COUNTER-PIRACY UPDATES
STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 17. March 2011)
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators.
DECLARE INTERDEPENDENCE
STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 17. March 2011, 20h00 UTC, at least 42 foreign vessels plus two barges are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 684 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple as well as a Danish yacht-family with children - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.
- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA
and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM
WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia
PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
LATEST:
STILL ALMOST 700 SEAFARERS HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
While billions are spend for the navies, the general militarization and mercenaries, still no help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia. Updates on known cases see below in the status section.
Subscribers to the top- and priority list-serve received the first two articles below already - if you also like to receive breaking news as soon as possible, just let us know.
Exclusive
TUNISIAN SHIP RELEASED FROM SOMALIA (ecop-marine)
The Tunisian tanker MT HANNIBAL II was finally released this morning and is now proceeding to Djibouti with a navy escort.
All the crew are in good health after a detention of 127 days, the owners of the vessel confirmed.
Last minute problems with the vessel having no more fuel for the voyage could be solved and the hostage ordeal for the crew is now over, returning to a new Tunisia, where during the long absence of the crew, a new dawn has come for the people of Tunisia.
A family member stated: "Très heureuse après ce long cauchemar. Merci pour votre soutien et réconfort."
Gabes Marine Tankers, the owners of the vessel, told ECOTERRA Intl. that they are happy that the saga ended and "We do not forget the other crews still detained by the pirates and we wish for them a prompt release, they are really living an ordeal."
BACKGROUND:
MT HANNIBAL II : Seized November 11, 2010 In the early morning hours the Tunisian-owned and Panama-flagged chemical and oil-tanker MT HANNIBAL II (IMO 8011756) was taken at 04h35 UTC in position 11:26N – 066:05E off the coast of India while sailing to Suez from Pasir Gudang, Malaysia - ferrying vegetable oil.
"The master of the vessel reported that he had been attacked and boarded by pirates in an area some 860 nautical miles East of The Horn of Africa which is considerably closer to India than it is to Somalia," EU Navfor said in a statement.
The originally 31 men strong crew of the 24,105 tonne double-hull tanker consisted of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan.
GABES MARINE TANKERS SARL as ship-manager fronts for the owner POLO NAVIGATION LTD - both of Ez Zahra, Tunisia.
Reportedly the chief engineer of the vessel was slightly injured with a hit of a gun-butt during the attack and the ship had at first arrived near Garacad at the North-Eastern Somali coast of the Indian Ocean.
At 01h05 UTC on 23. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was reported in position 10°30N 059°04E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 06h31 UTC on 26. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was observed chasing a merchant vessel in position 18°50N 061°23E, course 300°, speed 7.8 knots. The pirated vessel was conducting piracy operations but then came to the Somali coast again.
On 17. December a crew-member with a serious medial condition was successfully evacuated with the consent of the captors of the vessel and in a joined naval medivac operation led by a Thai navy vessel as well as the immediate medical treatment on a German warship. The crew member of the hijacked vessel MV Hannibal II, who was released by the pirates, was then transferred to the Bouffard hospital in Djibouti after being treated for a suspected appendicitis by medical staff on board the EUNAVFOR German warship FGS HAMBURG. After being described as being stable and very happy to be free, he was transferred to a military hospital in Tunisia. Narrating his time as a hostage, he said: "We were all kept the whole time on the bridge of our ship. The only possibilities to move were the few minutes when we were allowed to go to eat. Most of the times we got some rice with fish." Like in other cases pirates had offered the sick man to be released without conditions, but this is the first time that the ship-owner, captain and crew played along. In other cases like when a Ukrainian woman had an abortion, neither the vessel owner nor even the Ukrainian parliament facilitated a possible medical evacuation.
The vessel was moored off Dinowda Quorioweyn not far from Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, but apparently now has left for another piracy operation.
At 13h37 UTC (10h00 local time) on 27 December 2010, a Pirate Action Group consisting of pirated vessel Hannibal II acting as mother-ship was reported in position 15 10N - 056 22E with course 165 and speed 14 kts.
At 06h00 UTC on 28. December the MV Hannbal II was then reported in position Latitude: 12°27N Longitude: 055°07E with course 226° at speed 11 kts.
On 01. January 2011 the attack skiff, which captured Algerian MV BLIDA was launched from Hannibal II and at 08h40 UTC on 02. January 2011 pirated vessel Hannibal II was reported in position Latitude: 12 14N and Longitude: 054 54E - possibly looking for even more prey.
Thereafter the vessel and remaining crew of 22 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan. returned to the Somali Indian Ocean coast and is held there at present.
While the government of Tunisia has been renewed by Tunisia's youth, which finally stood up against the shortcomings of their state, the vessel owners appear to be so far unconcerned to solve the case quickly.
If the so far successful public uprising in Tunisia will help with a quick resolve of this case remains to be seen. Though the former president and some cronies have fled the country, Tunisian authorities so far leave everything to the shipowner. However, the vessel owner was finally forced to face representatives of the governments and their families concerned and became active again to seek a release. ECOTERRA Intl. urged the Somali clan of the pirate group holding the vessel to let crew and ship go in solidarity with the people of Tunisia and on 19. February 2011, there was hope expressed that the case could be concluded within one or two weeks.
Vessel and crew were transferred along the cost and are held now off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast.
Information transpired during the last days, that despite the general uproar along the coast about the fatal incident involving the death of four Americans and four Somalis on a pirated yacht, the release of MV HANNIBAL II could go ahead as planned in these days.
INDONESIAN CARGO VESSEL SEAJACKED IN ARABIAN SEA (ecop-marine)
At 16h42 UTC (13h42 LT) on 16. March 2011 the merchant vessel MV SINAR KUDUS (IMO: 9172507) was reported pirated en route from Singapore to Suez (Egypt) in position 14 21N and 059 25E while travelling 005 degrees at 6 kts. The attack happened around 300 nm northeast of Socotra Island and 250 nm South east of the Juzur al Hallaniyat (Kuria Muria) Islands of Oman at the region where the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean become the Gulf of Aden. NATO confirmed the seajacking.
The Indonesian-flagged general cargo vessel of 8,911 dwt is listed to belong to SAMUDERA INDONESIA TBK PT as registered owner and is managed by SAMUDERA INDONESIA TBK PT, while SAMUDERA INDONESIA SHIP MANAGEMENT is the ISM manager - all residing at the same location in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The MV SINAR KUDUS has a crew of 20, all of Indonesian nationality, but no ITF agreement.
EU NAVFOR reported that details of the attack are not known at this time but initial reports from the crew stated that 30 to 50 pirates had boarded and taken control of the vessel.
However, the European naval forces also stated that within 24 hours of the attack, the MV SINAR KUDUS was used to launch a further attack on the Liberian flagged Bulk Carrier MV EMPEROR.
A skiff with 5 pirates on board was launched from the SINAR KUDUS and attacked the EMPEROR but was repelled by the armed force on the merchant vessel. The EMPEROR was subsequently reported to be safe.
The MV SINAR KUDUS and the MV EMPEROR were registered with MSC(HOA), and were reporting to UKMTO.
MV SINAR KUDUS remains in the hands of presumed Somali pirates.
INDIAN NAVY IN WAR WITH SOMALI CHILDREN (ecop-marine)
For now at least the fifth time the Indian navy and coastguard have killed innocent seafarers in their over-eagerly attempts to fight against cases of piracy.
After first stating that the Spanish fishing vessel FV VEGA 5 was secured in the latest incident off the Lakswadeep islands, the Indian government had now to also admit that the vessel, which had been shot ablaze by the two Indian warships intercepting it, had actually sunk.
Nine of the original crew members and and at least over ten Somalis are missing, since the Indian navy could only fish 60 Somalis and one Ethiopian as well as from the crew twelve Mozamicans and one Indonesian out of the waters.
The two Galician Spaniards from the fishing vessel's orgiginal crew - José Alfonso García and Alfonso Rey - are reportedly held back in Somalia near Hobyo in a ransom deal separated from the vessel.
While PESCAMAR stated that they are all right, sources at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "We are in the process of solving a problem that requires utmost discretion so as not to obstruct the negotiations," - as entence usually used when government people do not know what to do and what to say. Spain had in connection with the fight against a Basque separatist movement in general ruled out any ransom payment by anybody in cases of kidnappings.
It is also not clear if all the Somalis on FV VEGA 5 were actually pirates or if some are refugees fleeing their wartorn country, since at least 25 are children below the age of 15 years are accoinbted for, who survived the fire-inferno on board and the sinking of the vessel. Among the 61 rescued non-crew people, who subsequently were all arrested and arraigned in Mumbai [formerly called Bombay], most are Somali, but also one Ethiopian and possibly one Kenyan national are among them. At least the presence of an Ethiopian would hint at a situation where most likely part of the arrested people are actually refugees.
"The 61 were brought to Mumbai today on INS Tabar and all have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Passport Act, the Foreigners Act and the Arms Act," Deputy Police Commissioner (Port Zone) Quiser Khalid said.
Thirteen victims, rescued in the operation, were also brought to Mumbai of whom 12 were Mozambique nationals while one was from Indonesia, Khalid confirmed. He also stated that the VFV VEGA 5 sunk after the vessel caught fire during the anti-piracy operation by Indian Navy officials.
Nine crew-members are still unaccounted for, while information from Somalia revealed that the two Spaniards are well, given the circumstances.
Pirates Nabbed In Galkayo (ecop-marine)
Galkayo police arrested seven of the around 24 pirates returning from Bangladesh cargo vessel MV JAHAN MONI. The ship had just been released from captivity at the Somali coast near Ceel Dhanaane.
The police officers of the local administration surrounded the men, who gave themselves, their weapons and their part of the ransom money up without a fire-fight.
- details of the hostage ordeal of this vessel, its crew and their release, see previous update.
©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - free for publication as long as cited correctly and source is quoted
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
The 'RAK Afrikana' inside story: Here's how the crew was released By Veeresh Malik (moneylife)
The inside story behind why Somali pirates released the 23 crewmembers on board, after nearly one year of captivity
First of all, for all those in the media and outside going shrill about wanting the Indian Navy to go into 'hot pursuit' on pirates hijacking ships, a small question-would you send the Indian Army to chase and capture bandits hijacking Indians on an Isle of Man registered bus in Albania or Montenegro, for example? No. We would not.
The days of sending gunboats up the Yangtze Kiang River or the Hooghly to motivate the natives are also now over, and if we try it near the Horn of Africa, then an established system of maritime realities and truths will soon put paid to things. And some poor Indian Navy officer will be strung up, likely at the Hague, for war crimes.
And besides, it is simply not feasible-too many small boats operating out of a large number of 'mother ships' and trawlers, over an ocean area larger than a few continents put together, an entity, concept and aspect which people ashore will simply not be able to relate to.
Besides, this is largely business as usual, though on a rapidly growing curve-so unless we are trying to establish our colonial rights there, it would be better to send in our bankers and evangelists, rather than our sailors, which is also the established wisdom of ages. Already, everything the "pirates" need is easily available, and if Amex, MasterCard and Visa are present, and doing very well, thank you, then can the rest of the organised retail and wholesale trade be too far behind? It is only the transaction cost and underwriting expenses that go up, which is also good for the bottom-line of the FIIs (foreign institutional investors), so everybody plays happy campers.
Next, barring some dhows and other local sailing craft which in any case are regulars on that route, so they know the game-no Indian flagship has, so far, been successfully hijacked.
Certainly, many have been attacked, more than a few have had near escapes-but they've all got through. There is what appears to be a reasonably efficient escort system by the Indian Navy for Indian flagships, facts on which one cannot and will not speak or write about, which is working as of now especially in the piracy impacted areas-but this is also a cause of concern as the piracy-impacted area is simply growing larger and larger.
>From near coastal Horn of Africa to Socotra a few years ago, it extends now to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of the Indian Subcontinent as well as Africa till Madagascar, and reaches almost 70 degrees east and now well below the Equator.
See that on a map, and see how it is spreading.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/home/piracy-reporting-centre/imb-live-piracy-map-2010/piracy-map-2010
You can use this link to see annual growth rate of piracy, too, and make pretty graphs if so desired like in an annual report.
Incidentally, there are a large number of piracy attacks in the South China Sea area too, which often go unreported because they are far more violent, often leaving no survivors, and ensuring that the ships, their crew, and the cargoes disappear. No body, no crime. The African hijacks, by comparison, are more humane-but they go and on, without closure.
Likewise, many more seafarers die every year due to run-ins on unseaworthy ships which have gone to the bottom and therefore that, their being unseaworthy, cannot be proved.
Barring the famed Derbyshire case, where friends and family of those who went down, actually spent large sums of money to find out what really happened. http://www.bsnet.co.uk/derbyshire/
Third, and most importantly, this business is no longer 'controlled' from Somali ports or towns. The money trail, which is now well-established apparently, goes right back to the "developed" countries, often through the "oil-rich" countries.
There are "rules" and "systems" for everything now-it seems that the pirates also have an "instruction book" on how to deal with the hostages as well as their family members when they call up. The whole process is run like a stock exchange, and at last reports, there were 72 entities in the business in Puntland, whose shares were literally traded depending on success or failure at sea. It is, what do we say, a bull market on over there.
Some accounts on how the ransom money is distributed, often dropped by chopper or light plane into the ocean next to the hijacked ship, are amazing. About the best collection of reports on the pirate organisations and their commercial methods can be found here:
http://www.idaratmaritime.com/wordpress/?category_name=pirate-organizations-methods and of course in the Ecoterra compilations at http://www.australia.to.
More worrying is the political state of affairs in Saudi Arabia, especially the ports in the Red Sea, which are accessed only through this piracy-impacted area.
(Other than through the Suez Canal, of course, but that is not currently an issue).
It is a simple fact of life that the piracy business cannot survive without strong backing, and for long it has been suspected that the commercial routes are through Saudi Arabia, which is a part of the world which itself has had a long tradition of piracy, before the Bedouins got their act together and made it a Nation. The writ of the Arab pirates was said to extend to Gibraltar at one end and well into Malacca on the other.
So, to get on with this report, what are the numbers like?
Take the case of the RAK Afrikana, recently in the news, where crew onboard have been released after 11 months in captivity. Incidentally, of the 26 people onboard, 25 are reported to now be onboard another recently ransom-released ship called the York currently heading under escort for Mombasa. About the RAK Afrikana itself, what is known is that she is taking water from a large hole in the hold, and is likely to sink soon, if not already sunk. [Well, the author is not quiet up to date - she beached ! Possibly not what the owner wanted - he wnated her "under".]
The RAK Afrikana is a 30-year-old cargo ship, small as ships go at about 8,000 tonnes DWT, flying what is called an "open register" flag, or Flag of Convenience (FOC).
But this vessel is basically an ageing rust bucket surviving on the deficiencies in this system of "anything that goes flags". In this case, St Vincent & Grenadines, which just happens to also be blessed with a Governor General and a Queen, both from England, thank you very much.
But not British enough to send the British Navy, sure. She was based in Ras Al Khaimah, part of the UAE, where she functioned as a cadet-training ship, preparing young people for a career at sea under the New Zealand marine system, with a link also to BIT, India.
The operators are of Indian origin, as are some of the crew, though it was long thought that the financial backing was from Italy and China, blessed by the local RAK (UAE) Government, who were justifiably very proud of these efforts to re-launch ancient maritime traditions. And finally, various other Governments and shipping companies also wanted to take this concept further, which is why she went on a voyage to Mauritius, after picking up some cargo on the way to make the voyage commercially viable too-and give the cadets some real experience.
And then she got hijacked. North of Seychelles.
The initial stages of negotiation were handled by an Indian who went by the code-name 'SADMAR', who was also the single point contact for the hijackers/pirates and their representatives. There was also a gentleman of European origin, let us call him 'JOE', who was an "advisor" functioning vaguely on behalf of the insurance companies and beneficial owners-both of whom were not fully declared.
