August 29, 1992 Statement by Governor Clinton on the Crisis in Somalia After months of neglect, the international community has awakened to the grave dimensions of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia. I remain deeply concerned about this crisis. The lives of as many as 1.5 million people are at risk. I welcome decisions by the United States and the United Nations to increase dramatically our relief efforts to the starving people of Somalia. Our military is providing cargo planes and logistical support in a lifesaving campaign to deliver 145,000 tons of food in the coming days. We should not forget the courageous efforts of the many non-governmental organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, which have been on the ground for months providing vital assistance in a very dangerous situation. The international media also deserves credit for increasing the world's attention on this human tragedy. Security considerations, however, continue to threaten the ability of relief workers to deliver desperately needed food. Armed factions and violent gangs are looting relief supplies, threatening convoys, and often preventing the delivery of food to starving Somalis in the interior parts of the country. The Secretary General of the United Nations has called for the immediate deployment of 3,500 U.N. guards to secure the port of Mogadishu and to protect the relief convoys. I urge the Administration and other members of the international community to strongly support the Secretary General's efforts. As I have said before, we cannot allow the fate of innocent Somalis to be held hostage to the personal ambitions of ruthless faction leaders and gangs. We must respond to Somalia's relief needs now with the same concern and compassion that we demonstrated during the Ethiopian famine in 1984-85 and towards the Kurds during winter of 1991. Moreover, if and when the current famine is overcome, the political anarchy and civil war in Somalia will not quickly subside. At that time, our support for the people of Somalia must not fade with the desperate images on our television screens. There will be an important role for the United Nations in finding ways to end this tragic civil war and to restore order.