, while insurgents with alleged links to al-Qaeda launch daily attacks. The weak UN-sponsored transitional government, meanwhile, controls only a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, with the help of 5,300 African Union peacekeepers.
Political turmoil erupted this week as President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed fired Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, only to reverse his decision on Thursday, saying the country needed unity among its leaders. Ban said it was time for the international community to “redouble our efforts” to help Somalia and that the transitional government represents the country’s best chance in years to escape from the endless cycle of war and humanitarian disaster.
The conference participants -- representatives of 55 nations and 12 international organizations -- expressed “grave concern over the increase in acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia,” according to a joint statement released at the end of the meeting.
The joint declaration said that “a bright future for Somalia is possible” and that the international community would offer support. Turkey signed a deal to provide military training to Somali soldiers.
“We send a clear and strong message to the people of Somalia that they are not alone in the search for peace, reconciliation and prosperity after so many years of poverty, hardship and suffering,” the declaration said. Ban thanked those offering training, but also noted, “We need to do more to pay them after that training.”
For his part, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at a joint press conference following his bilateral meeting with Ban on the same day, said Turkey would never leave Somalia alone, highlighting the presence of historical ties between his country and Somalia. “Lending our best support is also a historical duty for us,” Erdoğan said.
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