Oh my gosh, pirates! Somalia

[NASSIR]

Interesting proposals for a lasting political solution to Somalia's conflict.

 

emphasis mine!

 

Oh my gosh, pirates! Somalia

By Daniela Kroslak and Andrew Stroehlein

International Herald Tribune

April 29, 2008

 

Strange how an African country can be moving from prolonged chaos to violent collapse and no one in the world notices until a couple of European boats get seized by armed gunmen.

 

War-ravaged Somalia is in the worst shape it has been in for years - which, for this devastated country that has not had a proper government for nearly a generation, is really saying something.

 

Yet, neither of the two resolutions currently in preparation at the UN Security Council mention the 85 dead in Mogadishu last weekend, or the exodus of newly displaced persons from that city, or Ethiopian shelling of civilian areas or the dwindling international humanitarian response.

 

Instead, one of the resolutions proposed by France, the United States and Britain is a reaction to the hijacking of a French yacht and a Spanish fishing vessel, and would authorize countries to fight piracy off Somali coast.

 

It is like watching flames engulf your neighbor`s house and calling in the fire brigade to help you wash your car.

 

The death and displacement in Somalia is caused by the violent confrontation between the evaporating transitional government troops and its Ethiopian allies on the one hand, and insurgents on the other.

 

Officials in African and western capitals shrug their shoulders when confronted with the dire situation in Somalia. A lack of political will, investment and imagination has made Somalia a hopeless case in their eyes.

 

Realizing no one in power cares in the slightest, most international media have also been ignoring Somalia, barely mentioning the recent heavy fighting in Mogadishu for example.

 

Ethiopian troops have been accused of having targeted mosques and killing religious leaders and civilians in the north of the capital. Whole areas of Mogadishu were sealed off, leaving outsiders only to guess the gravity of the plight in those sectors. Did anyone hear about any of this?

 

But pirates taking a French luxury yacht? That story was hard to miss.

 

According to the United Nations, 2.5 million people are in urgent need of assistance in Somalia. 750,000 alone were displaced from Mogadishu over the last 15 months. Critical water shortages and a severe drought have befallen central and northern Somalia further aggravating the hardship for the civilian population.

 

The verdict seems to be clear: combined Ethiopian, African Union troops and transitional government forces have failed to establish security in the capital Mogadishu, or any other part of the country.

 

Islamist al-Shabaab militants in southern and central Somalia are combining their military operations with political outreach. Ultimately, the rise and consolidation of an Islamist movement pursuing a regional and international agenda will create a growing threat to the rest of the Horn of Africa.

 

A narrow window of opportunity has emerged in the form of Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein`s recent offer to negotiate with both the internal and external opposition, including al-Shabaab, many members of which belong to the clan controlling Mogadishu, the ******. This bold political initiative led by a widely respected figure, if seized upon, could potentially usher in an inclusive Somali national political dialogue.

 

But it now faces a steep hurdle, if not a fatal blow, from the U.S. designation of al-Shabaab as a terrorist organization. Whether well founded or otherwise, the U.S. move - preceded by the latest American air strikes on Dobley in southern Somalia - could undercut the prime minister`s initiative, widen the rift between the president and the prime minister and undermine local and international efforts to facilitate a political resolution to the Somali crisis.

 

The lack of strategic engagement by the international community is a significant obstacle to progress. The efforts of the UN special representative, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, to build greater cohesion among members of the international community should be encouraged, and he should be supported to build a strategy for a meaningful peace process.

 

• This new political process should work to achieve an end to the current insurgency. The first point on the agenda for negotiation should be a cease-fire.
• Involved parties need to be given security guarantees in order to agree to it and truly engage in political dialogue.
• For the opposition this might involve a clear plan and timeline for phased Ethiopian withdrawal supported and monitored by the international community.
• The Ethiopians would be given guarantees about greater Somalia claims and other security concerns.
• The negotiations should include an agreement on the borders of the federal state, its internal divisions and the devolution of powers between states and central government.
• Also, a national reconciliation process should put an end to the cycle of revenge that has ruined the country for over two decades.
• The incentive for the parties to discuss this issue would be accountability mechanisms that would apply to perpetrators of crimes committed by all sides of the conflict.
• Finally, there must be an agreement on an electoral process leading to a democratic election of political leaders.