At a meeting with the family members in a south-west Delhi 5-star hotel in the summer of 2010, it was made clear to the family members that if they wanted their kith and kin back safely, then they would have to keep the peace-interim financial sustenance was offered and accepted.
At that juncture, the pirates were demanding $3 million-$5 million, and 'SADMAR' had the authority to offer $700,000.
Then, very sadly, probably because the negotiations were literally killing him, 'SADMAR' died, and negotiations came to a grinding halt, while fresh channels were set up-trust being an important part. At all points of time, however, safety and good treatment of the crew onboard was paramount, as also looking after their families back home, so this episode did not make the shrill headlines.
For that, full marks to the owners, the Kotwals. Interim, 'JOE' tried hard to build confidences with the pirates as well as the crew onboard, but everybody wanted 'SADMAR', which was not possible as by now he had been cremated in Kochi.
Long story cut short, a few days ago, the ransom was paid out, and the pirates abandoned the ship, which was literally on its last legs anyways. The sum is rumoured to be around $1.2 million. A total of 25 of the seafarers onboard were first transferred to an Italian warship, and then again to another merchant ship recently freed, and now headed for Mombasa. The Captain of the ship, who played a stellar and strong role throughout, as well as his Noida-based wife, are amongst the many heroes of this episode.
Which may or may not ever be really told again.
At the end of the day, however, it was all about how the fiscal aspects of the whole "transaction" were handled. From ensuring that family members were provided sustenance, to spending money on keeping communications going, and getting solid good professional advice from 'JOE'-the owners and pirates played the rules by the book.
Going to the media while negotiations are on, is not playing by the rules-and only endangers the lives of those on board.
25 of 61 pirates arrested by Navy at sea are children below 15 yrs By Rajat Pandit (TNN/TimesOfIndia)
India may prosecute pirates for hijacking the Vega 5 By Analia Murias (fis)
The Indian Navy has decided to move the 61 pirates they arrested last Sunday after they assaulted the Vega 5 fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea to Bombay.
After the attack by the Indian Navy on the fishing boat that was seized by Somali criminals on 28 December 2010, personnel from the armed forces managed to rescue 13 crew aboard the Vega 5, while another nine remain missing.
When they land, the pirates will be handed over to police in India for their arrest and interrogation.
The vessel belongs to the firm Efripel Lda, which the Mozambican government has an interest in, although it is operated by Pescamar - a joint venture which the Spanish multinational Pescanova is involved in.
Representatives of the Embassy of Mozambique in India are expected to listen to the testimony of the crew, as they tell of the months that they were held hostage for by the Somali pirates.
Also, they pretend to know what happened to the colleagues that are still missing, reports the newspaper Faro de Vigo.
Some sources close to the case said that the two Galician crew members that were kidnapped - José Alfonso García and Alfonso Rey - could be in Hobbyo, Somalia.
On the one hand, the head company said both "are good", while the Spanish Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment about it and calls for "prudence and discretion, which are required in these situations."
"We are in the process of solving a problem that requires utmost discretion so as not to obstruct the negotiations", said ministry sources.
Before being sunk 600 miles off India, the Vega 5 was a longline vessel measuring 24 meters long, with a capacity to hold 140 tonnes of cargo.
FINALLY AFTER ONE YEAR !
Tri-nation group formed to free sailors by Atul Aneja (TheHindu) Outside the glare of media, a tri-nation monitoring group of diplomats has been established in Dubai to brainstorm ways of rescuing sailors on board ships that Somali pirates have hijacked.
"We held our first meeting on Sunday in which Consul Generals of Yemen and the Philippines participated to monitor and consider ways to bring back the sailors of our respective countries, currently being held by the Somali pirates," said Sanjay Verma, Indian Consul-General. Mr. Verma hoped diplomats from Bangladesh, Tanzania and Pakistan would also join this group, as nationals from these countries were also aboard some of the hijacked ships.
Somali pirates are holding 53 Indian sailors captive on board five ships: the MV Iceberg, the MV Suez, the MT Asphalt Venture, the MT Savina Caylyn and the MV Sinin.
After the success in freeing the hijacked RAK Afrikana on Wednesday, the Dubai-based diplomats are now looking at ways to replicate that success. "During its deliberations, the group arrived at the conclusion that a media outcry when negotiations are under way usually encourages the hijackers to hike the ransom," said Mr. Verma.
Negotiations are on with the pirates for the release of sailors on board the MV Iceberg. Owned by a Dubai-based Yemeni, the MV Iceberg — hijacked in September — has on board six Indians, eight Yemenis, two Pakistanis, two Sudanese, four Ghana nationals and one Filipino. The pirates were apparently demanding a $4-million ransom, which was nearly four times the value of the ship, said an industry source. "The ship owners are finding it hard to arrange the ransom, especially because individual governments are refusing to pay," said the source.
Analysts said piracy had become a lucrative and well-organised industry, with pirates handing around 20 per cent of their "earnings" to the opposition Al Shabaab group in Somalia. No longer using small boats with a limited reach, the pirates are deploying captured merchant vessels for their operations in the high seas, striking as far as in Seychelles.
Sources said the RAK Afrikana was released after the ransom was air-dropped, along with counting machines and equipment required to detect fake currency. After it was released, the ship malfunctioned, causing the Indian naval headquarters to seek the help of an Italian warship deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of a European Union anti-piracy mission. The crew was subsequently put on board the MV York, which took them to Mombasa. The ship owner flew to the Kenyan port city on Sunday to fly the sailors to their homes in Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Delhi.
Negotiations have also begun for the release of an all-Indian 15-member crew on board the MT Asphalt Venture.
Media bats for Somali pirates By G. Parthasarathy (*) (PTI/dailypinoneer)
TV channels are demanding that the Government should pay ransom to free Indian sailors held hostage. We saw similar media frenzy during IC-814 crisis.
On December 8, 1989, Ms Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who had become India's Minister for Home Affairs less than a week earlier, was kidnapped by members of the separatist Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front. Amidst a frenzy of media attention, Prime Minister VP Singh buckled and sent two of his Ministers, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral and Mr Arif Mohammed Khan, to Srinagar. Despite strong warnings from Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and indications that Ms Rubaiya Saeed would not be harmed, the Government meekly caved in to the demands of the kidnappers, releasing detained terrorists. The entire Kashmir Valley erupted with calls for 'azadi'. India continues to pay a heavy price for this act of abject surrender.
On December 31, 1999, India released three arrested terrorists, Maulana Masood Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar to secure the release of passengers of the hijacked IC-814 in Kandahar. Maulana Masood Azhar returned to a hero's welcome in Pakistan, founded the Jaish-e-Mohammed and masterminded the attack on our Parliament House on December 13, 2001. Omar Saeed Sheikh remitted $100,000 through a bank in Dubai to the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Mohammed Atta. He was thereafter involved in the execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl. Mushtaq Zargar, a psychopath, runs the Al Umar Mujahideen from Muzaffarabad. During negotiations with the hijackers of IC-814, India was often urged to meet the demands of the hijackers, citing the precedent set by the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping. Irresponsible television coverage focusing on demonstrations by relatives of passengers added to pressures on the Government to yield to the demands of the hijackers.
In recent days sections of the audio-visual media have sought to whip up public hysteria by demanding 'flexibility' and direct negotiations by the Government with Somali pirates and even advocating payment of ransom to those threatening to kill four Indian sailors, working on an Egyptian ship and held captive. Relatives of the men held by pirates were mobilised. They asserted that if Government leaders can rob billions in scams like the 2G Spectrum scandal, they should have no hesitation in paying a few million dollars as ransom to the pirates. The media, of course, had no time or inclination to either study the complexities of the issues involved or the accepted international practice that Governments will not negotiate directly with pirates. These negotiations are invariably between ship-owners and pirates, with Governments playing a discreet role behind the scenes.
Responding to the Indian media's frenzy, Egypt's envoy in New Delhi, Mr Khaled el Bakly, bluntly stated: "Egypt is doing all it can. I am on the phone every day, talking to Cairo. But please understand it is prohibited under international law to negotiate with pirates. All that the Egyptian Government can do is to persuade the owner of the vessel to negotiate with the pirates." Sadly, there appears to be very little appreciation and even less understanding in India about the international challenges that Somali piracy poses. There are navies of 21 countries, ranging from those of the US and its Nato allies, to Russia, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, actively collaborating, to deal with Somali piracy. The UN has been involved, with Security Council Resolution 1838 of October 5, 2008 authorising ships to pursue pirate vessels into Somali territorial waters. India was among the first to deploy naval vessels to deal with piracy on November 23, 2008. Moreover, pirate vessels coming close to our shores have been challenged and attacked, with pirates killed, or taken prisoner. The efficacy of the policy of not negotiating with pirates directly has been demonstrated. While pirates continue to hold 53 Indian sailors captive, they have released 124 sailors since 2008 without our compromising vital national interests or international obligations.
Even the CIA appears persuaded that dealing with Somali pirates is not an easy affair. Pirates recently killed four American nationals when their demands were not met. Apart from the fact the writ of the Somali Government does not even extend across its capital Mogadishu, studies by the IMO, WFP and UN show that there are several other factors that result in poverty stricken Somalis finding piracy lucrative and rewarding. The livelihood and catch of Somali fishermen have been destroyed by uncontrolled fishing by foreign trawlers and by dumping of toxic waste across the Somali coast. Moreover, piracy has led to a new class of wealthy people, wielding power and patronage across Somalia. As of December 11, 2010, it has been estimated that Somali pirates use 35 captured ships for their activities and hold 650 sailors hostages. The time has perhaps come for intelligence agencies across the world to come together to work out strategies to covertly eliminate pirates and their patrons in Somalia even while undertaking measures to see that Somali fishermen are not deprived of their traditional livelihood.
Apart from the media frenzy on the need for the Government to be 'flexible' with Somali pirates, there has been carping on why enough has not been done to evacuate Indian nationals from troubled countries like Egypt and Libya. Complaints from well-heeled Indian tourists holidaying in Egypt about having to pay some excess fare for being repatriated to India from Cairo in specially chartered aircraft received sympathetic media coverage. While one can understand Indian taxpayers footing the bill for abandoned workers stranded in the Gulf, it is ridiculous to expect them to pay for the repatriation of tourists or professionals who seek employment abroad. While India completed the repatriation of all its nationals wishing to come home from Libya on March 12, most Chinese nationals evacuated from that country are still in makeshift transit camps in its neighbourhood. One hopes that norms will be evolved for positioning armed guards in Indian maritime vessels, to ward off pirate attacks. Legislation should also be enacted to give the Navy powers to seek out, capture and kill pirates in international waters.
One of the major reasons why the relatives of the passengers of IC-814 took to the streets in New Delhi was the less than sensitive handling of them by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Similarly, the relatives of sailors of pirated ships have been forced to run from pillar to post because the Ministry of Shipping has no guidelines or machinery to sensitively handle the distraught relatives. Norms and procedures should be devised to ensure this is not repeated in future.
(*) The author is a former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. The piece distributed by PTI the "Press Trust Of India" is believed to be a governmental press release.
Hostages rescued from Somali pirates say they were threatened, tortured (ANI)
The hostages, who were rescued from the Somali pirates, speaking of their captivity on Wednesday said the pirates tortured the officers and threatened everyone with guns.
"The officers were tortured by the pirates. We were just as cadets there and when they used to feel that we are trying to do something, which is not right as per their rules, then they used to torture us," said Abhinav Kotwal, a rescued cadet.
The rescued hostages added that no proper medical facilities were provided, and the food was intolerable.
"We are all very pleased to have been released by the pirates on March 8 after being held by them on the coast of Somalia since April 11, 2010, for 332 days," said Kuvar Singh, who was taken hostage with the vessel RAK Afrikana last year.
Meanwhile, the family members of the released hostages thanked the government, and demanded immediate release of other officials held in captivity.
"I would like to say that the government should make such rules that the other hostages and members of the Indian crew should be rescued in the span of three or four months," said a family member.
In a case of mistaken identity that cost them dear, Somali pirates attacked an Indian Navy warship in the Arabian Sea on Saturday night, believing it to be a merchant ship, before being surprised by marine commandos who fired back and captured the mother vessel with 61 pirates on board.
In the biggest ever haul in anti-piracy operations, the INS Kalpeni - a water jet fast-attack craft - led a midnight operation to nab a Mozambique flagged vessel that was being used by pirates and rescued its crew of 13 sailors, besides arresting the 61 heavily armed pirates on board.
The Vega 5 was hijacked by Somali pirates on December 28, 2010, and was being used as a mother vessel from which they attacked and captured other ships.
About 90 small arms and other heavier weapons were also recovered, including rocket-propelled grenades.
Pirates jailed in 17 nations as prosecutions rise (AP)
The increase in arrests and prosecutions shows a growing recognition of the global problem piracy has become, said Alan Cole, the head of the U.N.'s anti-piracy program.
In recent months, six hostages have been killed — including four Americans on a hijacked yacht — and pirates have begun using explosives and blow torches to cut crews out of the secure rooms they sometimes retreat to during attacks.
"Piracy is becoming quite a high-risk enterprise," said Cole. "We see pirates in prison in Kenya, the Seychelles and Maldives. They are amazed to come in and see their cousins, brothers and friends in there. They thought they had all made it and gone to open shops in Europe. The recruiters are lying to them."
Seventeen nations have put more than 850 pirates on trial in the past year and a half, Cole said, including five Somali pirates given life sentences in a U.S. court on Monday. Before the five were convicted late last year, the last U.S. conviction for piracy was in 1819.
A U.S. federal judge was set to decide Tuesday whether 14 more suspected pirates should remain in jail while awaiting trial on charges of piracy, kidnapping and firearms charges in the February yacht hijacking that left the four Americans dead.
In Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland, Cole said, authorities were releasing some low-level criminals to make room for pirates in the overcrowded jail in the port city of Bosasso. The U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime was funding a prison extension of 200 beds to help hold the extra prisoners, he said.
But attacks are increasing, not decreasing.
That's partly due to pirates' changing tactics. They are using captured vessels as "motherships" — a mobile base from which to launch small attack skiffs. The hostages become human shields, preventing warships from intervening, said Cmdr. Paddy O'Kennedy of the European Union Naval Force.
On Sunday night, the Indian navy attacked the fishing boat Vega 5, which had been used as a mothership, in self-defense. Sixty-one pirates were captured and were being taken to Mumbai, India's financial capital, to be prosecuted.
O'Kennedy said that because pirates are now using motherships they can now launch attacks during the northeastern monsoon, which was prohibitive when pirates only used smaller skiffs.
During the monsoon in January 2010, there were 7 piracy incidents. In January 2011 that number shot up to 37, he said.
O'Kennedy said only 93 suspected pirates had been sent to court out of 770 pirates detained by the EU Naval Force since it began keeping records in December 2008. Many countries will not try suspects for conspiracy to commit piracy, because suspects captured with weapons and ladders often cannot be tied to a specific attack.
Even if countries are willing to try pirates, many are not willing to jail them. Thomas Winkler, an official from the Danish Foreign Ministry who helps coordinate the international response to piracy, said that although Somali courts might not be able to handle all piracy cases, Somalia was the natural place for pirates to serve their jail terms.
"The main challenge is not about courtrooms, it is about where they can serve their jail terms," he said. During a meeting in Copenhagen last month, U.N. officials suggested that the Somali region of Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland build more jails to accommodate pirates convicted outside the country.
Last month, the island nation of the Seychelles, whose fishing and tourism industries have been hard hit by piracy, reached a deal to begin repatriating captured Somali pirates to their home country. It also changed its law last year to allow the prosecution of pirates who attack non-Seychelles-flagged ships, provided the flag country consents.
The state counsel in Seychelles, Michael Mulkerrins, said his country is prosecuting pirates because the scourge has had a "huge impact" on the economy.
