The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned yesterday [Sept. 23] in a written statement the attack by al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab terrorists on a shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, in which at least 67 people died. Extending Turkey’s deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the Kenyan people, the statement read: “Standing against all sorts of terrorist activities, Turkey strongly condemns this attack. These kinds of terrorist attacks aim to harm the Somalia administration and its people in their determination to build a peaceful state and relationships with Somalia’s neighbors. On this occasion, we like to reiterate our solidarity with the friendly and brotherly Kenyan people.”  

The Foreign Ministry also released a similar written statement yesterday condemning the terror attacks in Peshawar, Pakistan, targeting the Christian community there.  “We have learned with deep sorrow that at least 78 people lost their lives, including women and children, and more than 120 people were injured in two consecutive suicide attacks perpetrated against the All Saints Church in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Paktunkhwa province, yesterday (Sept. 22) in Pakistan,” the statement read, strongly condemning the attack and conveying Turkey’s sincere condolences to the Pakistani people. “Turkey strongly condemns any kind of terrorist act targeting peace and security and aiming at destroying the internal stability in brotherly Pakistan. On this occasion, we express once again our strong feelings of solidarity with the brotherly government and people of Pakistan.”

Whether it was purposefully done or not, the Foreign Ministry provided on its website an English version of the media release condemning the terror attack in Pakistan, while only putting out a Turkish version for the situation in Kenya.

Separately or not, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to the podium yesterday at the Asia Pacific Retail Conference and Fair and talked about Somalia’s struggle with hunger, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the grave situation in Syria as well as the Egyptian turmoil. While he referred to all these foreign developments within the context of the need for building a just world, he said, “A world that turns its back to the hunger in Somalia has no future. There is no future for a world where children die for a liter of petrol.” Erdogan also questioned the capability of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in resolving global issues that threaten the security and the safety of the international community.