All this may seem quite a reach for a collapsed state like Somalia. But if world leaders and the international media gave this the kind of priority they have given the pirates, then progress would be far easier.

 

* Daniela Kroslak is the deputy director of the Africa Program, and Andrew Stroehlein is media and information director, of the International Crisis Group.

 

© 2008 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.

[Baashi]

Ciil oo wayeey, talo xumaan cudur ka weyneyn e,

Cabdul iyo waxaa igala tagay , caabuqii waday e,

Soo ceshooy anigoo leh bay, col u hayansheen e!

 

We were this close to put this raging conflict in bed. We could have closed the deal in Khartoum had folks with vision drove that kareeto.

 

Calaa caleek no amount of regressing can quench my grief. Saddened beyond belief. Don't despair though, we are not the first country to bleed like this or this long. We will get it right one of these days insha'Allah. One of these days.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

It is like watching flames engulf your neighbor`s house and calling in the fire brigade to help you wash your car.

Maxee soo koobeen xaqiiqda jirto.

 

Qoraalka hoos ku qoran as well aptly captures. Nin aan Soomaali ahayn, oo meel u dhow kasoo galin ayaa saan ugu calaacalaayo Soomaalidii dhamaaneyso. So, so despondently poignant, so gloomy...just madax luxid by non-Soomaalis xataa wey dhaaftay.

------------

 

'They opened fire with machine guns and rockets'

 

Johan Lillkung is captain of Dolphin, a 27-metre private yacht, now under threat of pirate attack off the Somali coast. In his captain's log he describes several recent attacks on boats and a very near miss on his own

 

It started 20.35 (local time) on 20 April with a Mayday call on the radio. Faisal Mustafa, a small wooden cargo ship, was en route from the Red Sea to India. Their position was only four nautical miles off our starboard side. We saw four dinghy type speedboats quickly approach the ship. The last radio transmission, from the captain, was 'Merciful God, can somebody help us, pirates are boarding. Merciful God, help us please!'

 

There was screaming in the background, then the radio went silent. We changed course immediately and made radio contact with an American warship. They advised us to head south-westerly at full speed, to get away from the pirates as soon as possible and in the direction of a British warship, HMS Chatham, 30 nautical miles from our position.

 

They also launched a helicopter, which stayed over us until Chatham had us plotted on their radar. Meanwhile the US warship was steaming towards the distressed vessel to help. We still do not know the outcome of that situation.

 

Pirates still exist, unfortunately though they are not as charming as Captain Jack Sparrow. Piracy on the high seas, especially this part of the world, is nothing new. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and their satellite communist regime in Somalia, there has been a regular pattern of pirate attacks.

 

Later that April day, the Chatham's operations officer advised us to continue towards our destination, Djibouti, on a westerly course, leading us into an area patrolled by a German warship, Emden.

 

Seven hours later we again heard the heart-wrenching words: 'Mayday, mayday, pirate attack.' This time the call was from Takayama, a Japanese oil tanker en route to the Suez canal. Takayama was only 25 nautical miles ahead of us, on our intended course.

 

From out of nowhere a speedboat came alongside the tanker and opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. They fired at the rudder with the intention of stopping the tanker. She was badly hit along the portside, the lifeboat was shot to pieces, and the fuel tank was penetrated, causing heavy fuel oil to spill into the sea.

 

Takayama's captain went full speed ahead and changed his course in the hope of reaching the German ship. Emden launched a helicopter that was on site within 10 minutes and the pirates broke off the attack.

 

By then, Takayama's portside resembled Swiss cheese, with fuel pouring out of it. Emden finally reached the tanker and helped temporarily patch the leaking fuel tanks.

 

She was now 30 nautical miles in front of us limping towards Aden, Yemen, for repairs, escorted by the German frigate. During the attack, we were advised to change our course so we could catch up with the tanker and safety of the frigate.