Winkler also said Somali pirates should serve jail terms in Somalia, where they may be able to be rehabilitated. But he said trials must be held overseas.
"It is necessary to prosecute them outside Somalia because our sailors and ships are attacked," said Winkler. "While we are waiting the stability to return to Somalia, we have to prosecute them outside Somalia."
Associated Press writer Malkhadir M. Muhumed contributed to this report.
Shabaab Claims Command of New Positions Taken from TFG forces By: Abdalle Ahmed (RBCradio)
Nightfall shelling in Mogadishu kills 20, injures number of civilians (Mareeg)
At least 20 people were killed and a large numbers of people were wounded in the capital Mogadishu due to heavy shelling that occurred after nightfall between Al-Shabaab fighters and the Somali TFG government backed by the African union peacekeeping forces, reports said.
The warring parties were fighting and exchanging heavy fire all night in the north and the south of the capital Mogadishu, killing 20 people and injuring a number others, mostly civilians, reports said.
The war came as Shabaab fighters attacked government military posts at the AMISOM bases, at the ex-defence ministry, the milk factory and at Jale-Siyad avenue, where Shabab had lost positions before in the southern part of Mogadishu and likewise in the north.
None of the groups has so far made a statement about last night strikes, which came after a deadly bombardment yesterday in Mogadishu that caused the death of 35 people and wounded 40 others.
Results Unclear as Somali Offensive Continues By Michael Onyiego (VOA)
The Somali government is claiming victory in a month-long offensive to retake pieces of southern Somalia from the insurgent group al-Shabab. But as fighting continues and the death toll rises, the impact of the recent clashes remains unclear.
There has been relative calm in Somalia's border regions over the past week as fighting between government forces and al Qaida-linked insurgent group al-Shabab slows and stabilizes. In late February and early March, fighting erupted as the government forces and the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeepers, AMISOM, launched an offensive to retake territory throughout southern Somalia and the capital, Mogadishu.
For nearly two weeks, fighting spilled over the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders near Mandera, raising international alarm and criticism of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government. The rebel forces have since been pushed back into Somalia and the TFG troops are exercising some measure of control over the area, using it as a base to launch attacks into the Gedo region – a stronghold of al-Shabab.
But according to International Crisis Group Analyst Rashid Abdi, the outcome of the recent violence is not so clear.
"Definitely both sides are claiming victory," Abdi said. "Towns have changed hands; they are now controlled by the pro-government forces. The government has managed to consolidate its control over two or three, four towns along the border. Now this is a very modest gain and it is by no way an indication that we are beginning to see a roll-back of al Shabab in these territories."
While fighting does not appear to be finished in Somalia, members of the African Union are praising the operation as a success. Just last week, an AU representative to the U.N. Security Council claimed the government now controlled as much as 60 percent of Mogadishu, with about 80 percent of the population under the aegis of the TFG and AMISOM forces.
But the operation came at a heavy cost: Over 50 AMISOM soldiers were killed in less than a month of fighting. AMISOM's troops come from Uganda and Burundi, and there is worry that continued losses on the battlefield could affect each nation's commitment to the Somali mission.
But as ICG's Abdi points out, there are also serious questions being raised about the long-term strategy underlying the recent violence.
"There is a clear absence of a political strategy," he added. "This is an exclusive military strategy in the hope that, at some point, there will be positive dynamics from the military offensive which will produce some kind of a political miracle."
The Somali military is heavily dependent on the 8,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops fighting for AMISOM in Mogadishu. The force has, over the past year, requested funding for more troops to help take full control of the capital. But many observers question whether the TFG or its military is capable of administering and controlling those areas without AMISOM support. Speaking with VOA in Nairobi on Wednesday, Somali Parliamentarian Hassan Ibrahim put it more bluntly:
"The Shabab are much more organized than the government because they have vision, they have morale, they are motivated for their cause. But the government: not. The trooper who is fighting today for the Somali government – who hasn't been paid in more than a year – his belly is empty. Do you think he can last one hour? No, he can't."
Such doubts are part of a growing chorus of discontent aimed at the Transitional Federal Government as it approaches the end of its original mandate in August. Seven years earlier, the TFG was tasked with delivering a new constitution and national elections by 2011. With neither of those goals within reach, the Somali parliament voted to unilaterally extend the government's mandate by another three years, prompting condemnation from major Somali backers such as the United Nations and United States.
Ibrahim says the current military offensive in Somalia has more to do with validating the TFG extension than actually eliminating al-Shabab and stabilizing the region.
"We've wasted seven precious years," Ibrahim added. "You couldn't do – all of these seven years – nothing and suddenly in three months or six months of your period you can do something. This is just propaganda and personal gain."
The shifting lines in Somalia's turmoil are more complicated than ever but, for now, the international community seems to be taking notice. In recent Security Council discussions, China has urged other nations to recognize Somalia's instability an underlying cause of piracy, and a threat to international security. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the United Nations not to lose focus calling the AMISOM gains "fragile" as "violence continues to rage."
AMISOM REFUSES TO OPEN BAKARA MARKET! By Jamal (Keydmedia)
Bakara market is one of the biggest open-air markets in east Africa. This was a feeding and income centre for many families living in Mogadishu. It was home to different types of businesses, lowest being handcart services for any kind of light transport.
The closure of this market begun when a Burundi contingent invaded and attacked the former defense headquarter building which was a base to Al-sabaab a month ago. The invasion shut the only existing open road to the market down.
Efforts made to open a road nearby the Bakara market - claimed by leader Mr. Ali Dheere - did bear no fruit, when parties concerned got a rejecting reply from Mogadishu based top Ugandan AMISOM contingent. The proposal to open the road is the junction at former fire brigade base along Maka Al Mukarama avenue, which is next to the largest Ugandan base along the only open existing road to Villa Somalia - the state house.
Bakara market today is a ghost market where very rarely some individuals are seen who still watch over the remaining assets.
On the other side, new and quickly constructed warehouses to store the goods were created in other parts of Mogadishu and they are doing a booming business
Today, buildings are renovated all along the strategic business centres of Wadajir and Darkinley districts of Banadir region. This has changed the whole lifestyle of Mogadishu residents, who have now adapted to a situation without Bakara market.
The Keydmedia investigative team managed to speak to Ali Dheere who claimed to be the chairperson of Bakara market association, He confirmed that their efforts became futile when AMISOM rejected to open the roads leading to the market. But AMISOM Mogadishu spokesperson Major Bahuku claimed:"We have no reason and neither an interest in Bakara market".
While such defenses and accusations are played out on the ground, convoys heavily loaded with different types of goods are seen parked in several parts of Mogadishu, who came from the main port but are not having a place to offload!
Ugandan Amisom peacekeepers jailed for shooting Somalis (BBC)
Three Ugandan soldiers from the African Union force in Somalia have been sentenced to two years in prison for injuring civilians in two shooting incidents in the capital, Mogadishu.
Some Somalis have previously accused the AU force - Amisom - of using indiscriminate violence but these are are the first such convictions.
The AU force is helping the UN-backed government tackle Islamist militias.
At least 14 people were killed in fierce fighting late on Tuesday.
The two AU soldiers have been sent home to Uganda to serve their sentences.
Amisom commander Maj Gen Nathan Mugisha said the jail terms illustrated that "any acts of carelessness and irresponsibility will not be condoned or tolerated".
He said the incidents in November 2010 and January 2011 were regrettable.
Amisom said that no civilians died in the incidents but admitted that some Mogadishu residents were wounded.
In the latest fighting, Mogadishu residents reported hearing heavy shelling through the night around the main market area of the beleaguered city.
There have been renewed efforts by the government forces since the beginning of the year to gain control of major parts of Mogadishu.
This offensive is expected to be intensified with the recent arrival of an additional 1,000 AU troops to bolster the 8,000 already there.
The al-Shabab Islamist militants, linked to al-Qaeda, control much of southern and central Somalia.
The country has not had an effective government for two decades.
Ahlu Sunna Charges Govt With Disrespect (ShabelleMediaNetwork)
The administration of Somalia's moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama ASWJ charged Somali transitional federal government with disrespect after capturing the border town of Belet-hawo in Gedo region in southern Somalia.
The spokesman of Ahlu Sunna Waljama in Europe, Mohammed Hussein Owliyo held a press conference in Galka'yo town and said that most of the fighting against the Al Shabaab fighters in Gedo region was done by Ahlu Sunna fighters. But, he stated the government is trying the hide the role of Ahlu Sunna fighters in the battles in southern Somalia.
He stressed that their fighters are more than the soldiers of the government fighting along them in Gedo region.
Mr. Owliyo pointed out that the president of Somali government, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed praised only Somali government forces, saying that he disrespected the ASWJ.
Somali-Kenyan Border Clashes Kills Ten (GaroweOnline)
Clashes broke out in Somali-Kenyan border town between Somalia pro-government forces and Al-Shabaab militants left 10 people dead and others injured on Wednesday, residents told Garowe Online.
Witnesses at Buulo-Hawo district in Southern Somalia said residents found the body of two dead civilians and eight other bodies from the warring sides. According to residents in Mandera, a neighbouring district in Kenyan soil, two civilians dead after stray-bullet hit them at their houses.
Al-Shabaab militia's military spokesman, Sheikh Abdulaziz Abdu Muscab told the media in Somalia's capital Mogadishu that his group attacked Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian and Kenyan military forces who control the district.
Abu Muscab claimed his militias forced Somali government troops and its alliance military forces to leave to Mandera neighbouring district in Kenya.
Ahlu-Sunna Wal Jamaa, a pro-government Islamists official, Sheikh Abdurrahman claimed that their militias and government forces control Buulo-Hawo and clashes between them and Al-Shabaab occurred at the outskirt of the town.
Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked militia in Somalia is fighting to overthrow the Somali government and African Union troops to control the country and set up a strict Islamic state.
The militias control much of central and southern regions including large parts of the capital Mogadishu.
Members of the anti-government al-Shabab group took control of the town of Diff, located on the border with Kenya, on Thursday without much resistance from Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a fighters, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Al-Shabab had controlled the southern Somali town since January 2009. However, it fell under Ahlu Sunna Waljama's control last week.
Allegedly also newly arriving soldiers from Uganda have been observed on the Kenyan side of the border.
Over the past two decades, up to one million people have been killed in Somalia in the fighting between rival factions and also due to famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia, with over 300,000 of them sheltering in Mogadishu alone.
Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
An Associated Press investigation previously found that the project was linked to Erik Prince, who founded the private security firm Blackwater, and also had a secret mission to go after an Islamist rebel linked to insurgents in southern Somalia.
Two officials in the Puntland government said the deal had been suspended following international pressure. Both asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
One official said most of Saracen's primarily South African staff have left the country but he expected them to return. The second official said that training has been suspended and that 200 recruits who had graduated from the training program were not paid in February.
Puntland's information minister did not return calls seeking comment on the subject.
A person familiar with the project, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that the project had been suspended partly due to pressure from the U.N. and the U.S. government.
The two organizations were concerned about the secrecy surrounding the deal, its possible violation of U.N. sanctions and that it might undercut hard-won reforms in the Somali security sector. A mystery donor, believed to be the United Arab Emirates, had already spent millions of dollars on the Saracen deal through a web of companies with false addresses.
Another Saracen deal to train Somali forces in the capital of Mogadishu was cancelled by Somalia's parliament in January.
Somalia has not had a functioning government for over 20 years. The failed state is a haven for pirates and Islamist insurgents who are battling the weak U.N.-backed government.
Scores arrested in Las'anod City By Abdalle Ahmed (RBC)
A Half-Baked Regional Agreement
From: Galmudug Diaspora Community (*)
To: UNDP Political Office in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: USA Embassy accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: EU Embassies accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: IGAD Embassies accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: Arab League Secretariat
CC: Islamic Conference
On February 15, 2011 representatives from Galmudug administration took part of a preliminary peace-making meeting with their counterparts at Garowe City, the seat of Punt land Administration. At the conclusion of two days of deliberations, a half-baked agreement has been signed that did not address some critical issues in the hearts of Galmudug communities. The agreement did not prioritize the dominant, contended issues that create ongoing friction between the two administrations. The current agreement was supposed to be contingent to the main, outstanding problems and not the vice versa.
The overriding, sidetracked issues include:
A - The aggression of Puntland forces against pastoral community under the jurisdiction of Galmudug Administration that took place in December, 2010 is a case in point. Such armed assault was spearheaded by gun mounted technicals [battlewagons] of Puntland and their loyal clan militia, which resulted in the death and injury of 78 victims, as well a score of camels dead in the cross-fire.
It was a provocative, political calculation waged by a neighboring administration against peaceful pastorals following after their herds. The political vision of Puntland Administration is masked and far-reaching. Galmudug community knows that the incident is a strategic move of Puntland land's territorial expansion intended to carve a swath of prospective lands believed to contain oil reserve.
Every peace initiative short of addressing such critical issues is a pure window dressing tool intended to hoodwink the world community as peace-makers, while sidetracking outstanding problems that Puntland Administration is not willing to discuss and solve the roots of the conflict for good. Other overdue issues include:
B - Joint management for Galkaio civilian airport. The airport is a federal asset under the territorial jurisdiction of South Galkaio administration, yet run by Puntland Administration. The management of the facility became a point of contention vied and contested by respective administrations since Galkaio became a divided City in 1991.
In retrospect, Mohamed Farah Aidiid and Abdullahi Yufuf Ahmed- heavy weight personalities of respective bordering communities- signed a peace agreement in 1992 that put the airport a shared facility in terms of co-management, collection of airport fees, maintenance and improvement works jointly run by the bordering communities. Since 1992, Puntland administration broke the binding agreement four times and unilaterally manages the airport.
Galmudug administration raises the airport issues with Puntland authorities at least four times a month over the past 20 years, but with no avail short of going to an open war and then losing the facility in the squabble, while sparking a new regional conflict that undermines the gains of stability in both regional administrations. Galmudug administration refrains from any act of violence and disharmony in Puntland, or any other emerging regional authority in Central Regions.
C - Remedying of hundreds of uprooted pastoral families from their grazing lands, who are now exposed to the mercy of prolonged droughts and forced to live barren lands devoid of pasture water resources.
D - The rights of grazing lands between regional demarcation lines. As usual, rain may fall anywhere in the land, and the conventional wisdom of pastoral leaders dictates that rain, water ponds and pasture lands are the grace of God and the pastoral communities have the undeniable rights to share such blessing, regardless of clan affiliations or territorial boundaries. Currently, Puntland administration restricts the free grazing norms upheld by pastoral tradition since immemorial days, and this is an act of no brains.
E - Galmudug community knows that the substance of any peace treaty with Puntland authority is ephemeral. Galmudug administration takes peace agreement by heart and binding, while Puntland see it as inconsequential, temporary convenience.
F - Galmudug community in Diaspora takes such superficial agreement as a shadowy blueprint designed to win the hearts and minds of donor institutions, while hiding its militaristic campaigns from the international communities.
Conclusion:
(a)-Puntland and Galmudug Administrations should start a new round of peace talks conveyed within 60 days from 1st March 2011 that hopefully addresses issues (a-e) mentioned above.
(b)-Puntland should refrain from any act of provocative wars and conflict of interest with Galmudug and Somaliland administrations, and settling any contending issue(s) in peaceful ways. Galmudug community believes that the donor's financial support and the possession of military hardware give Puntland the edge of bullying Galmudug and Somaliland.
(c)-UNDP Political Office has to take a step forward as an observer during Galmudug-Puntland peace process, and mediate, if need be so, to any regional peace agreement taking place between Galmudug and Puntland and Somaliland and Puntland in any future date.
UNDP should put in use the legendary policy of stick and carrot in order to check up any intransigent attitude of regional authority(s) in respect to the stability of bordering regions. We support this policy and we believe it will work.
