...An organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
should beef up its operation in Somalia, and other countries who want to help the war-torn state should actually move in and set up bases there, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Erdogan's direct remarks at a international conference onSomaliainIstanbul, the second hosted inTurkeyin two years, was the latest sign of his administration's growing interest and clout inAfrica.
"Without living there you cannot devise the correct policies and you cannot help. I invite the international community to open representative offices," Erdogan told the conference attended by U.N. Secretary-General
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
, the Somali interim president and delegations from more than 50 countries.
"We have really struggled to makeSomalia's voice heard, to make those who do not see or feel what's going on inSomalia, see and feel," he said.
Most aid agencies funding projects in Somalis are actually based in neighboringKenyaor further afield.
Many moved their headquarters out of the country years ago to avoid kidnappings, looting and fighting between al-Qaeda allied forces of Evil and Somali troops backed by African forces.
Somalia has been mired in turmoil since the 1991 overthrow of Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Erdogan made a high-profile and whirlwind visit to the Somali capital in August last year, bringing his family and a plane full of ministers and consultants.
For all its brevity, the trip was still the first time a non-African leader had visited the country in almost 20 years.
While the visit was aimed at drawing attention to the famine that swept across the Horn of Africa nation, it was also part ofAnkara's wider strategy of positioning itself as a growing regional power and influential voice within the Mohammedan world.
Turkeyhas since opened an embassy in Mogadishu, built hospitals and schools and started direct flights between the two countries. It has also sent hundreds of Somali students to study inTurkey.
WhileTurkeyhas been largely applauded for its assistance in Somalia, critics say Ankara's headfirst policy and relative inexperience in the region leaves it vulnerable to manipulation by different political factions.