THE seizure of at least 30 vessels so far this year and the high ransoms demanded and paid for the release of ships' crews underscore how piracy has become big business in Somalia. With some 130 crew members from at least seven vessels, including two tankers from Malaysia, being held hostage in the village of Eyl, piracy has reached new heights in the Gulf of Aden. The busy maritime waterway to the Suez Canal has become more dangerous than ever before not only to merchant shipping but also to vessels carrying international aid to Somalia.
While the establishment of a Maritime Security Patrol Area is a positive step, it remains to be seen whether enough nations will dedicate sufficient naval and air forces to fully patrol and monitor coastal waters the size of Somalia's and bring about a significant reduction in pirate attacks. In any event, it will be difficult to assure safe passage. Moreover, whatever action is taken on the seas will prove to be inadequate because the root of the problem of piracy on the high seas stems from dry land. It was rare before the fall of the Barre regime in 1991 and during the short rule of the Union of Islamic Courts in 2006, because there was a measure of law and order. But Somalia has become a haven for pirates because the present government can't even control the capital, let alone the country. There's infighting between the president and the prime minister, and rebel forces have made a comeback after being ousted by government troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers. The Djibouti Agreement has done little to restore order and quell the violence, which has displaced thousands of people. Without political stability and a strong central authority in Somalia, it will be difficult to tackle piracy.Now that the killings and bombings have been compounded by inflation and drought and triggered a humanitarian crisis that aid agencies fear may be the worst in Africa, and pirates have made its waters the most perilous in the world, there should be no forgetting Somalia. But at the moment, there's little hope that it will get the attention it needs. Given other priorities and commitments, it is unlikely that the West will commit significant resources to resolve the crisis in Somalia. Despite their best efforts, the peacekeepers from the African Union will not be able to bring stability. The best that Malaysians can hope for is that the negotiators will be able to free the Malaysian hostages as quickly and safely as possible.
from .. Malaysia
Somalia Opens its Waters to Nations Wanting to Fight Piracy
A major blow to piracy along the African coast was struck Wednesday when the government of Somalia announced that it was authorizing foreign powers to enter its territorial waters to use force against pirates. A similar edict was handed down in June by the U.N. Security Council when it passed a resolution establishing the rights of nations to send warships into Somalia it prevent piracy, as long as those nations do so with the cooperation of the Somali government. The declaration comes in response to a recent act of piracy where a Ukrainian ship transporting 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, along with light and heavy weapons was taken hostage by pirates to be held for 20 million dollars in ransom. The US Navy routinely patrols the waters off of the African coast to reduce piracy, and Russia has sent a warship to offer protection to the few Russian hostages on board the ship, but neither has made any indication that it will be entering Somali waters to attack the pirates. Several European Union nations also offered Wednesday to join together in creating a patrolling force to help police the increasingly dangerous area. Among those offering to work together are Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. According to the EU charter, however, they cannot take action until a formal EU meeting is held.
Somali pirates free Japanese tanker for ransom
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali pirates freed a Japanese chemical tanker and its crew on Thursday after a $1.6 million ransom was paid, a regional government official said.
The MT Irene was seized by gunmen on August 21 as it traveled to India from France through the Gulf of Aden. more.http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4981KO20081009?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
An Asian answer to Somalia's pirate plague
The confrontation between foreign warships and well-armed pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia is a dramatic reminder to Asia of the importance of safeguarding busy channels used by international shipping, particularly the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. This is the shortest sea route between the energy-rich Persian Gulf and voracious energy consumers in Northeast Asia, especially China, Japan and South Korea....more..http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0/?vgnextoid=3330b93d7bcdc110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=Insight&s=Opinion
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir
Sultan Kenadid
Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan
Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Designation of Al-Shabaab
SOMALI REPUBLICANS
About Us
The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.
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2008
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October
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- It's A Great Time To Be A Pirate
- The US Presidential election and anti-Ethiopian lo...
- House Approves Appointment Of Nine Ministers
- -Southern Somali regional official dies after land...
- Statement from the United Nations on two UN staff ...
- Igad heads issue ultimatum to Somalia Government
- Ships repel five pirate attacks off Somalia in a s...
- Explosions, suicide car bombs rock Puntland, Somal...
- 5 Suicide Bomb Attacks Hit Somalia
- 21 victims dead in Somalia suicide attacks
- Watchdog Group Says Human Rights Remain Under Atta...
- Somalia: Ethiopia Must Admit Defeat, Says Islamist
- Bomb kills Somali officer
- Foreign navies powerless to uproot Somali piracy: ...