(*) Galmudug Diaspora Community
- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars):
NO MONEY TO HELP HOSTAGE SEAFARERS - BUT:
India Becomes Worlds Largest Arms Importer (NakedNews)
India has overtaken China as the world's largest importer of arms, accounting for 9 percent of global weapons imports between 2006 and 2010. China was responsible for only 6 percent. Projections say that India will continue to lead imports in the near future as it looks to spend more than 50 billion dollars over the next 5 years to modernize its armed forces.
[N.B.: ... and in the arms selling race between the Brits and their U.S. cousins, surely the Brits clarified quickly that the "development-aid" for India will NOT be cancelled. British taxpayers are responsible ? - NO they aren't, while they let their governmental salesmen - incl. UK trade envoy Prince Andrew - run wild!]
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, foreign minister, told the Financial Times the group had failed to maintain neutrality and that the country was seeking to avert scenes of "chaos and upheaval" similar to those across the Middle East and north Africa.
US election monitoring group kicked out of East African nation of Djibouti 3 weeks before vote By JASON STRAZIUSO (AP)
Djibouti's government has kicked out an American election monitoring group less than a month before the nation's presidential election, a vote opposition politicians are boycotting because they say the president is repressing dissent.
Djibouti is a tiny East African nation that hosts the only U.S. military base in Africa. Situated on the Gulf of Aden between Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen, the city-state is a major shipping hub in a volatile region.
The country is nominally democratic, but events leading up to the April 8 presidential election appear to show a hardline approach by President Ismail Omar Guelleh at a time when democracy movements are upending administrations.
Democracy International, a U.S. group that works on democracy and governance programs, was halfway through a two-year, $2.2 million U.S. government-funded contract when it was accused of assisting opposition politicians and barred from the country earlier this month.
The head of the group's observation mission, Chris Hennemeyer, said the accusations are not true.
Djibouti saw an estimated 6,000 people turn out to an opposition political rally on Feb. 18. The rally turned violent when riot police moved in, and opposition politicians said dozens of people were wounded and five killed. A second rally planned for March 4 didn't happen after security forces filled the streets.
Hennemeyer said many countries in the region are nervous during a time of popular protests, and that the February rally surprised Djiboutian leaders.
"They were not expecting such a large turnout, and I think those two factors — regional nervousness and the protest — were enough to lead at least some people in the government to conclude that this was not the kind of program that they wanted to support," Hennemeyer said of the reasons Democracy International was kicked out.
Calls to Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf were not answered, and the government spokesman said he couldn't immediately talk. But Youssouf told the Financial Times this week that Democracy International exhibited "concerning" behavior and that the U.S. could nominate another observer group. He said the EU, African Union and Arab League have been invited to send observers to the vote.
The U.S. has outsized influence in Djibouti, a country of only 750,000 people. On the outskirts of Djibouti city, across from its international airport, lies Camp Lemonnier, the only U.S. base in Africa. The base — which sits just miles (kilometers) from Somalia — is one of Djibouti's major employers.
The U.S. ambassador met with Djibouti's prime minister over the Democracy International expulsion, but the group was kicked out anyway, Hennemeyer said. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said the embassy was not prepared to comment.
Guelleh, the president, has served two terms already. His critics lament changes he made to the constitution last year that scrubbed a two-term limit from the nation's bylaws. Guelleh will face one opponent on April 8, one not expected to win many votes.
Last Friday Djibouti authorities arrested four opposition politicians and detained them several hours, according to the opposition leaders. The group said it "can no longer tolerate the repressive and deadly fury of this moribund regime.
"We warn the illegal candidate against his irresponsible actions at the risk of seeing radicalization of our actions, which have up to now been peaceful," the group said, referring to Guelleh. "The opposition can no longer continue to respect the law when the ruling power itself tramples on it."
Hennemeyer said he believes Djibouti — which has been controlled by the same family since independence in 1977 — is moving toward democracy, including having allowed past demonstrations and carrying opposition messages in state media.
"There were signs of progress in important areas," he said. "What will happen to those now I honestly don't know. I don't see Djibouti moving backward, but I'm not sure I see it moving forward in a democratic sense either."
10 Reasons To Say NO To Western Intervention In Libya By Andrew Murray (Stop the War)
Here are ten reasons to resist the siren calls for intervention:
1. Intervention will violate Libya's sovereignty. This is not just a legalistic point – although the importance of observing international law should not be discounted if the big powers in the world are not to be given the green light run amok. As soon as NATO starts to intervene, the Libyan people will start to lose control of their own country and future.
2. Intervention can only prolong, not end the civil war. "No-fly zones" will not be able to halt the conflict and will lead to more bloodshed, not less.
3. Intervention will lead to escalation. Because the measures being advocated today cannot bring an end to the civil war, the next demand will be for a full-scale armed presence in Libya, as in Iraq – and meeting the same continuing resistance. That way lies decades of conflict.
4. This is not Spain in 1936, when non-intervention meant helping the fascist side which, if victorious in the conflict, would only encourage the instigators of a wider war – as it did. Here, the powers clamouring for military action are the ones already fighting a wider war across the Middle East and looking to preserve their power even as they lose their autocratic allies. Respecting Libya's sovereignty is the cause of peace, not is enemy.
5. It is more like Iraq in the 1990s, after the First Gulf War. Then, the US, Britain and France imposed no-fly zones which did not lead to peace – the two parties in protected Iraqi Kurdistan fought a bitter civil war under the protection of the no-fly zone – and did prepare the ground for the invasion of 2003. Intervention may partition Libya and institutionalise conflict for decades.
6. Or it is more like the situation in Kosovo and Bosnia. NATO interference has not lead to peace, reconciliation or genuine freedom in the Balkans, just to endless corrupt occupations.
7. Yes, it is about oil. Why the talk of intervening in Libya, but not the Congo, for example? Ask BP.
8. It is also about pressure on Egyptian revolution – the biggest threat to imperial interests in the region. A NATO garrison next door would be a base for pressure at least, and intervention at worst, if Egyptian freedom flowers to the point where it challenges western interests in the region.
9. The hypocrisy gives the game away. When the people of Bahrain rose against their US-backed monarchy and were cut down in the streets, there was no talk of action, even though the US sixth fleet is based there and could doubtless have imposed a solution in short order. As top US republican Senator Lindsey Graham observed last month "there are regimes we want to change, and those we don't". NATO will only ever intervene to strangle genuine social revolution, never to support it.
10. Military aggression in Libya – to give it the righty name – will be used to revive the blood-soaked policy of 'liberal interventionism'. That beast cannot be allowed to rise from the graves of Iraq and Afghanistan.
(*) Andrew Murray is National Chair, Stop the War Coalition
Egypt's billionaires are still in power By Lee Mwiti (NationMedia)
Bahrain Clashes Turn Ugly (NakedNews)
Confrontations between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bahrain took an ugly turn on Wednesday in the country's capital. Soldiers overran demonstrators in Manama's main square, where they'd been camping out for weeks. At least 200 people have been injured in the clashes so far as military forces work to reclaim the city.
Violence rocks Bahrain (Peninsula)
Frenzied clashes swept Bahrain yesterday, as the kingdom declared a three-month state of emergency that gave the state's military chief wide authority to battle protesters demanding political reforms and equal rights for Shias.
A day after Gulf troops entered the country, disturbances shook the kingdom through the day. A hospital source said two men, one Bahraini and the other Bangladeshi, were killed in clashes in the Shia area of Sitra and more than 200 people were wounded in various incidents. State television said a Bahraini policeman was also killed, denying media reports that a Saudi soldier had been shot dead.
"In order for the situation to return to normal we have to establish order and security and ... stop the violations which have spread disturbances among the people of our dear country," said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed Al Khalifa.
Analysts said the troop movement showed concern in Saudi Arabia that any concessions in Bahrain could inspire the kingdom's own Shia minority.
Iran criticised the decision to send in Saudi troops. "The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain's internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran. A Bahraini foreign ministry official called the remarks "blatant interference in Bahrain's internal affairs", the state news agency BNA said, adding that Manama had recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations.
Thousands of Bahrainis marched on the Saudi Embassy in Manama to protest against the intervention. "People are angry, we want this occupation to end. We don't want anybody to help the Al Khalifa or us," said a protester. Violent clashes between youths wielding clubs, knives and rocks have become daily occurrences, forcing Bahrain University and many schools to close in order to avoid further trouble.
Armed youths attacked the printing press of Bahrain's only opposition newspaper Al Wasat overnight in an effort to stop its publication. Metal barricades and piles of sand and rocks blocked the main road to the financial district and most shops were shut.
Around Bahrain, residents have placed skips, bins and pieces of metal on the road, to prevent strangers from entering their neighbourhoods. Young men, some wearing masks and carrying sticks, guarded the entrances to their areas.
The United States dispatched Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman to Bahrain to push for dialogue to resolve the crisis. The largest Shia opposition group, Wefaq, condemned the imposition of emergency rule and urged international intervention.
Is Obama Even Worse Than Bush? By David Swanson (WarIsACrime)
...STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 17. March 2011)
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators.
DECLARE INTERDEPENDENCE
STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 17. March 2011, 20h00 UTC, at least 42 foreign vessels plus two barges are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 684 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple as well as a Danish yacht-family with children - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.
- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA
and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM
WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia
PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
LATEST:
STILL ALMOST 700 SEAFARERS HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
While billions are spend for the navies, the general militarization and mercenaries, still no help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia. Updates on known cases see below in the status section.
Subscribers to the top- and priority list-serve received the first two articles below already - if you also like to receive breaking news as soon as possible, just let us know.
Exclusive
TUNISIAN SHIP RELEASED FROM SOMALIA (ecop-marine)
The Tunisian tanker MT HANNIBAL II was finally released this morning and is now proceeding to Djibouti with a navy escort.
All the crew are in good health after a detention of 127 days, the owners of the vessel confirmed.
Last minute problems with the vessel having no more fuel for the voyage could be solved and the hostage ordeal for the crew is now over, returning to a new Tunisia, where during the long absence of the crew, a new dawn has come for the people of Tunisia.
A family member stated: "Très heureuse après ce long cauchemar. Merci pour votre soutien et réconfort."
Gabes Marine Tankers, the owners of the vessel, told ECOTERRA Intl. that they are happy that the saga ended and "We do not forget the other crews still detained by the pirates and we wish for them a prompt release, they are really living an ordeal."
BACKGROUND:
MT HANNIBAL II : Seized November 11, 2010 In the early morning hours the Tunisian-owned and Panama-flagged chemical and oil-tanker MT HANNIBAL II (IMO 8011756) was taken at 04h35 UTC in position 11:26N – 066:05E off the coast of India while sailing to Suez from Pasir Gudang, Malaysia - ferrying vegetable oil.
"The master of the vessel reported that he had been attacked and boarded by pirates in an area some 860 nautical miles East of The Horn of Africa which is considerably closer to India than it is to Somalia," EU Navfor said in a statement.
The originally 31 men strong crew of the 24,105 tonne double-hull tanker consisted of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan.
GABES MARINE TANKERS SARL as ship-manager fronts for the owner POLO NAVIGATION LTD - both of Ez Zahra, Tunisia.
Reportedly the chief engineer of the vessel was slightly injured with a hit of a gun-butt during the attack and the ship had at first arrived near Garacad at the North-Eastern Somali coast of the Indian Ocean.
At 01h05 UTC on 23. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was reported in position 10°30N 059°04E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 06h31 UTC on 26. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was observed chasing a merchant vessel in position 18°50N 061°23E, course 300°, speed 7.8 knots. The pirated vessel was conducting piracy operations but then came to the Somali coast again.
On 17. December a crew-member with a serious medial condition was successfully evacuated with the consent of the captors of the vessel and in a joined naval medivac operation led by a Thai navy vessel as well as the immediate medical treatment on a German warship. The crew member of the hijacked vessel MV Hannibal II, who was released by the pirates, was then transferred to the Bouffard hospital in Djibouti after being treated for a suspected appendicitis by medical staff on board the EUNAVFOR German warship FGS HAMBURG. After being described as being stable and very happy to be free, he was transferred to a military hospital in Tunisia. Narrating his time as a hostage, he said: "We were all kept the whole time on the bridge of our ship. The only possibilities to move were the few minutes when we were allowed to go to eat. Most of the times we got some rice with fish." Like in other cases pirates had offered the sick man to be released without conditions, but this is the first time that the ship-owner, captain and crew played along. In other cases like when a Ukrainian woman had an abortion, neither the vessel owner nor even the Ukrainian parliament facilitated a possible medical evacuation.
The vessel was moored off Dinowda Quorioweyn not far from Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, but apparently now has left for another piracy operation.
At 13h37 UTC (10h00 local time) on 27 December 2010, a Pirate Action Group consisting of pirated vessel Hannibal II acting as mother-ship was reported in position 15 10N - 056 22E with course 165 and speed 14 kts.
At 06h00 UTC on 28. December the MV Hannbal II was then reported in position Latitude: 12°27N Longitude: 055°07E with course 226° at speed 11 kts.
On 01. January 2011 the attack skiff, which captured Algerian MV BLIDA was launched from Hannibal II and at 08h40 UTC on 02. January 2011 pirated vessel Hannibal II was reported in position Latitude: 12 14N and Longitude: 054 54E - possibly looking for even more prey.
Thereafter the vessel and remaining crew of 22 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan. returned to the Somali Indian Ocean coast and is held there at present.
While the government of Tunisia has been renewed by Tunisia's youth, which finally stood up against the shortcomings of their state, the vessel owners appear to be so far unconcerned to solve the case quickly.
If the so far successful public uprising in Tunisia will help with a quick resolve of this case remains to be seen. Though the former president and some cronies have fled the country, Tunisian authorities so far leave everything to the shipowner. However, the vessel owner was finally forced to face representatives of the governments and their families concerned and became active again to seek a release. ECOTERRA Intl. urged the Somali clan of the pirate group holding the vessel to let crew and ship go in solidarity with the people of Tunisia and on 19. February 2011, there was hope expressed that the case could be concluded within one or two weeks.
Vessel and crew were transferred along the cost and are held now off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast.
Information transpired during the last days, that despite the general uproar along the coast about the fatal incident involving the death of four Americans and four Somalis on a pirated yacht, the release of MV HANNIBAL II could go ahead as planned in these days.
INDONESIAN CARGO VESSEL SEAJACKED IN ARABIAN SEA (ecop-marine)
At 16h42 UTC (13h42 LT) on 16. March 2011 the merchant vessel MV SINAR KUDUS (IMO: 9172507) was reported pirated en route from Singapore to Suez (Egypt) in position 14 21N and 059 25E while travelling 005 degrees at 6 kts. The attack happened around 300 nm northeast of Socotra Island and 250 nm South east of the Juzur al Hallaniyat (Kuria Muria) Islands of Oman at the region where the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean become the Gulf of Aden. NATO confirmed the seajacking.
The Indonesian-flagged general cargo vessel of 8,911 dwt is listed to belong to SAMUDERA INDONESIA TBK PT as registered owner and is managed by SAMUDERA INDONESIA TBK PT, while SAMUDERA INDONESIA SHIP MANAGEMENT is the ISM manager - all residing at the same location in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The MV SINAR KUDUS has a crew of 20, all of Indonesian nationality, but no ITF agreement.
EU NAVFOR reported that details of the attack are not known at this time but initial reports from the crew stated that 30 to 50 pirates had boarded and taken control of the vessel.
However, the European naval forces also stated that within 24 hours of the attack, the MV SINAR KUDUS was used to launch a further attack on the Liberian flagged Bulk Carrier MV EMPEROR.
A skiff with 5 pirates on board was launched from the SINAR KUDUS and attacked the EMPEROR but was repelled by the armed force on the merchant vessel. The EMPEROR was subsequently reported to be safe.
The MV SINAR KUDUS and the MV EMPEROR were registered with MSC(HOA), and were reporting to UKMTO.
MV SINAR KUDUS remains in the hands of presumed Somali pirates.
