The Pirates of Somalia

[IndianaGreen]

Monday, 13 April 2009

The Pirates of Somalia

Nasr Ibn Othmann

It must be remembered that the majority of the Pirates of Somalia are former fishermen. These men have been forced to give up their former means of production as a result of often violent, and wholly illegal, encroachment on Somali fishing grounds by foreign fishing vessels.

Hundreds of mainly European fishing vessels are in the process of looting Somali territorial waters, and the Somalis have limited options with respect to protecting their legitimate fishing rights. It is little wonder that many Somali men turn to the business of holding foreign ships for ransom. This activity has become the only viable means of production left for the men who live in many of the coastal settlements of Somalia.

Piracy has become big business in northeastern Somalia, and this situation is not likely to alter significantly in the foreseeable future. Yet there is more to Somalia than the organized crime of industrial piracy on the high seas. There is more to the Somali nation then mere banditry. It is precisely this reason why the Somali people deserve better than the periodic repeat of military scenarios inside the Somali national territory where the highly trained—and well resourced—Special Forces of advanced nation states attack and kill the best of Somali youth. It is the responsibility of all Somali people to mend the broken political structures that have brought us to this regrettable situation at the present time.

So long as there exists a political vacuum inside Somalia, the Pirates of Somalia shall continue to about there business undisturbed. Indeed, the so-called transitional federal government of the Somali Republic—an entity that is recognized by the United Nations—actually empowers the Pirates of Somalia, by its very nature. It is no secret that the current president of Somalia, and entire council of ministers, are perceived as a bunch of venal money-grabbers by a majority of the Somali people. By contrast, the Pirates of Somalia are perceived—by and large—as honorable maritime entrepreneurs, and captains of Somali industry.

It is quite clear to me that Somali society must find a new group of political leaders. The Somali nation desperately needs leaders that are able to confront both the Pirates of Somalia and the scourge of illegal foreign fishing inside Somali territorial waters. Only with the rise of responsible national leadership is the phenomenon of Somali based piracy adequately countered. The tragic death of Mr. Lemaçon, and the utterly senseless deaths of several young Somali men should, in ideal circumstances, be the last we ever hear of in relation to the work of pirates. However, I fear that the future—in all likelihood—is one filled with ever more daring examples of Somali piracy on the open seas.

http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2009/04/13/70532.html

[Duke Newcombe]

1. Misunderstood Pirates! Yay!!! /facepalm

[TankLV]

2. Trying to DEFEND these fucking ASSHOLE PIRATES?!?!!!

oh, Indiana...shame on you...

while I understand that a people with no hope CAN turn to CRIME - but that does not excuse the CRIME!

It's time to take these ASSHOLES OUT!!!

My only wonder is why we don't ARM to the TEETH ALL ships and crew so they can DEFEND themselves against these CRIMINALS...

[IndianaGreen]

3. Nasr Ibn Othmann was not defending piracy, he was explaining the background

and he is calling for anti-piracy measures not unlike the ones advocated today by SecofState Hillary Clinton:

Clinton Unveils Piracy Plan Of Attack

Clinton did not call for using military force against the pirates, although she mentioned "going after" pirate bases in Somalia, as authorized by the U.N. several months ago.

"We need to bring 21st-century solutions to bear," she said.

In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Clinton said it may be possible to stop boat-building companies from doing business with the pirates. One element of her initiative, she said, is to "explore ways to track and freeze pirate assets."

The other element of the initiative include calling for immediate meetings of an international counter-piracy task force to expand naval coordination against pirates. She said federal agencies would meet Friday to review the problem and consider potential responses.

The administration plans to send an envoy to a Somali donors conference scheduled for next week in Brussels and will attempt to organize meetings with officials of Somali's transitional government as well as regional leaders in its semiautonomous Puntland.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/15/clinton-unveils-piracy-pl_n_187363.html

We went into Somalia in 1993 in absolute ignorance of the country, the culture, and its people, and we paid dearly in blood. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. As Hillary told the BBC today, improving the situation in Somalia is key to solving the problem.

More on Hillary here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8001102.stm

[bemildred]

4. Pointing out that actions have consequences is not defending the consequences.

It is more like attacking the actions that led to the consequences, something we need more of. Your comments remind me of all the attacks on people that questioned US foreign policy after 9/11, who were all largely accused of defending al Qaeda or the like.