World leaders see chance for peace, stability in Somalia

By Anna Tomforde Feb 23, 2012, 14:13 GMT

London - World leaders on Thursday sounded a note of optimism over the chances of Somalia leaving behind two decades of political turmoil fuelled by civil war, poverty and terrorism.

At a high-profile conference in London, representatives from 50 governments and organizations pledged their support for the efforts of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia to move from conflict to stability.

'For decades, the world focused on what we could prevent from happening in Somalia - conflict, famine and terrorism. Now, we are focused on what we can build,' said US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Her optimism was echoed by other speakers, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who urged the international community to answer Somalia's 'cries for peace.'

'We have opened a space for peace and stability in Somalia. It is a small space - but it presents an opportunity we cannot afford to miss,' said Ban.

He urged Somali leaders to establish 'sustainable, credible and indigenous security institutions' and to agree on security arrangements that 'best suit their system of governance.'

On the eve of the conference, the UN Security Council approved a resolution increasing by 5,000 the number of African Union (AU) troops in Somalia, known as AMISOM, to more than 17,000.

'Thanks to the AMISOM troops, we can now see a new horizon where the insurgency gets weaker,' said Ban. 'But these remarkable gains came at a high price.'

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who hosted the gathering, warned that terrorism in Somalia threatened the 'security of the whole world.'

'If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so,' he said.

Clinton said that despite recent successes in pushing back al-Shabaab, the Islamist militia had turned the situation in central and southern Somalia into a 'nightmare.'

She said the United States was 'adamantly' opposed to any negotiations with al-Shabaab, but would cooperate with those who turned their back on the organization.

Al-Shabaab, which recently announced it was merging with al-Qaeda, has been losing ground across Somalia in the face of concerted pressure from the AU, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somali forces.

The US pledged a further 64 million dollars in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa, bringing pledges to a total of 934 million dollars.

Britain said it would give an extra 51 million pounds (80 million dollars) in humanitarian aid to help Somali refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia, while Germany pledged the equivalent of 7.9 million dollars.

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said he hoped the pledges made at the conference would not remain 'mere words on pieces of paper,' but instead help Somalis escape from their 'horrendous memories.'

In addition to the insurgency, and the humanitarian problems that have afflicted Somalia, the issue of piracy is also high on the agenda of the London conference.

'We are far from our goal of eliminating piracy and kidnappings,' Ban warned. Clinton voiced US backing for programmes to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia and urged all nations to be prepared to prosecute and jail pirates.

She said the US government was ready to step up its involvement in Somalia, including establishing a more permanent diplomatic presence in the east African country.

In a draft of the conference communiqué, participants pledged their determination to 'prosecute the kingpins' of piracy, which would include the establishment of courts specializing in the crime in Somalia.

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