INDIAN NAVY IN WAR WITH SOMALI CHILDREN (ecop-marine)
For now at least the fifth time the Indian navy and coastguard have killed innocent seafarers in their over-eagerly attempts to fight against cases of piracy.
After first stating that the Spanish fishing vessel FV VEGA 5 was secured in the latest incident off the Lakswadeep islands, the Indian government had now to also admit that the vessel, which had been shot ablaze by the two Indian warships intercepting it, had actually sunk.
Nine of the original crew members and and at least over ten Somalis are missing, since the Indian navy could only fish 60 Somalis and one Ethiopian as well as from the crew twelve Mozamicans and one Indonesian out of the waters.
The two Galician Spaniards from the fishing vessel's orgiginal crew - José Alfonso García and Alfonso Rey - are reportedly held back in Somalia near Hobyo in a ransom deal separated from the vessel.
While PESCAMAR stated that they are all right, sources at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "We are in the process of solving a problem that requires utmost discretion so as not to obstruct the negotiations," - as entence usually used when government people do not know what to do and what to say. Spain had in connection with the fight against a Basque separatist movement in general ruled out any ransom payment by anybody in cases of kidnappings.
It is also not clear if all the Somalis on FV VEGA 5 were actually pirates or if some are refugees fleeing their wartorn country, since at least 25 are children below the age of 15 years are accoinbted for, who survived the fire-inferno on board and the sinking of the vessel. Among the 61 rescued non-crew people, who subsequently were all arrested and arraigned in Mumbai [formerly called Bombay], most are Somali, but also one Ethiopian and possibly one Kenyan national are among them. At least the presence of an Ethiopian would hint at a situation where most likely part of the arrested people are actually refugees.
"The 61 were brought to Mumbai today on INS Tabar and all have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Passport Act, the Foreigners Act and the Arms Act," Deputy Police Commissioner (Port Zone) Quiser Khalid said.
Thirteen victims, rescued in the operation, were also brought to Mumbai of whom 12 were Mozambique nationals while one was from Indonesia, Khalid confirmed. He also stated that the VFV VEGA 5 sunk after the vessel caught fire during the anti-piracy operation by Indian Navy officials.
Nine crew-members are still unaccounted for, while information from Somalia revealed that the two Spaniards are well, given the circumstances.
Pirates Nabbed In Galkayo (ecop-marine)
Galkayo police arrested seven of the around 24 pirates returning from Bangladesh cargo vessel MV JAHAN MONI. The ship had just been released from captivity at the Somali coast near Ceel Dhanaane.
The police officers of the local administration surrounded the men, who gave themselves, their weapons and their part of the ransom money up without a fire-fight.
- details of the hostage ordeal of this vessel, its crew and their release, see previous update.
©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - free for publication as long as cited correctly and source is quoted
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
The 'RAK Afrikana' inside story: Here's how the crew was released By Veeresh Malik (moneylife)
The inside story behind why Somali pirates released the 23 crewmembers on board, after nearly one year of captivity
First of all, for all those in the media and outside going shrill about wanting the Indian Navy to go into 'hot pursuit' on pirates hijacking ships, a small question-would you send the Indian Army to chase and capture bandits hijacking Indians on an Isle of Man registered bus in Albania or Montenegro, for example? No. We would not.
The days of sending gunboats up the Yangtze Kiang River or the Hooghly to motivate the natives are also now over, and if we try it near the Horn of Africa, then an established system of maritime realities and truths will soon put paid to things. And some poor Indian Navy officer will be strung up, likely at the Hague, for war crimes.
And besides, it is simply not feasible-too many small boats operating out of a large number of 'mother ships' and trawlers, over an ocean area larger than a few continents put together, an entity, concept and aspect which people ashore will simply not be able to relate to.
Besides, this is largely business as usual, though on a rapidly growing curve-so unless we are trying to establish our colonial rights there, it would be better to send in our bankers and evangelists, rather than our sailors, which is also the established wisdom of ages. Already, everything the "pirates" need is easily available, and if Amex, MasterCard and Visa are present, and doing very well, thank you, then can the rest of the organised retail and wholesale trade be too far behind? It is only the transaction cost and underwriting expenses that go up, which is also good for the bottom-line of the FIIs (foreign institutional investors), so everybody plays happy campers.
Next, barring some dhows and other local sailing craft which in any case are regulars on that route, so they know the game-no Indian flagship has, so far, been successfully hijacked.
Certainly, many have been attacked, more than a few have had near escapes-but they've all got through. There is what appears to be a reasonably efficient escort system by the Indian Navy for Indian flagships, facts on which one cannot and will not speak or write about, which is working as of now especially in the piracy impacted areas-but this is also a cause of concern as the piracy-impacted area is simply growing larger and larger.
>From near coastal Horn of Africa to Socotra a few years ago, it extends now to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of the Indian Subcontinent as well as Africa till Madagascar, and reaches almost 70 degrees east and now well below the Equator.
See that on a map, and see how it is spreading.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/home/piracy-reporting-centre/imb-live-piracy-map-2010/piracy-map-2010
You can use this link to see annual growth rate of piracy, too, and make pretty graphs if so desired like in an annual report.
Incidentally, there are a large number of piracy attacks in the South China Sea area too, which often go unreported because they are far more violent, often leaving no survivors, and ensuring that the ships, their crew, and the cargoes disappear. No body, no crime. The African hijacks, by comparison, are more humane-but they go and on, without closure.
Likewise, many more seafarers die every year due to run-ins on unseaworthy ships which have gone to the bottom and therefore that, their being unseaworthy, cannot be proved.
Barring the famed Derbyshire case, where friends and family of those who went down, actually spent large sums of money to find out what really happened. http://www.bsnet.co.uk/derbyshire/
Third, and most importantly, this business is no longer 'controlled' from Somali ports or towns. The money trail, which is now well-established apparently, goes right back to the "developed" countries, often through the "oil-rich" countries.
There are "rules" and "systems" for everything now-it seems that the pirates also have an "instruction book" on how to deal with the hostages as well as their family members when they call up. The whole process is run like a stock exchange, and at last reports, there were 72 entities in the business in Puntland, whose shares were literally traded depending on success or failure at sea. It is, what do we say, a bull market on over there.
Some accounts on how the ransom money is distributed, often dropped by chopper or light plane into the ocean next to the hijacked ship, are amazing. About the best collection of reports on the pirate organisations and their commercial methods can be found here:
http://www.idaratmaritime.com/wordpress/?category_name=pirate-organizations-methods and of course in the Ecoterra compilations at http://www.australia.to.
More worrying is the political state of affairs in Saudi Arabia, especially the ports in the Red Sea, which are accessed only through this piracy-impacted area.
(Other than through the Suez Canal, of course, but that is not currently an issue).
It is a simple fact of life that the piracy business cannot survive without strong backing, and for long it has been suspected that the commercial routes are through Saudi Arabia, which is a part of the world which itself has had a long tradition of piracy, before the Bedouins got their act together and made it a Nation. The writ of the Arab pirates was said to extend to Gibraltar at one end and well into Malacca on the other.
So, to get on with this report, what are the numbers like?
Take the case of the RAK Afrikana, recently in the news, where crew onboard have been released after 11 months in captivity. Incidentally, of the 26 people onboard, 25 are reported to now be onboard another recently ransom-released ship called the York currently heading under escort for Mombasa. About the RAK Afrikana itself, what is known is that she is taking water from a large hole in the hold, and is likely to sink soon, if not already sunk. [Well, the author is not quiet up to date - she beached ! Possibly not what the owner wanted - he wnated her "under".]
The RAK Afrikana is a 30-year-old cargo ship, small as ships go at about 8,000 tonnes DWT, flying what is called an "open register" flag, or Flag of Convenience (FOC).
But this vessel is basically an ageing rust bucket surviving on the deficiencies in this system of "anything that goes flags". In this case, St Vincent & Grenadines, which just happens to also be blessed with a Governor General and a Queen, both from England, thank you very much.
But not British enough to send the British Navy, sure. She was based in Ras Al Khaimah, part of the UAE, where she functioned as a cadet-training ship, preparing young people for a career at sea under the New Zealand marine system, with a link also to BIT, India.
The operators are of Indian origin, as are some of the crew, though it was long thought that the financial backing was from Italy and China, blessed by the local RAK (UAE) Government, who were justifiably very proud of these efforts to re-launch ancient maritime traditions. And finally, various other Governments and shipping companies also wanted to take this concept further, which is why she went on a voyage to Mauritius, after picking up some cargo on the way to make the voyage commercially viable too-and give the cadets some real experience.
And then she got hijacked. North of Seychelles.
The initial stages of negotiation were handled by an Indian who went by the code-name 'SADMAR', who was also the single point contact for the hijackers/pirates and their representatives. There was also a gentleman of European origin, let us call him 'JOE', who was an "advisor" functioning vaguely on behalf of the insurance companies and beneficial owners-both of whom were not fully declared.
At a meeting with the family members in a south-west Delhi 5-star hotel in the summer of 2010, it was made clear to the family members that if they wanted their kith and kin back safely, then they would have to keep the peace-interim financial sustenance was offered and accepted.
At that juncture, the pirates were demanding $3 million-$5 million, and 'SADMAR' had the authority to offer $700,000.
Then, very sadly, probably because the negotiations were literally killing him, 'SADMAR' died, and negotiations came to a grinding halt, while fresh channels were set up-trust being an important part. At all points of time, however, safety and good treatment of the crew onboard was paramount, as also looking after their families back home, so this episode did not make the shrill headlines.
For that, full marks to the owners, the Kotwals. Interim, 'JOE' tried hard to build confidences with the pirates as well as the crew onboard, but everybody wanted 'SADMAR', which was not possible as by now he had been cremated in Kochi.
Long story cut short, a few days ago, the ransom was paid out, and the pirates abandoned the ship, which was literally on its last legs anyways. The sum is rumoured to be around $1.2 million. A total of 25 of the seafarers onboard were first transferred to an Italian warship, and then again to another merchant ship recently freed, and now headed for Mombasa. The Captain of the ship, who played a stellar and strong role throughout, as well as his Noida-based wife, are amongst the many heroes of this episode.
Which may or may not ever be really told again.
At the end of the day, however, it was all about how the fiscal aspects of the whole "transaction" were handled. From ensuring that family members were provided sustenance, to spending money on keeping communications going, and getting solid good professional advice from 'JOE'-the owners and pirates played the rules by the book.
Going to the media while negotiations are on, is not playing by the rules-and only endangers the lives of those on board.
25 of 61 pirates arrested by Navy at sea are children below 15 yrs By Rajat Pandit (TNN/TimesOfIndia)
From Sierra Leone and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan, the term "child soldier" has been used to denote the conscription of children below the age of 15 into armed conflicts. Now, "child pirate" is likely to gain similar currency.
Indian authorities have been confounded to find that as many as 25 of the 61 pirates, apprehended after a gun-battle with naval warships in Arabian Sea on Saturday, are children below 15.
"At least four of them are just 11 or so. It seems younger and younger children in Somalia are being pushed into piracy, which is proving immensely lucrative in the lawless country...the established pirates, who have got rich, are no longer sailing out on raids," said an official.
Though there were a few youngsters among the 43 pirates nabbed in the earlier two encounters with the Navy on January 28 and February 5, this is the first time so many children below 15 have been apprehended.
With India's legal system is grappling with the absence of a specific provision dealing with piracy in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the presence of "child pirates" will further complicate matters. All the 61 pirates were handed over to the Yellow Gate police station in Mumbai on Wednesday.
So far, the Mumbai Police has been taking recourse to booking pirates nabbed by Navy and Coast Guard under provisions like rioting, trying to damage government property and attempt to murder as well as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act.
The government is now scrambling to bring a specific anti-piracy law, which seeks to fuse the provisions in IPC with United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), after pirates began to operate nearer Indian shores.
Pirates from Somalia, ravaged by decades of civil war and without a unified central government for around two decades, spread their wings much beyond the Gulf of Aden after 30 to 40 warships from different countries began to patrol that region.
The defence ministry's latest annual report, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, said, "The threat of piracy and terrorism to international trade and safety of the sea lanes of communication has emerged as a major problem. The spread of piracy to areas close to our western seaboard has made this a cause of greater concern."
With the Navy on "an all-out offensive" against the pirates, prosecuting the ones who are apprehended is proving a major challenge. UNCLOS does define piracy as a universal crime while giving nations the right to seize and prosecute pirates, but many countries are yet to incorporate the convention in their own laws. Dealing with "child pirates" is bound to prove even tougher.
Indian authorities have been confounded to find that as many as 25 of the 61 pirates, apprehended after a gun-battle with naval warships in Arabian Sea on Saturday, are children below 15.
"At least four of them are just 11 or so. It seems younger and younger children in Somalia are being pushed into piracy, which is proving immensely lucrative in the lawless country...the established pirates, who have got rich, are no longer sailing out on raids," said an official.
Though there were a few youngsters among the 43 pirates nabbed in the earlier two encounters with the Navy on January 28 and February 5, this is the first time so many children below 15 have been apprehended.
With India's legal system is grappling with the absence of a specific provision dealing with piracy in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the presence of "child pirates" will further complicate matters. All the 61 pirates were handed over to the Yellow Gate police station in Mumbai on Wednesday.
So far, the Mumbai Police has been taking recourse to booking pirates nabbed by Navy and Coast Guard under provisions like rioting, trying to damage government property and attempt to murder as well as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act.
The government is now scrambling to bring a specific anti-piracy law, which seeks to fuse the provisions in IPC with United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), after pirates began to operate nearer Indian shores.
Pirates from Somalia, ravaged by decades of civil war and without a unified central government for around two decades, spread their wings much beyond the Gulf of Aden after 30 to 40 warships from different countries began to patrol that region.
The defence ministry's latest annual report, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, said, "The threat of piracy and terrorism to international trade and safety of the sea lanes of communication has emerged as a major problem. The spread of piracy to areas close to our western seaboard has made this a cause of greater concern."
With the Navy on "an all-out offensive" against the pirates, prosecuting the ones who are apprehended is proving a major challenge. UNCLOS does define piracy as a universal crime while giving nations the right to seize and prosecute pirates, but many countries are yet to incorporate the convention in their own laws. Dealing with "child pirates" is bound to prove even tougher.
India may prosecute pirates for hijacking the Vega 5 By Analia Murias (fis)
The Indian Navy has decided to move the 61 pirates they arrested last Sunday after they assaulted the Vega 5 fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea to Bombay.
After the attack by the Indian Navy on the fishing boat that was seized by Somali criminals on 28 December 2010, personnel from the armed forces managed to rescue 13 crew aboard the Vega 5, while another nine remain missing.
When they land, the pirates will be handed over to police in India for their arrest and interrogation.
The vessel belongs to the firm Efripel Lda, which the Mozambican government has an interest in, although it is operated by Pescamar - a joint venture which the Spanish multinational Pescanova is involved in.
Representatives of the Embassy of Mozambique in India are expected to listen to the testimony of the crew, as they tell of the months that they were held hostage for by the Somali pirates.
Also, they pretend to know what happened to the colleagues that are still missing, reports the newspaper Faro de Vigo.
Some sources close to the case said that the two Galician crew members that were kidnapped - José Alfonso García and Alfonso Rey - could be in Hobbyo, Somalia.
On the one hand, the head company said both "are good", while the Spanish Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment about it and calls for "prudence and discretion, which are required in these situations."
"We are in the process of solving a problem that requires utmost discretion so as not to obstruct the negotiations", said ministry sources.
Before being sunk 600 miles off India, the Vega 5 was a longline vessel measuring 24 meters long, with a capacity to hold 140 tonnes of cargo.
FINALLY AFTER ONE YEAR !
Tri-nation group formed to free sailors by Atul Aneja (TheHindu) Outside the glare of media, a tri-nation monitoring group of diplomats has been established in Dubai to brainstorm ways of rescuing sailors on board ships that Somali pirates have hijacked.