 

Everyone thought it was over, there couldn't possibly be more pirates out there. We were sadly mistaken as at 12.28 it was time again for a Mayday call. A small cargo ship was attacked and boarded close to the Somali coast.

 

We still have no further information regarding that incident. At 13.05 another Spanish commercial fishing vessel, approximately 100 nautical miles east of our position, was attacked and boarded. The vessel is on its way to Somalia, with pirates in charge and the crew held as hostages.

 

We are now slowly steaming westwards (eight knots) with our eyes glued to the radar, and constantly scanning the horizon with binoculars. All ships are on high alert and erring on the side of paranoia, changing course as soon as anything suspicious or unrecognised appears on the radar or horizon. Everyone is dreading the next Mayday.

 

Hopefully, inshallah, in this neck of the woods, it will not be us making that call as we return to Spain, having spent the northern hemisphere winter cruising the Seychelles and the Maldives.

 

God willing we will reach Djibouti within the next 36 hours, and rest our minds of the mental stress of sailing through the Gulf of Aden. Our only comfort at this point is seeing helicopters overhead, once in a while, and the occasional warship.

 

While floating here feeling like sitting ducks, we could not help but wonder: isn't it about time that the rest of the civilised world dealt with this Somali issue?

 

Is it not possible for either, if not all of these organisations - UN, Nato and the EU - to develop a plan of action and resolve the instability of this poor country? After all, Nato intervened with Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan.

 

If there is one place on earth that has been truly forgotten, it is Somalia, a country where the poor starving population has no human rights, no functioning infrastructure with no justice system, no police and where the law spells AK47, a weapon readily available and cheaper than tennis shoes: where RPGs sell by the dozen, where very few journalists dare to go and foreign aid workers cannot because they know they would be kidnapped or killed in Mogadishu. Food-aid shipments need naval escorts to guard their cargo being discharged in Somalia and fishermen become pirates at night.

 

Something is definitely wrong when this has been accepted for decades. The only option that looks viable is military intervention and I mean something more than the few thousand, poorly equipped, troops from the African Union (mainly Ugandan troops) stationed there right now.

 

One would think it would be in the interests of the international community to see peace and stability here, since most of the Gulf oil and commodities from the Far East must pass through to reach their destinations in Europe and the east coast of North America.

 

If this 'piracy enterprise' continues, it will definitely lead to many more deaths, hijackings, kidnappings, burning oil tankers and sunken ships. These pirates are desperate, they have nothing to lose and they are prepared to risk their lives for daily luxuries most of us take for granted.

 

If they could have had peace, stability and prosperity sooner, they would most probably never have resorted to piracy on the high seas. With a central government in control the pirates could be stopped, even before they step into their boats.

 

So, politicians of the world, do something! Only you have the power to devise a plan and implement it. Only you can make it happen. The chaos in Somalia is so far gone and beyond control that there is no possibility that they themselves can bring anything about to resemble peace in the foreseeable future.

 

Many Somalis, I am sure, would be forever grateful and thankful to the international community if we were to help their country become civilised and peaceful. Many mariners out there on the high seas would also be very grateful for any kind of normalcy. Instead of worrying over pirates we could instead concentrate on the usual nautical factors like the weather and wind.

 

While translating this report from Swedish (my native language), it was our turn to call Mayday. At 16.51, only 28 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast, at 12º 22´N 045º 17´E, a crew member spotted two small speed boats, four nautical miles ahead and fast approaching from either side.

 

We immediately sent out a Mayday and made a full-speed U-turn. Our call was received by Spanish warship Mendez Muñez, approximately 15 nautical miles from our location and a US Marine Corps surveillance plane was in the vicinity.

 

Within nine minutes the plane flew over, circling us and the pursuing boats at very low altitude. The pursuers stopped and turned south. The closest they got to us was 0.8 nautical miles (1.5km) - too close for comfort.