- girl stoned to death by mostly hawiye al- shaba...
- Ethiopian Health Minister Brings News of Great Adv...
- African leaders to meet over Somalia
- Somalia Makes Peace Deal With a Militia
- Somali Pirates: Islamist and Jihadist Influences a...
- Another aid worker killed in Somalia, Al-Shabaab t...
- Rights Campaigner Murdered in Somalia
- Kenya downplays Somali Islamists' remarks on milit...
- U.N. council mulls action in Eritrea-Djibouti dispute
- Somali government troops capture southern town
- Tanzanian fear at Islamic courts
- A Week in the Horn
- Is a Columbus City Hall staffer providing an ear (...
- US Muslim voters are election year outcasts
- France 'captures Somali pirates'
- Pirates, clerics, warlords and the chaos in Somalia
- Pakistani Soldiers Saved U.S. Marines In Somalia, ...
- UNICEF water engineer, Mukhtar Mohammed Hassan, ki...
- Implications of Terrorism and Counterterrorism in ...
- Al-Qaeda websites blocked
- Report: Hijacked Iranian Ship Contained 'Dirty Bom...
- Mostly Hawiye pirates threatening to kill Ukrainia...
- Africa mentioned only in passing in all the debates
- Somalis free hijacked Indian dhow with 13 crew ..P...
- Somalia National Day
- J. Peter Pham, Ph.D ??.or Formar Child Molester ??
- Somalia Journalists Kidnapping: Inside Job
- No end in sight in Somalia, but the future bears l...
- Islamist Guerrillas Battle Each Other, Two KilledI
- Somali gov't says foreign warships in territorial ...
- Peeling the Layers, Donald Payne and Obama politic...
- Shoot On Sight, Shoot To Kill
- IFJ Calls for Release of Journalists Held for Near...
- Al Qaeda behind Red Sea piracy, official
- UN prepares new Somali peace support plan
- UN aid worker gunned down in Somalia
- No title
- Teenagers facing terror plot charge
- South Korean firm pays ransom to Somali pirates
- Bomb found in man's luggage at US airport
- At least 23 killed in Mogadishu fighting: witnesses
- Problems in the VOA-Somali Service (Part Two)
- Next round of talks to cement UN-backed Somali pea...
- ETHIOPIAN PM HOLDS TALKS WITH SENIOR US DEFENCE OF...
- Ethiopia has been working in collaboration with th...
- Terrorist administration launched in southwestern ...
- Somali group threatens to attack Kenya
- US Seeks Cooperation with China in Africa
- A new war-on-terror chapter
- Security Adviser To U.K. P.M. Foresees More Terror...
- Hijacked arms ship running out of fuel
- Videos: Jihad Camp in Somalia; English-Speaking Re...
- Time For McCain To Talk About Somalia Lesson For Iraq
- Ethiopian PM holds talks with UN peacekeeping chief
- Terrorist kidnappings continue to rise
- Suicide bomber from Somalia may have slipped into ...
- Insurgents Attack African Union Troops in Mogadishu
- Lawless Somalia elbows its way back into the news ...
- Shebaab al-Mujahideen in Somalia Release Video of ...
- Somali forces kill pirate on Panama ship
- kenyan forces participating crimes against humanity
- Internal clashes with pirates
- Here We Go Again ..the propaganda arm of the terro...
- America must adjust foreign aid to a new world order
- U.S. takes North Korea off terror list
- As US warships lurk nearby, pirates threaten to bl...
- Commentary: AFRICOM: No good deed Bush does goes u...
- FA president escapes assassination attempt
- 'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy
- 400 AU Troops Arrive in Mogadishu - Sources
- Salvation Corps and Toxic waste on the shores of S...
- Questions swirl around arms on abducted Ukrainian ...
- Pirates threaten to blow up hijacked tanker off So...
- A Week in the Horn of Africa (10/10/2008)
- 2 expats appeal for release in Somalia
- Russia to U.S.: Let's Team up, to Fight Pirates
- WFP-chartered aid ship arrives in Merca town under...
- NATO to send warships to combat piracy off Somalia
- Ethiopia Always Calls International Community To E...
- All at sea in Somalia
- Somali insurgents soften stance on Mogadishu airpo...
- us aircraft bombs Somalia al-shabaab Stronghold
- France And Russia Want To Play Rough
- Taking The War To The Terrorists
- Kidnapped Briton freed in northeastern Somalia
- Chemtanker hijacked off Somalia
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Al-Qaida in Somalia. ...
We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa
The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.
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