The scope of the speech itself was the boldest sign of Turkey and its leader Erdoğan's assertiveness. In addition to hot topics such as the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, the stalled Middle East peace process and Palestine's bid for UN recognition, Israel's stubbornness to meet the requirements of international law, the Arab Spring, the Syrian regime's oppression of its own people, the transition process in Libya and Arab Spring in general; frozen conflicts such the Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan also found a place in the speech.
“The speech was an open and systemic criticism against the functioning and structure of the international system. Within this framework, he used Somalia as an example and harshly criticized the global system for remaining indifferent to grievances in Africa,” Prof. Birol Akgün, a specialist with the Institute of Strategic Thinking (SDE), told Today's Zaman on Friday.
“The prime minister called on the international community to work toward justice, morality and compassion. He cited the colonialist past of Western countries in the African continent and how unjust they were by ignoring Africa. Erdoğan exposed the double-standard wielded by the West’s self-interest-oriented system, as some Western countries are showing close interest in Libya while they do not show the same kind of interest toward Somalia,” Akgün said.