The U.S. is hoping an international donor conference this week in Brussels will raise money to help Somalia combat pirates on land before they attack ships on the high seas.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that the U.S. was sending an envoy to Wednesday's conference as part of Washington's four-point plan to fight piracy off the African nation's coast. The U.S. views the meeting as a chance to improve the security services of Somalia's transitional government. Funds will also be raised for the African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia.
The U.S. antipiracy strategy includes meeting with the international Contact Group on Piracy and with shippers and the insurance industry to address gaps in their self-defense measures. The U.S. also will send a diplomatic team to consult with Somali leaders in the capital, Mogadishu, and in Puntland, the northeast region where most of the pirates are based.
Somalia has been without a functioning central government since 1991. The resulting anarchy has created conditions for piracy to thrive. An attempt in 2006 by Sweden and Italy to hold a similar conference in Rome was scrapped because of the instability of the transitional regime, the authority of which doesn't extend beyond Mogadishu.
"The reason this conference is happening now is because there is a new leader of the transitional government, Sheikh Sharif, who is seen as a hopeful character who may be able to bring some measure of stability," said Leslie Lefkow, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch.
The Somali Transitional Federal Parliament elected Mr. Sharif president Jan. 30. He is a moderate Islamist who some say can bring peace to Somalia's warring clans.
"The donor conference will be seen as a symbol of political support for Sharif and his government as well as ponying up a lot of critically needed funds," Ms. Lefkow said.
Ms. Lefkow said the transitional government was hoping that at least $100 million could be raised. Most of the aid will go to security sector reform, she said.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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