Donors Set Plans For Aid to Somalia
Associated Press
LONDON—Nations must help Somalia's fragile leadership tackle terrorism, piracy and hunger or be prepared to pay the price, Britain's leader warned Thursday at an international conference on the troubled east African nation's future.
Associated Press
Somali officials leave 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday after meeting with the British prime minister.
About 50 nations and international organizations attended a one-day summit hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron in London, including Somalia's Western-backed transitional government, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"For two decades Somalia has been torn apart by famine, bloodshed and some of the worst poverty on earth," Mr. Cameron said, as he opened the talks.
"Pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists. Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that is threatening the security of the whole world," he told delegates. "If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so."
Previously
Somali Militia Reels After Offensive
Somalia has had transitional administrations for the past seven years, but hasn't had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the nation into two decades of chaos.
The weak U.N.-backed administration, which holds the capital, Mogadishu, with the support of about 12,000 African Union soldiers, has been boosted by recent offensives against the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab. The U.N. on Wednesday approved an increase in the size of the AU peacekeeping mission, known as Amisom, to about 17,700.
Despite tentative signs of progress, security officials warn of a continuing threat from Islamic militants who some fear could export terrorism to Europe and the U.S.
Pirates continue to disrupt international shipping off Somalia's coast, and currently hold seven vessels and 191 hostages. Ransoms last year cost the shipping industry about $135 million.
Western nations hope the conference will encourage greater support for Somalia from the Arab world and more prominent leadership from nations including Turkey and Qatar. Mr. Ban said Turkey would host a follow-up summit on Somalia's future in June.
Mrs. Clinton said Somalia's leaders must be offered help to plan the transfer of power to a stable government, with the transitional authority's mandate due to expire in August.
"The Transitional Federal Government was always meant to be just that, transitional. It is past time for that transition to occur, and for Somalia to have a stable government," Mrs. Clinton said.
She also ruled out negotiations with militants, despite some calls to include al Shabaab, which holds territory in central and southern Somalia, in the nation's political process.
Somalis "have heard many promises, and have seen many deadlines come and go. It's time to buckle down and do the work that will bring stability to Somalia for the first time in many of its people's lives," she said.
Leaders of the breakaway republic of Somaliland attended the talks, but didn't win the international recognition they crave. Some critics of Western efforts in Somalia have suggested that local administrations in Somaliland and neighboring Puntland offer a better model for the entire country than attempts to create a central authority.
The London-based think tank Chatham House said in a report issued last month that progress in Somaliland "has been incremental and not always smooth, but it has responded to local pressures, adapted over time and shown that local democracy is a viable foundation for state building."
Britain pledged $80 million over three years for Somali refugees in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, while the U.S. said it would offer an extra $64 million in humanitarian assistance to Horn of Africa countries.
The United Arab Emirates said it would provide $15 million to strengthen the Seychelles Coast Guard, while Mr. Cameron said the U.K. would fund a new antipiracy intelligence coordination center in the Seychelles.
Germany said it was giving €6 million ($7.9 million) to aid organizations to help care for displaced Somalis, while Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands also pledged funding.
Many have been skeptical that the London talks can offer concrete steps to address Somalia's complex problems, which include the lingering effects of a lengthy famine which Britain's government estimates has killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
Others suspect the attention of Mrs. Clinton and world leaders is currently focused on more urgent troubles, including the crisis in Syria, which was also discussed in meetings on the sidelines of the conference.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577241061539802378.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
Associated Press
LONDON—Nations must help Somalia's fragile leadership tackle terrorism, piracy and hunger or be prepared to pay the price, Britain's leader warned Thursday at an international conference on the troubled east African nation's future.
Associated PressSomali officials leave 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday after meeting with the British prime minister.
About 50 nations and international organizations attended a one-day summit hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron in London, including Somalia's Western-backed transitional government, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"For two decades Somalia has been torn apart by famine, bloodshed and some of the worst poverty on earth," Mr. Cameron said, as he opened the talks.
"Pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists. Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that is threatening the security of the whole world," he told delegates. "If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so."
Previously
Somali Militia Reels After Offensive
Somalia has had transitional administrations for the past seven years, but hasn't had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the nation into two decades of chaos.
The weak U.N.-backed administration, which holds the capital, Mogadishu, with the support of about 12,000 African Union soldiers, has been boosted by recent offensives against the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab. The U.N. on Wednesday approved an increase in the size of the AU peacekeeping mission, known as Amisom, to about 17,700.
Despite tentative signs of progress, security officials warn of a continuing threat from Islamic militants who some fear could export terrorism to Europe and the U.S.
Pirates continue to disrupt international shipping off Somalia's coast, and currently hold seven vessels and 191 hostages. Ransoms last year cost the shipping industry about $135 million.
Western nations hope the conference will encourage greater support for Somalia from the Arab world and more prominent leadership from nations including Turkey and Qatar. Mr. Ban said Turkey would host a follow-up summit on Somalia's future in June.
Mrs. Clinton said Somalia's leaders must be offered help to plan the transfer of power to a stable government, with the transitional authority's mandate due to expire in August.
"The Transitional Federal Government was always meant to be just that, transitional. It is past time for that transition to occur, and for Somalia to have a stable government," Mrs. Clinton said.
She also ruled out negotiations with militants, despite some calls to include al Shabaab, which holds territory in central and southern Somalia, in the nation's political process.
Somalis "have heard many promises, and have seen many deadlines come and go. It's time to buckle down and do the work that will bring stability to Somalia for the first time in many of its people's lives," she said.
Leaders of the breakaway republic of Somaliland attended the talks, but didn't win the international recognition they crave. Some critics of Western efforts in Somalia have suggested that local administrations in Somaliland and neighboring Puntland offer a better model for the entire country than attempts to create a central authority.
The London-based think tank Chatham House said in a report issued last month that progress in Somaliland "has been incremental and not always smooth, but it has responded to local pressures, adapted over time and shown that local democracy is a viable foundation for state building."
Britain pledged $80 million over three years for Somali refugees in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, while the U.S. said it would offer an extra $64 million in humanitarian assistance to Horn of Africa countries.
The United Arab Emirates said it would provide $15 million to strengthen the Seychelles Coast Guard, while Mr. Cameron said the U.K. would fund a new antipiracy intelligence coordination center in the Seychelles.
Germany said it was giving €6 million ($7.9 million) to aid organizations to help care for displaced Somalis, while Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands also pledged funding.
Many have been skeptical that the London talks can offer concrete steps to address Somalia's complex problems, which include the lingering effects of a lengthy famine which Britain's government estimates has killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
Others suspect the attention of Mrs. Clinton and world leaders is currently focused on more urgent troubles, including the crisis in Syria, which was also discussed in meetings on the sidelines of the conference.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577241061539802378.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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