"We held our first meeting on Sunday in which Consul Generals of Yemen and the Philippines participated to monitor and consider ways to bring back the sailors of our respective countries, currently being held by the Somali pirates," said Sanjay Verma, Indian Consul-General. Mr. Verma hoped diplomats from Bangladesh, Tanzania and Pakistan would also join this group, as nationals from these countries were also aboard some of the hijacked ships.
Somali pirates are holding 53 Indian sailors captive on board five ships: the MV Iceberg, the MV Suez, the MT Asphalt Venture, the MT Savina Caylyn and the MV Sinin.
After the success in freeing the hijacked RAK Afrikana on Wednesday, the Dubai-based diplomats are now looking at ways to replicate that success. "During its deliberations, the group arrived at the conclusion that a media outcry when negotiations are under way usually encourages the hijackers to hike the ransom," said Mr. Verma.
Negotiations are on with the pirates for the release of sailors on board the MV Iceberg. Owned by a Dubai-based Yemeni, the MV Iceberg — hijacked in September — has on board six Indians, eight Yemenis, two Pakistanis, two Sudanese, four Ghana nationals and one Filipino. The pirates were apparently demanding a $4-million ransom, which was nearly four times the value of the ship, said an industry source. "The ship owners are finding it hard to arrange the ransom, especially because individual governments are refusing to pay," said the source.
Analysts said piracy had become a lucrative and well-organised industry, with pirates handing around 20 per cent of their "earnings" to the opposition Al Shabaab group in Somalia. No longer using small boats with a limited reach, the pirates are deploying captured merchant vessels for their operations in the high seas, striking as far as in Seychelles.
Sources said the RAK Afrikana was released after the ransom was air-dropped, along with counting machines and equipment required to detect fake currency. After it was released, the ship malfunctioned, causing the Indian naval headquarters to seek the help of an Italian warship deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of a European Union anti-piracy mission. The crew was subsequently put on board the MV York, which took them to Mombasa. The ship owner flew to the Kenyan port city on Sunday to fly the sailors to their homes in Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Delhi.
Negotiations have also begun for the release of an all-Indian 15-member crew on board the MT Asphalt Venture.
Media bats for Somali pirates By G. Parthasarathy (*) (PTI/dailypinoneer)
TV channels are demanding that the Government should pay ransom to free Indian sailors held hostage. We saw similar media frenzy during IC-814 crisis.
On December 8, 1989, Ms Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who had become India's Minister for Home Affairs less than a week earlier, was kidnapped by members of the separatist Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front. Amidst a frenzy of media attention, Prime Minister VP Singh buckled and sent two of his Ministers, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral and Mr Arif Mohammed Khan, to Srinagar. Despite strong warnings from Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and indications that Ms Rubaiya Saeed would not be harmed, the Government meekly caved in to the demands of the kidnappers, releasing detained terrorists. The entire Kashmir Valley erupted with calls for 'azadi'. India continues to pay a heavy price for this act of abject surrender.
On December 31, 1999, India released three arrested terrorists, Maulana Masood Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar to secure the release of passengers of the hijacked IC-814 in Kandahar. Maulana Masood Azhar returned to a hero's welcome in Pakistan, founded the Jaish-e-Mohammed and masterminded the attack on our Parliament House on December 13, 2001. Omar Saeed Sheikh remitted $100,000 through a bank in Dubai to the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Mohammed Atta. He was thereafter involved in the execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl. Mushtaq Zargar, a psychopath, runs the Al Umar Mujahideen from Muzaffarabad. During negotiations with the hijackers of IC-814, India was often urged to meet the demands of the hijackers, citing the precedent set by the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping. Irresponsible television coverage focusing on demonstrations by relatives of passengers added to pressures on the Government to yield to the demands of the hijackers.
In recent days sections of the audio-visual media have sought to whip up public hysteria by demanding 'flexibility' and direct negotiations by the Government with Somali pirates and even advocating payment of ransom to those threatening to kill four Indian sailors, working on an Egyptian ship and held captive. Relatives of the men held by pirates were mobilised. They asserted that if Government leaders can rob billions in scams like the 2G Spectrum scandal, they should have no hesitation in paying a few million dollars as ransom to the pirates. The media, of course, had no time or inclination to either study the complexities of the issues involved or the accepted international practice that Governments will not negotiate directly with pirates. These negotiations are invariably between ship-owners and pirates, with Governments playing a discreet role behind the scenes.
Responding to the Indian media's frenzy, Egypt's envoy in New Delhi, Mr Khaled el Bakly, bluntly stated: "Egypt is doing all it can. I am on the phone every day, talking to Cairo. But please understand it is prohibited under international law to negotiate with pirates. All that the Egyptian Government can do is to persuade the owner of the vessel to negotiate with the pirates." Sadly, there appears to be very little appreciation and even less understanding in India about the international challenges that Somali piracy poses. There are navies of 21 countries, ranging from those of the US and its Nato allies, to Russia, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, actively collaborating, to deal with Somali piracy. The UN has been involved, with Security Council Resolution 1838 of October 5, 2008 authorising ships to pursue pirate vessels into Somali territorial waters. India was among the first to deploy naval vessels to deal with piracy on November 23, 2008. Moreover, pirate vessels coming close to our shores have been challenged and attacked, with pirates killed, or taken prisoner. The efficacy of the policy of not negotiating with pirates directly has been demonstrated. While pirates continue to hold 53 Indian sailors captive, they have released 124 sailors since 2008 without our compromising vital national interests or international obligations.
Even the CIA appears persuaded that dealing with Somali pirates is not an easy affair. Pirates recently killed four American nationals when their demands were not met. Apart from the fact the writ of the Somali Government does not even extend across its capital Mogadishu, studies by the IMO, WFP and UN show that there are several other factors that result in poverty stricken Somalis finding piracy lucrative and rewarding. The livelihood and catch of Somali fishermen have been destroyed by uncontrolled fishing by foreign trawlers and by dumping of toxic waste across the Somali coast. Moreover, piracy has led to a new class of wealthy people, wielding power and patronage across Somalia. As of December 11, 2010, it has been estimated that Somali pirates use 35 captured ships for their activities and hold 650 sailors hostages. The time has perhaps come for intelligence agencies across the world to come together to work out strategies to covertly eliminate pirates and their patrons in Somalia even while undertaking measures to see that Somali fishermen are not deprived of their traditional livelihood.
Apart from the media frenzy on the need for the Government to be 'flexible' with Somali pirates, there has been carping on why enough has not been done to evacuate Indian nationals from troubled countries like Egypt and Libya. Complaints from well-heeled Indian tourists holidaying in Egypt about having to pay some excess fare for being repatriated to India from Cairo in specially chartered aircraft received sympathetic media coverage. While one can understand Indian taxpayers footing the bill for abandoned workers stranded in the Gulf, it is ridiculous to expect them to pay for the repatriation of tourists or professionals who seek employment abroad. While India completed the repatriation of all its nationals wishing to come home from Libya on March 12, most Chinese nationals evacuated from that country are still in makeshift transit camps in its neighbourhood. One hopes that norms will be evolved for positioning armed guards in Indian maritime vessels, to ward off pirate attacks. Legislation should also be enacted to give the Navy powers to seek out, capture and kill pirates in international waters.
One of the major reasons why the relatives of the passengers of IC-814 took to the streets in New Delhi was the less than sensitive handling of them by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Similarly, the relatives of sailors of pirated ships have been forced to run from pillar to post because the Ministry of Shipping has no guidelines or machinery to sensitively handle the distraught relatives. Norms and procedures should be devised to ensure this is not repeated in future.
(*) The author is a former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. The piece distributed by PTI the "Press Trust Of India" is believed to be a governmental press release.
Rescued hostages hope to return home soon By Simit Bhagat & V Nayaran (TNN/TimesOfIndia)
Thirteen persons, who were rescued by the Indian Navy from Somali pirates after nearly 70 days, were handed over to the Yellow Gate police on Wednesday. The hostages, most of them non-English speaking, arrived in Mumbai along with 61 pirates who were captured by the navy.
One of the hostages, 46-year-old Nasohi from Indonesia, said through an interpreter, "We crew members were scared ever since the Vega 5 was hijacked. We were kept under really grueling conditions." Nasohi, the deputy to the boat captain, said 30-35 armed pirates would always keep a watch over them and threatened them if they refused to obey them.
The original crew of 24, that included two Spaniards, three Indonesians and 19 from Mozambique, were made to do routine work on board the vessel. "We were often taken to Somalia to replenish supplies. We were fed twice a day, but were forced to work," he said.
Nasohi said they were in the waters near Mozambique when a skiff approached and attacked their fishing boat. "They fired three shots in the air as a warning to stop. Within minutes, they jumped into our boat and since they were heavily armed, we could not do anything to defend ourselves. We were forced to surrender," Nasohi said.
"One day, all hostages were taken to Hobyo, a harbour city in Somalia, where the two Spaniards were offloaded. Our boat was then sent on a mission to capture another merchant vessel," he said.
"Around 100 pirates on that mission attacked an Indian Navy vessel. However, the plan went wrong when the naval authorities retaliated and we were rescued," Nasohi said. He added, "The consulates of Mozambique and Indonesia have approached us. The crew are really happy now that we will be able to go back home soon."
One of the hostages, 46-year-old Nasohi from Indonesia, said through an interpreter, "We crew members were scared ever since the Vega 5 was hijacked. We were kept under really grueling conditions." Nasohi, the deputy to the boat captain, said 30-35 armed pirates would always keep a watch over them and threatened them if they refused to obey them.
The original crew of 24, that included two Spaniards, three Indonesians and 19 from Mozambique, were made to do routine work on board the vessel. "We were often taken to Somalia to replenish supplies. We were fed twice a day, but were forced to work," he said.
Nasohi said they were in the waters near Mozambique when a skiff approached and attacked their fishing boat. "They fired three shots in the air as a warning to stop. Within minutes, they jumped into our boat and since they were heavily armed, we could not do anything to defend ourselves. We were forced to surrender," Nasohi said.
"One day, all hostages were taken to Hobyo, a harbour city in Somalia, where the two Spaniards were offloaded. Our boat was then sent on a mission to capture another merchant vessel," he said.
"Around 100 pirates on that mission attacked an Indian Navy vessel. However, the plan went wrong when the naval authorities retaliated and we were rescued," Nasohi said. He added, "The consulates of Mozambique and Indonesia have approached us. The crew are really happy now that we will be able to go back home soon."
61 pirates land in city, 11 fishermen missing By V Narayan & Simit Bhagat (TNN/TimesOfIndia)
The Mumbai police on Wednesday took custody of the 61 pirates who were captured recently in a firefight at sea along with the 13 freed crewmembers, while the Navy continues searching for 11 missing fishermen.
Two Indian Navy warships intercepted a pirate mother ship, Vega 5, on Saturday night about 600 nautical miles off the country's western coast after a daylong pursuit. An exchange of fire ensued, causing a blaze on the pirate vessel and forcing the pirates and original crewmembers onboard to jump into the water. Sixty-one pirates were caught in the operation and 13 fishermen rescued.
Interviews with the freed fishermen, the Yellow Gate police said on Wednesday, have revealed that Vega 5 had 24 crewmembers (2 Spaniards, 3 Indonesians and 19 Mozambicans) at the time of being hijacked by pirates in December last year. The Navy is combing the waters to find out if the rest drowned during the firefight. Another possibility being weighed is that the missing 11 were left behind by pirates on Somali shores.
"One of the Indonesians, Nasohi, said in his statement that he suspects the pirates left Vega 5's captain, a man called Alfanso, at Hobyo in Somalia," a police officer told TOI.
The captured pirates were brought to Mumbai on Wednesday morning and placed under police custody. They have been charged with rioting with deadly weapons and attempt to murder besides under various sections of the Passport Act, Foreigners Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Arms Act. They will be produced before the Ballard Pier court on Thursday.
A police source said the Navy took an unusually long time to bring the outlaws onshore because of a difficulty in telling the Mozambican fisherman apart from the Somali pirates. The puzzle was finally solved after the crewmembers identified their mates.
Another fumble occurred on Wednesday when the pirates were brought to the city. The Yellow Gate police did not have enough handcuffs and had to borrow a few from others. "Police stations are provided 15 to 20 handcuffs. We fell short today and had to call for some from police stations falling under the port zone jurisdiction at Wadala and Sewri," a police officer said.
About 21 rifles, 2 rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder rocket launchers and several other arms were recovered from the pirates during Saturday's operation. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Zone) Quaiser Khalid said: "The pirates had kept the weapons on the deck of Vega 5. The vessel was damaged during the cross firing and set ablaze. But before it began sinking, the Navy anchored the vessel and recovered the weapons. Later, Vega 5 capsized."
Meanwhile, officials of Mozambicans and Spanish consulates sought permission from the Yellow Gate police station on Wednesday to move the rescued captives to a south Mumbai five-star hotel.
Two Indian Navy warships intercepted a pirate mother ship, Vega 5, on Saturday night about 600 nautical miles off the country's western coast after a daylong pursuit. An exchange of fire ensued, causing a blaze on the pirate vessel and forcing the pirates and original crewmembers onboard to jump into the water. Sixty-one pirates were caught in the operation and 13 fishermen rescued.
Interviews with the freed fishermen, the Yellow Gate police said on Wednesday, have revealed that Vega 5 had 24 crewmembers (2 Spaniards, 3 Indonesians and 19 Mozambicans) at the time of being hijacked by pirates in December last year. The Navy is combing the waters to find out if the rest drowned during the firefight. Another possibility being weighed is that the missing 11 were left behind by pirates on Somali shores.
"One of the Indonesians, Nasohi, said in his statement that he suspects the pirates left Vega 5's captain, a man called Alfanso, at Hobyo in Somalia," a police officer told TOI.
The captured pirates were brought to Mumbai on Wednesday morning and placed under police custody. They have been charged with rioting with deadly weapons and attempt to murder besides under various sections of the Passport Act, Foreigners Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Arms Act. They will be produced before the Ballard Pier court on Thursday.
A police source said the Navy took an unusually long time to bring the outlaws onshore because of a difficulty in telling the Mozambican fisherman apart from the Somali pirates. The puzzle was finally solved after the crewmembers identified their mates.
Another fumble occurred on Wednesday when the pirates were brought to the city. The Yellow Gate police did not have enough handcuffs and had to borrow a few from others. "Police stations are provided 15 to 20 handcuffs. We fell short today and had to call for some from police stations falling under the port zone jurisdiction at Wadala and Sewri," a police officer said.
About 21 rifles, 2 rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder rocket launchers and several other arms were recovered from the pirates during Saturday's operation. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Zone) Quaiser Khalid said: "The pirates had kept the weapons on the deck of Vega 5. The vessel was damaged during the cross firing and set ablaze. But before it began sinking, the Navy anchored the vessel and recovered the weapons. Later, Vega 5 capsized."
Meanwhile, officials of Mozambicans and Spanish consulates sought permission from the Yellow Gate police station on Wednesday to move the rescued captives to a south Mumbai five-star hotel.
Hostages rescued from Somali pirates say they were threatened, tortured (ANI)
The hostages, who were rescued from the Somali pirates, speaking of their captivity on Wednesday said the pirates tortured the officers and threatened everyone with guns.
"The officers were tortured by the pirates. We were just as cadets there and when they used to feel that we are trying to do something, which is not right as per their rules, then they used to torture us," said Abhinav Kotwal, a rescued cadet.
The rescued hostages added that no proper medical facilities were provided, and the food was intolerable.
"We are all very pleased to have been released by the pirates on March 8 after being held by them on the coast of Somalia since April 11, 2010, for 332 days," said Kuvar Singh, who was taken hostage with the vessel RAK Afrikana last year.
Meanwhile, the family members of the released hostages thanked the government, and demanded immediate release of other officials held in captivity.