 

The Guardian

(April 27, 2008)

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

I for one do not blame the international community, though. They did their business of usoo gurmasho, a once a lifetime political chance we had were cut short by narcissistic calooshood u shaqeystiyaal warlords in early '90s. What the international community [read: West] is doing in Boosniya, Kosofo, Afgaanistaan and other places, we equally had our fair share, actually the first. Meel 32 dowladood usoo gurmatay kama dhicin caalamka until Soomaaliya in 1992 to interfere a vicious civil war. Alas so-called selfish leaders ku sheeg dantooda ka hormariye danta guud ee Soomaaliyeed, dadkii Islaameed ku jiro usoo gurmadayna gowracay, qaas ahaan Reer Bakistaan.

 

Anyway, qoraalkaan kale ila arka by the Guardian as well.

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How savage pirates reign on the world's high seas

 

The crew of the Spanish-owned Playa de Bakio must have felt they were safe. Fishing for tuna more than 200 nautical miles off Somalia's coast last weekend, they were surely out of the pirates' range. But they had not reckoned with the 'mother ship' lurking nearby.

 

A hijacked trawler was now the pirates' base; it was towing their high-powered speedboat. The Playa, with 26 crew, was easy pickings for an experienced militia armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.

 

For the second time in a fortnight Somali pirates had captured a European-registered and crewed ship, the most lucrative prize. The French luxury yacht Le Ponant, hijacked on 5 April with 30 crew on board, netted a $2m (£1m) ransom, despite the close attention of France's military. Last night the Playa and its crew were safely heading for home waters, escorted by a Spanish frigate after negotiations between the pirates and the Spanish government, which refused to say whether an equally lucrative ransom had been paid.

 

Vice-President María Teresa Fernández de la Vega said the release had been achieved through 'co-operation and diplomacy' between Spain, the ship's owners and representatives of the hijackers.

 

The hijackings are confirmation, if any were needed, that the waters off Somalia are the most dangerous in the world. Last year, there were 31 attacks there, making the notorious bandits operating in the South China Sea and Malacca Straits look almost lazy by comparison. So far this year there have been 23 attacks by Somali pirates, including the 47-day hijacking of a new, British-captained icebreaker tug, the Svitzer Korsakov, on its way from Europe through the Gulf of Aden towards the gas fields in far eastern Russia. The ransom paid for its release was reported to be $1.6m.

 

It is not only the frequency of the attacks off Somalia that has maritime experts deeply worried. It is the skill and daring of the pirates, some of whom call themselves 'marines' and claim to be protecting the country's maritime resources from foreign exploitation.

 

Until five years ago, captains were advised to stay at least 50 miles away from Somalia's coastline. A spate of hijackings led to a doubling of the safety zone. Now, the recommended safe distance is 200 miles, but the Playa attack shows even that is no guarantee of safety. With the large ransoms allowing the pirates to buy faster boats, and more sophisticated GPS systems, they can strike even in rough waters several hundred miles out to sea.

 

The surge in attacks coincides with the worst unrest in Somalia since the early Nineties - the last time the country had a functioning government. Insurgents are battling Ethiopian troops who toppled an Islamist authority from power in December 2006. More than half the population of Mogadishu has since fled the city.

 

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of President Abdullahi Yusuf, which is packed with former warlords, exercises little authority and claims to be unable to stop the piracy. But it is perhaps telling that during the six-month reign of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts over much of south and central Somalia in 2006, attacks on passing ships all but stopped

.

 

Andrew Mwangura, head of the Mombasa-based Seafarers' Assistance Programme, and one of the foremost experts on Somali piracy, says there are five main pirate groups operating, sometimes together.

 

'

Most of them are linked to warlords,' he said. 'And the warlords are linked to the TFG, all the way to the top

.'

 

Monitoring Somalia's 1,880-mile coastline, the longest in Africa, is no simple task. For several years a joint US-European naval unit has patrolled the region, which is on the trade route between the Mediterranean, east Africa and Asia, in an attempt to discourage attacks and keep an eye out for terrorists. But the bandits simply shifted their bases north to the semi-autonomous Puntland region.