"I would like to say that the government should make such rules that the other hostages and members of the Indian crew should be rescued in the span of three or four months," said a family member.
In a case of mistaken identity that cost them dear, Somali pirates attacked an Indian Navy warship in the Arabian Sea on Saturday night, believing it to be a merchant ship, before being surprised by marine commandos who fired back and captured the mother vessel with 61 pirates on board.
In the biggest ever haul in anti-piracy operations, the INS Kalpeni - a water jet fast-attack craft - led a midnight operation to nab a Mozambique flagged vessel that was being used by pirates and rescued its crew of 13 sailors, besides arresting the 61 heavily armed pirates on board.
The Vega 5 was hijacked by Somali pirates on December 28, 2010, and was being used as a mother vessel from which they attacked and captured other ships.
About 90 small arms and other heavier weapons were also recovered, including rocket-propelled grenades.
Pirates jailed in 17 nations as prosecutions rise (AP)
Five Somali pirates are jailed for life by a U.S. court. Sixty-one suspected pirates captured at sea face trial in India. Somali prisons are running out of room.
Pirates captured at sea by international navies used to be routinely set free because no country wanted the hassle and expense of a court case. But as piracy has flourished and turned increasingly violent, an unprecedented 17 countries are prosecuting pirates in courts around the world.The increase in arrests and prosecutions shows a growing recognition of the global problem piracy has become, said Alan Cole, the head of the U.N.'s anti-piracy program.
In recent months, six hostages have been killed — including four Americans on a hijacked yacht — and pirates have begun using explosives and blow torches to cut crews out of the secure rooms they sometimes retreat to during attacks.
"Piracy is becoming quite a high-risk enterprise," said Cole. "We see pirates in prison in Kenya, the Seychelles and Maldives. They are amazed to come in and see their cousins, brothers and friends in there. They thought they had all made it and gone to open shops in Europe. The recruiters are lying to them."
Seventeen nations have put more than 850 pirates on trial in the past year and a half, Cole said, including five Somali pirates given life sentences in a U.S. court on Monday. Before the five were convicted late last year, the last U.S. conviction for piracy was in 1819.
A U.S. federal judge was set to decide Tuesday whether 14 more suspected pirates should remain in jail while awaiting trial on charges of piracy, kidnapping and firearms charges in the February yacht hijacking that left the four Americans dead.
In Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland, Cole said, authorities were releasing some low-level criminals to make room for pirates in the overcrowded jail in the port city of Bosasso. The U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime was funding a prison extension of 200 beds to help hold the extra prisoners, he said.
But attacks are increasing, not decreasing.
That's partly due to pirates' changing tactics. They are using captured vessels as "motherships" — a mobile base from which to launch small attack skiffs. The hostages become human shields, preventing warships from intervening, said Cmdr. Paddy O'Kennedy of the European Union Naval Force.
On Sunday night, the Indian navy attacked the fishing boat Vega 5, which had been used as a mothership, in self-defense. Sixty-one pirates were captured and were being taken to Mumbai, India's financial capital, to be prosecuted.
O'Kennedy said that because pirates are now using motherships they can now launch attacks during the northeastern monsoon, which was prohibitive when pirates only used smaller skiffs.
During the monsoon in January 2010, there were 7 piracy incidents. In January 2011 that number shot up to 37, he said.
O'Kennedy said only 93 suspected pirates had been sent to court out of 770 pirates detained by the EU Naval Force since it began keeping records in December 2008. Many countries will not try suspects for conspiracy to commit piracy, because suspects captured with weapons and ladders often cannot be tied to a specific attack.
Even if countries are willing to try pirates, many are not willing to jail them. Thomas Winkler, an official from the Danish Foreign Ministry who helps coordinate the international response to piracy, said that although Somali courts might not be able to handle all piracy cases, Somalia was the natural place for pirates to serve their jail terms.
"The main challenge is not about courtrooms, it is about where they can serve their jail terms," he said. During a meeting in Copenhagen last month, U.N. officials suggested that the Somali region of Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland build more jails to accommodate pirates convicted outside the country.
Last month, the island nation of the Seychelles, whose fishing and tourism industries have been hard hit by piracy, reached a deal to begin repatriating captured Somali pirates to their home country. It also changed its law last year to allow the prosecution of pirates who attack non-Seychelles-flagged ships, provided the flag country consents.
The state counsel in Seychelles, Michael Mulkerrins, said his country is prosecuting pirates because the scourge has had a "huge impact" on the economy.
Winkler also said Somali pirates should serve jail terms in Somalia, where they may be able to be rehabilitated. But he said trials must be held overseas.
"It is necessary to prosecute them outside Somalia because our sailors and ships are attacked," said Winkler. "While we are waiting the stability to return to Somalia, we have to prosecute them outside Somalia."
Associated Press writer Malkhadir M. Muhumed contributed to this report.
Shabaab Claims Command of New Positions Taken from TFG forces By: Abdalle Ahmed (RBCradio)
The Al Shabaab rebel groups claimed that they had seized new positions from the transitional government troops and AMISOM in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu.
The spokesman of the Al Shabaab Mujahidin fighters, Sheikh Abdiasis [known as Abu Muscab] said that his fighters had made great advances and captured major positions during the last 24 hours. He said many checkpoints of Hodan district in Mogadishu iare now under their control.
"We thank Allah that we made great advances during the last 24 hours as we confiscated many roadblocks from Hodan district in the centre of Mogadishu, and we are keeping on our offense against the foreigners", Abu Muscab said in a press conference in Mogadishu.
He added that the bodies of killed soldiers from the TFG forces and AMISOM [African Union Forces] still lay in the battle field "and they can not even take them," he proclaimed.
Heavy fighting between TFG forces with the aiding of African Union troops and the Al Shabaab rebels took place in Hodan, Hawlwadag and Abdi-Asis districts of Mogadishu.
On the other side, the commander of the Somali government forces, Gen Abdikarin Yusuf [Dhagabadan], snubbed the claims from Al Shabaab saying that the forces had defended the positions against baited teenagers, who the Al Shabaab had forced to fight for them.
Somalia capital had seen fierce clashes since the middle of last month when AMISOM protection forces supporting Somalia's besieged government have tried to seize control of areas under an Islamist insurgent group in the capital Mogadishu.
The spokesman of the Al Shabaab Mujahidin fighters, Sheikh Abdiasis [known as Abu Muscab] said that his fighters had made great advances and captured major positions during the last 24 hours. He said many checkpoints of Hodan district in Mogadishu iare now under their control.
"We thank Allah that we made great advances during the last 24 hours as we confiscated many roadblocks from Hodan district in the centre of Mogadishu, and we are keeping on our offense against the foreigners", Abu Muscab said in a press conference in Mogadishu.
He added that the bodies of killed soldiers from the TFG forces and AMISOM [African Union Forces] still lay in the battle field "and they can not even take them," he proclaimed.
Heavy fighting between TFG forces with the aiding of African Union troops and the Al Shabaab rebels took place in Hodan, Hawlwadag and Abdi-Asis districts of Mogadishu.
On the other side, the commander of the Somali government forces, Gen Abdikarin Yusuf [Dhagabadan], snubbed the claims from Al Shabaab saying that the forces had defended the positions against baited teenagers, who the Al Shabaab had forced to fight for them.
Somalia capital had seen fierce clashes since the middle of last month when AMISOM protection forces supporting Somalia's besieged government have tried to seize control of areas under an Islamist insurgent group in the capital Mogadishu.
Nightfall shelling in Mogadishu kills 20, injures number of civilians (Mareeg)
At least 20 people were killed and a large numbers of people were wounded in the capital Mogadishu due to heavy shelling that occurred after nightfall between Al-Shabaab fighters and the Somali TFG government backed by the African union peacekeeping forces, reports said.
The warring parties were fighting and exchanging heavy fire all night in the north and the south of the capital Mogadishu, killing 20 people and injuring a number others, mostly civilians, reports said.
The war came as Shabaab fighters attacked government military posts at the AMISOM bases, at the ex-defence ministry, the milk factory and at Jale-Siyad avenue, where Shabab had lost positions before in the southern part of Mogadishu and likewise in the north.
None of the groups has so far made a statement about last night strikes, which came after a deadly bombardment yesterday in Mogadishu that caused the death of 35 people and wounded 40 others.
Results Unclear as Somali Offensive Continues By Michael Onyiego (VOA)
The Somali government is claiming victory in a month-long offensive to retake pieces of southern Somalia from the insurgent group al-Shabab. But as fighting continues and the death toll rises, the impact of the recent clashes remains unclear.
There has been relative calm in Somalia's border regions over the past week as fighting between government forces and al Qaida-linked insurgent group al-Shabab slows and stabilizes. In late February and early March, fighting erupted as the government forces and the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeepers, AMISOM, launched an offensive to retake territory throughout southern Somalia and the capital, Mogadishu.
For nearly two weeks, fighting spilled over the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders near Mandera, raising international alarm and criticism of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government. The rebel forces have since been pushed back into Somalia and the TFG troops are exercising some measure of control over the area, using it as a base to launch attacks into the Gedo region – a stronghold of al-Shabab.
But according to International Crisis Group Analyst Rashid Abdi, the outcome of the recent violence is not so clear.
"Definitely both sides are claiming victory," Abdi said. "Towns have changed hands; they are now controlled by the pro-government forces. The government has managed to consolidate its control over two or three, four towns along the border. Now this is a very modest gain and it is by no way an indication that we are beginning to see a roll-back of al Shabab in these territories."
While fighting does not appear to be finished in Somalia, members of the African Union are praising the operation as a success. Just last week, an AU representative to the U.N. Security Council claimed the government now controlled as much as 60 percent of Mogadishu, with about 80 percent of the population under the aegis of the TFG and AMISOM forces.
But the operation came at a heavy cost: Over 50 AMISOM soldiers were killed in less than a month of fighting. AMISOM's troops come from Uganda and Burundi, and there is worry that continued losses on the battlefield could affect each nation's commitment to the Somali mission.
But as ICG's Abdi points out, there are also serious questions being raised about the long-term strategy underlying the recent violence.
"There is a clear absence of a political strategy," he added. "This is an exclusive military strategy in the hope that, at some point, there will be positive dynamics from the military offensive which will produce some kind of a political miracle."
The Somali military is heavily dependent on the 8,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops fighting for AMISOM in Mogadishu. The force has, over the past year, requested funding for more troops to help take full control of the capital. But many observers question whether the TFG or its military is capable of administering and controlling those areas without AMISOM support. Speaking with VOA in Nairobi on Wednesday, Somali Parliamentarian Hassan Ibrahim put it more bluntly:
"The Shabab are much more organized than the government because they have vision, they have morale, they are motivated for their cause. But the government: not. The trooper who is fighting today for the Somali government – who hasn't been paid in more than a year – his belly is empty. Do you think he can last one hour? No, he can't."
Such doubts are part of a growing chorus of discontent aimed at the Transitional Federal Government as it approaches the end of its original mandate in August. Seven years earlier, the TFG was tasked with delivering a new constitution and national elections by 2011. With neither of those goals within reach, the Somali parliament voted to unilaterally extend the government's mandate by another three years, prompting condemnation from major Somali backers such as the United Nations and United States.
Ibrahim says the current military offensive in Somalia has more to do with validating the TFG extension than actually eliminating al-Shabab and stabilizing the region.
"We've wasted seven precious years," Ibrahim added. "You couldn't do – all of these seven years – nothing and suddenly in three months or six months of your period you can do something. This is just propaganda and personal gain."
The shifting lines in Somalia's turmoil are more complicated than ever but, for now, the international community seems to be taking notice. In recent Security Council discussions, China has urged other nations to recognize Somalia's instability an underlying cause of piracy, and a threat to international security. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the United Nations not to lose focus calling the AMISOM gains "fragile" as "violence continues to rage."
AMISOM REFUSES TO OPEN BAKARA MARKET! By Jamal (Keydmedia)
Bakara market is one of the biggest open-air markets in east Africa. This was a feeding and income centre for many families living in Mogadishu. It was home to different types of businesses, lowest being handcart services for any kind of light transport.
The closure of this market begun when a Burundi contingent invaded and attacked the former defense headquarter building which was a base to Al-sabaab a month ago. The invasion shut the only existing open road to the market down.
Efforts made to open a road nearby the Bakara market - claimed by leader Mr. Ali Dheere - did bear no fruit, when parties concerned got a rejecting reply from Mogadishu based top Ugandan AMISOM contingent. The proposal to open the road is the junction at former fire brigade base along Maka Al Mukarama avenue, which is next to the largest Ugandan base along the only open existing road to Villa Somalia - the state house.
Bakara market today is a ghost market where very rarely some individuals are seen who still watch over the remaining assets.
On the other side, new and quickly constructed warehouses to store the goods were created in other parts of Mogadishu and they are doing a booming business
Today, buildings are renovated all along the strategic business centres of Wadajir and Darkinley districts of Banadir region. This has changed the whole lifestyle of Mogadishu residents, who have now adapted to a situation without Bakara market.
The Keydmedia investigative team managed to speak to Ali Dheere who claimed to be the chairperson of Bakara market association, He confirmed that their efforts became futile when AMISOM rejected to open the roads leading to the market. But AMISOM Mogadishu spokesperson Major Bahuku claimed:"We have no reason and neither an interest in Bakara market".
While such defenses and accusations are played out on the ground, convoys heavily loaded with different types of goods are seen parked in several parts of Mogadishu, who came from the main port but are not having a place to offload!
Ugandan Amisom peacekeepers jailed for shooting Somalis (BBC)
Three Ugandan soldiers from the African Union force in Somalia have been sentenced to two years in prison for injuring civilians in two shooting incidents in the capital, Mogadishu.
Some Somalis have previously accused the AU force - Amisom - of using indiscriminate violence but these are are the first such convictions.
The AU force is helping the UN-backed government tackle Islamist militias.
At least 14 people were killed in fierce fighting late on Tuesday.
The two AU soldiers have been sent home to Uganda to serve their sentences.
Amisom commander Maj Gen Nathan Mugisha said the jail terms illustrated that "any acts of carelessness and irresponsibility will not be condoned or tolerated".
He said the incidents in November 2010 and January 2011 were regrettable.
Amisom said that no civilians died in the incidents but admitted that some Mogadishu residents were wounded.
In the latest fighting, Mogadishu residents reported hearing heavy shelling through the night around the main market area of the beleaguered city.
There have been renewed efforts by the government forces since the beginning of the year to gain control of major parts of Mogadishu.
This offensive is expected to be intensified with the recent arrival of an additional 1,000 AU troops to bolster the 8,000 already there.
The al-Shabab Islamist militants, linked to al-Qaeda, control much of southern and central Somalia.
The country has not had an effective government for two decades.
Ahlu Sunna Charges Govt With Disrespect (ShabelleMediaNetwork)
The administration of Somalia's moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama ASWJ charged Somali transitional federal government with disrespect after capturing the border town of Belet-hawo in Gedo region in southern Somalia.
The spokesman of Ahlu Sunna Waljama in Europe, Mohammed Hussein Owliyo held a press conference in Galka'yo town and said that most of the fighting against the Al Shabaab fighters in Gedo region was done by Ahlu Sunna fighters. But, he stated the government is trying the hide the role of Ahlu Sunna fighters in the battles in southern Somalia.
He stressed that their fighters are more than the soldiers of the government fighting along them in Gedo region.
Mr. Owliyo pointed out that the president of Somali government, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed praised only Somali government forces, saying that he disrespected the ASWJ.
Somali-Kenyan Border Clashes Kills Ten (GaroweOnline)
Clashes broke out in Somali-Kenyan border town between Somalia pro-government forces and Al-Shabaab militants left 10 people dead and others injured on Wednesday, residents told Garowe Online.