 

One-off military operations, such as the raid in Somalia's desert by French special forces to arrest six of the pirates who had attacked Le Ponant, are ineffective deterrents, say experts. Piracy is simply too profitable.

 

A gunman on a pirate ship typically earns between $10,000 and $30,000 for a year's work - a fortune in Somalia. Those bankrolling the attacks from bases in the United Arab Emirates or Kenya, and sometimes as far afield as Canada, London or Hong Kong, can net several million dollars from a single strike, depending on the nationality of the shipowner, the origins and gender of the crew, the cargo and the age of the boat.

 

'Once the pirates' bosses have the ship's name they immediately use the internet to research how much money they can make,' said Mwangura. 'These guys really know what they are doing.'

 

Most owners pay up quickly, transferring money through a network of accounts in Nairobi, Mombasa and Dubai. The crews are seldom harmed. When older, less valuable trawlers - often from Taiwan or China - are captured, the demand is not cash but the temporary use of the boat. The owners promise not to report their vessel missing, and it becomes a temporary 'mother ship'.

 

In the past, pirates have attacked a cruise liner, as well as several cargo ships chartered by the UN World Food Programme containing food aid meant for Somalis.

But as bizarre as it sounds, there is some truth in the pirates' claim that they are acting as a coastguard. Under international law, a country's 'exclusive economic zone' - where it has sole rights over marine and mineral resources - extends 200 nautical miles out to sea. Foreign ships are allowed to pass through these waters, but not to fish without a permit.

 

Yet at any one time there are up to 500 foreign-registered boats fishing in Somalia's rich waters, according to the Seafarers' Assistance Programme. European boats catch tuna or shrimp; vessels from the Far East catch sharks for their fins. Almost all are fishing illegally. Often, pirate attacks are not even reported to maritime authorities: the ransoms paid are regarded as legitimate fines, both by the pirates and the ship-owners.

 

'

One way to stop the piracy is to stop the illegal fishing

,' said Mwangura. 'That way there will be nowhere for the pirates to hide.'

--------------

[Jacpher]

The report surprisingly reveals an open secret; how the world powers work. The interest of the major players takes precedence over others. Just like he author assembled out, when the lives of their citizens got targeted and threaten, they did what's expected of them. Dial emergency 911 call. The firefighter was dispatched to wash the car, not to put out the fire. Somalia needs someone to place a similar emergency call to its internal players. We are not in short of phones. We've plenty of working phones and we seem to be dialing a lot. Either the calls don't get completed or somehow the caller is not dialing the wrong number. Somalis are the only ones who can possibly make that call a success. Do we have what it takes to get the savagery out once and for all?

 

I don't blame them. They know what's in it for them in this UN resolution. Do we?

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

shame on you caamir, pandering to these fake wandanis. we should all now that we can use all the help we get from from the international community. what right do we have to their help but what they offer? help they self fake wadanis!

[Fabregas]

@Naxar, no offense bro, lakin:

 

Xorta maxaad la cyber ooyda, when something is said about Ethiopian withdrawal or the role of the United Nations in that process? You seem to be allergic to the idea of an Ethiopian withdrawal and or a negotiated settlement!

 

My understanding of Caamirs posted article is that a large scale intervention is not workable and thus a process of trying to bridge the gap between the warring sides is more suitable. That is, an eventual withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, ceasfire and a national reconcialiton process must be on the cards. Now, we can doubt the sincerity of the warring sides in agreeing to peace deals, however; I would have thought that it is clear by know( to all) that a largescale force of Ethiopians or any other United Nations forces can't bring security or peace to Somalia! Especially- without the warring sides being in agreement to such a process! The international community can help the t.f.g, but it can't help it rule Somalia with the biggest and baddest guns!

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

LOOOOOOOOOL @ cyber ooyda,k it seems your camp is doing all the ooyo for us! How do we compromise with people blowing themselves up for nothing? by we, i mean the moderates. by the way speak for your self, some of us believe that when it comes to certian malis, their is nothing better then force to bring them on board. be it ethio, au, al or un. just something beside those ****** who could not agree for nearly two decades.