Witnesses at Buulo-Hawo district in Southern Somalia said residents found the body of two dead civilians and eight other bodies from the warring sides. According to residents in Mandera, a neighbouring district in Kenyan soil, two civilians dead after stray-bullet hit them at their houses.
Al-Shabaab militia's military spokesman, Sheikh Abdulaziz Abdu Muscab told the media in Somalia's capital Mogadishu that his group attacked Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian and Kenyan military forces who control the district.
Abu Muscab claimed his militias forced Somali government troops and its alliance military forces to leave to Mandera neighbouring district in Kenya.
Ahlu-Sunna Wal Jamaa, a pro-government Islamists official, Sheikh Abdurrahman claimed that their militias and government forces control Buulo-Hawo and clashes between them and Al-Shabaab occurred at the outskirt of the town.
Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked militia in Somalia is fighting to overthrow the Somali government and African Union troops to control the country and set up a strict Islamic state.
The militias control much of central and southern regions including large parts of the capital Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab retakes south Somalia town (PressTV)
Al-Shabab fighters have recaptured a frontier town in southern Somalia from the government-allied Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a militiamen. Members of the anti-government al-Shabab group took control of the town of Diff, located on the border with Kenya, on Thursday without much resistance from Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a fighters, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Al-Shabab had controlled the southern Somali town since January 2009. However, it fell under Ahlu Sunna Waljama's control last week.
Allegedly also newly arriving soldiers from Uganda have been observed on the Kenyan side of the border.
Over the past two decades, up to one million people have been killed in Somalia in the fighting between rival factions and also due to famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia, with over 300,000 of them sheltering in Mogadishu alone.
Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Somali region of Puntland suspends controversial deal with private security firm Saracen By Abdi Guled (AP)
Somalia's northern region of Puntland has suspended a controversial deal with a private security firm contracted to train an anti-piracy force, two government officials said Thursday.
Saracen International was hired to train 1,050 men in Puntland to battle the pirates that menace shipping off Somalia's coast.Somalia's northern region of Puntland has suspended a controversial deal with a private security firm contracted to train an anti-piracy force, two government officials said Thursday.
An Associated Press investigation previously found that the project was linked to Erik Prince, who founded the private security firm Blackwater, and also had a secret mission to go after an Islamist rebel linked to insurgents in southern Somalia.
Two officials in the Puntland government said the deal had been suspended following international pressure. Both asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
One official said most of Saracen's primarily South African staff have left the country but he expected them to return. The second official said that training has been suspended and that 200 recruits who had graduated from the training program were not paid in February.
Puntland's information minister did not return calls seeking comment on the subject.
A person familiar with the project, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that the project had been suspended partly due to pressure from the U.N. and the U.S. government.
The two organizations were concerned about the secrecy surrounding the deal, its possible violation of U.N. sanctions and that it might undercut hard-won reforms in the Somali security sector. A mystery donor, believed to be the United Arab Emirates, had already spent millions of dollars on the Saracen deal through a web of companies with false addresses.
Another Saracen deal to train Somali forces in the capital of Mogadishu was cancelled by Somalia's parliament in January.
Somalia has not had a functioning government for over 20 years. The failed state is a haven for pirates and Islamist insurgents who are battling the weak U.N.-backed government.
Scores arrested in Las'anod City By Abdalle Ahmed (RBC)
Scores of people were detained in Las'anod city of northern Somalia Sool region as Somaliland's security forces conduct heavy search operation, RBC Radio correspondent says.
The Somaliland forces lunched the search operations due to last week's murder of the regional police officer, whom was killed by unknown armed men. Nearly ten people were detained and taken to custody during the last 24-hours.
The security forces were seen entering hotels, houses and business places in search for what they called 'suspects'.
Local sources claim that most of the apprehended people are youth and university students captured from their classes. There are also some women among the detained.
The is still no comment from Somaliland's security officials concerning these arrests. The city is under curfew at the moment
Las'anod which is the administrative capital of Sool region is under Somaliland's control since it was invaded in 2007, but many inhabitants of the city are closely associated with Puntland and most want to stay in peace amind the rangel from both sides.
The Somaliland forces lunched the search operations due to last week's murder of the regional police officer, whom was killed by unknown armed men. Nearly ten people were detained and taken to custody during the last 24-hours.
The security forces were seen entering hotels, houses and business places in search for what they called 'suspects'.
Local sources claim that most of the apprehended people are youth and university students captured from their classes. There are also some women among the detained.
The is still no comment from Somaliland's security officials concerning these arrests. The city is under curfew at the moment
Las'anod which is the administrative capital of Sool region is under Somaliland's control since it was invaded in 2007, but many inhabitants of the city are closely associated with Puntland and most want to stay in peace amind the rangel from both sides.
A Half-Baked Regional Agreement
From: Galmudug Diaspora Community (*)
To: UNDP Political Office in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: USA Embassy accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: EU Embassies accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: IGAD Embassies accredited in Nairobi, Kenya
CC: Arab League Secretariat
CC: Islamic Conference
On February 15, 2011 representatives from Galmudug administration took part of a preliminary peace-making meeting with their counterparts at Garowe City, the seat of Punt land Administration. At the conclusion of two days of deliberations, a half-baked agreement has been signed that did not address some critical issues in the hearts of Galmudug communities. The agreement did not prioritize the dominant, contended issues that create ongoing friction between the two administrations. The current agreement was supposed to be contingent to the main, outstanding problems and not the vice versa.
The overriding, sidetracked issues include:
A - The aggression of Puntland forces against pastoral community under the jurisdiction of Galmudug Administration that took place in December, 2010 is a case in point. Such armed assault was spearheaded by gun mounted technicals [battlewagons] of Puntland and their loyal clan militia, which resulted in the death and injury of 78 victims, as well a score of camels dead in the cross-fire.
It was a provocative, political calculation waged by a neighboring administration against peaceful pastorals following after their herds. The political vision of Puntland Administration is masked and far-reaching. Galmudug community knows that the incident is a strategic move of Puntland land's territorial expansion intended to carve a swath of prospective lands believed to contain oil reserve.
Every peace initiative short of addressing such critical issues is a pure window dressing tool intended to hoodwink the world community as peace-makers, while sidetracking outstanding problems that Puntland Administration is not willing to discuss and solve the roots of the conflict for good. Other overdue issues include:
B - Joint management for Galkaio civilian airport. The airport is a federal asset under the territorial jurisdiction of South Galkaio administration, yet run by Puntland Administration. The management of the facility became a point of contention vied and contested by respective administrations since Galkaio became a divided City in 1991.
In retrospect, Mohamed Farah Aidiid and Abdullahi Yufuf Ahmed- heavy weight personalities of respective bordering communities- signed a peace agreement in 1992 that put the airport a shared facility in terms of co-management, collection of airport fees, maintenance and improvement works jointly run by the bordering communities. Since 1992, Puntland administration broke the binding agreement four times and unilaterally manages the airport.
Galmudug administration raises the airport issues with Puntland authorities at least four times a month over the past 20 years, but with no avail short of going to an open war and then losing the facility in the squabble, while sparking a new regional conflict that undermines the gains of stability in both regional administrations. Galmudug administration refrains from any act of violence and disharmony in Puntland, or any other emerging regional authority in Central Regions.
C - Remedying of hundreds of uprooted pastoral families from their grazing lands, who are now exposed to the mercy of prolonged droughts and forced to live barren lands devoid of pasture water resources.
D - The rights of grazing lands between regional demarcation lines. As usual, rain may fall anywhere in the land, and the conventional wisdom of pastoral leaders dictates that rain, water ponds and pasture lands are the grace of God and the pastoral communities have the undeniable rights to share such blessing, regardless of clan affiliations or territorial boundaries. Currently, Puntland administration restricts the free grazing norms upheld by pastoral tradition since immemorial days, and this is an act of no brains.
E - Galmudug community knows that the substance of any peace treaty with Puntland authority is ephemeral. Galmudug administration takes peace agreement by heart and binding, while Puntland see it as inconsequential, temporary convenience.
F - Galmudug community in Diaspora takes such superficial agreement as a shadowy blueprint designed to win the hearts and minds of donor institutions, while hiding its militaristic campaigns from the international communities.
Conclusion:
(a)-Puntland and Galmudug Administrations should start a new round of peace talks conveyed within 60 days from 1st March 2011 that hopefully addresses issues (a-e) mentioned above.
(b)-Puntland should refrain from any act of provocative wars and conflict of interest with Galmudug and Somaliland administrations, and settling any contending issue(s) in peaceful ways. Galmudug community believes that the donor's financial support and the possession of military hardware give Puntland the edge of bullying Galmudug and Somaliland.
(c)-UNDP Political Office has to take a step forward as an observer during Galmudug-Puntland peace process, and mediate, if need be so, to any regional peace agreement taking place between Galmudug and Puntland and Somaliland and Puntland in any future date.
UNDP should put in use the legendary policy of stick and carrot in order to check up any intransigent attitude of regional authority(s) in respect to the stability of bordering regions. We support this policy and we believe it will work.
(*) Galmudug Diaspora Community
- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars):
NO MONEY TO HELP HOSTAGE SEAFARERS - BUT:
India Becomes Worlds Largest Arms Importer (NakedNews)
India has overtaken China as the world's largest importer of arms, accounting for 9 percent of global weapons imports between 2006 and 2010. China was responsible for only 6 percent. Projections say that India will continue to lead imports in the near future as it looks to spend more than 50 billion dollars over the next 5 years to modernize its armed forces.
[N.B.: ... and in the arms selling race between the Brits and their U.S. cousins, surely the Brits clarified quickly that the "development-aid" for India will NOT be cancelled. British taxpayers are responsible ? - NO they aren't, while they let their governmental salesmen - incl. UK trade envoy Prince Andrew - run wild!]
U.S. Election observers expelled from Djibouti By Katrina Manson (FT)
An international election observation team funded by the US is pulling out of Djibouti after being declared "illegal" less than a month before the country goes to polls boycotted by the opposition. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, foreign minister, told the Financial Times the group had failed to maintain neutrality and that the country was seeking to avert scenes of "chaos and upheaval" similar to those across the Middle East and north Africa.
US election monitoring group kicked out of East African nation of Djibouti 3 weeks before vote By JASON STRAZIUSO (AP)
Djibouti's government has kicked out an American election monitoring group less than a month before the nation's presidential election, a vote opposition politicians are boycotting because they say the president is repressing dissent.
Djibouti is a tiny East African nation that hosts the only U.S. military base in Africa. Situated on the Gulf of Aden between Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen, the city-state is a major shipping hub in a volatile region.
The country is nominally democratic, but events leading up to the April 8 presidential election appear to show a hardline approach by President Ismail Omar Guelleh at a time when democracy movements are upending administrations.
Democracy International, a U.S. group that works on democracy and governance programs, was halfway through a two-year, $2.2 million U.S. government-funded contract when it was accused of assisting opposition politicians and barred from the country earlier this month.
The head of the group's observation mission, Chris Hennemeyer, said the accusations are not true.
Djibouti saw an estimated 6,000 people turn out to an opposition political rally on Feb. 18. The rally turned violent when riot police moved in, and opposition politicians said dozens of people were wounded and five killed. A second rally planned for March 4 didn't happen after security forces filled the streets.
Hennemeyer said many countries in the region are nervous during a time of popular protests, and that the February rally surprised Djiboutian leaders.
"They were not expecting such a large turnout, and I think those two factors — regional nervousness and the protest — were enough to lead at least some people in the government to conclude that this was not the kind of program that they wanted to support," Hennemeyer said of the reasons Democracy International was kicked out.
Calls to Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf were not answered, and the government spokesman said he couldn't immediately talk. But Youssouf told the Financial Times this week that Democracy International exhibited "concerning" behavior and that the U.S. could nominate another observer group. He said the EU, African Union and Arab League have been invited to send observers to the vote.
The U.S. has outsized influence in Djibouti, a country of only 750,000 people. On the outskirts of Djibouti city, across from its international airport, lies Camp Lemonnier, the only U.S. base in Africa. The base — which sits just miles (kilometers) from Somalia — is one of Djibouti's major employers.
The U.S. ambassador met with Djibouti's prime minister over the Democracy International expulsion, but the group was kicked out anyway, Hennemeyer said. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said the embassy was not prepared to comment.
Guelleh, the president, has served two terms already. His critics lament changes he made to the constitution last year that scrubbed a two-term limit from the nation's bylaws. Guelleh will face one opponent on April 8, one not expected to win many votes.
Last Friday Djibouti authorities arrested four opposition politicians and detained them several hours, according to the opposition leaders. The group said it "can no longer tolerate the repressive and deadly fury of this moribund regime.
"We warn the illegal candidate against his irresponsible actions at the risk of seeing radicalization of our actions, which have up to now been peaceful," the group said, referring to Guelleh. "The opposition can no longer continue to respect the law when the ruling power itself tramples on it."
Hennemeyer said he believes Djibouti — which has been controlled by the same family since independence in 1977 — is moving toward democracy, including having allowed past demonstrations and carrying opposition messages in state media.
"There were signs of progress in important areas," he said. "What will happen to those now I honestly don't know. I don't see Djibouti moving backward, but I'm not sure I see it moving forward in a democratic sense either."
The African Union calls on Member states to ratify the Convention for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa By African Union (AU)
Addis Ababa, 15 March 2011 – In order to popularize and create awareness, and promote the speedy signature, ratification and domestication of the AU Convention for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, the African Union has decided to convene regional meetings. The first round of consultations will take place in Lilongwe, Malawi for the SADC region from 17 to 18 March 2011.
Since its adoption in October 2009 at the Kampala Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's), seven African Union Member States (Uganda, Sierra Leone, Chad, Zambia, Central African Republic, Somalia and Gabon) have ratified the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDP's. Thirtyone (31) Member States have signed the instrument. The Convention, the first ever instrument aimed at addressing the challenge of forced displacement on the continent, needs 15 ratifications for it to come into force.
To this effect, the African Union has formulated a Plan of Action (2010-2012) and an Implementation Plan to put into action the outcomes of the Special Summit. The Regional Consultative Meeting will roll-out the implementation of the Plan of Action, review the steps undertaken by Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to implement the Plan of Action, agree on regional and national strategies and sequence how activities under the Plan of Action can fit in their own plans.
The consultative meeting will be attended by the SADC Inter-Parliamentary Forum, the Pan-African Parliament, legal experts from AU Member States and experts in the field of forced displacement; the SADC secretariat, development partners, UN agencies and partners involved in the humanitarian realm, civil society and the Diaspora.
More information on www.au.int
Full_Report (pdf* format - 66.6 Kbytes)
Since its adoption in October 2009 at the Kampala Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's), seven African Union Member States (Uganda, Sierra Leone, Chad, Zambia, Central African Republic, Somalia and Gabon) have ratified the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDP's. Thirtyone (31) Member States have signed the instrument. The Convention, the first ever instrument aimed at addressing the challenge of forced displacement on the continent, needs 15 ratifications for it to come into force.
To this effect, the African Union has formulated a Plan of Action (2010-2012) and an Implementation Plan to put into action the outcomes of the Special Summit. The Regional Consultative Meeting will roll-out the implementation of the Plan of Action, review the steps undertaken by Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to implement the Plan of Action, agree on regional and national strategies and sequence how activities under the Plan of Action can fit in their own plans.
The consultative meeting will be attended by the SADC Inter-Parliamentary Forum, the Pan-African Parliament, legal experts from AU Member States and experts in the field of forced displacement; the SADC secretariat, development partners, UN agencies and partners involved in the humanitarian realm, civil society and the Diaspora.
More information on www.au.int
Full_Report (pdf* format - 66.6 Kbytes)
10 Reasons To Say NO To Western Intervention In Libya By Andrew Murray (Stop the War)
The political campaign to launch a military intervention in Libya – ostensibly on humanitarian grounds but with patently political ends in sight – is gathering steam among the NATO powers. A "no-fly zone" has now been urged by the Arab League – for the most part a collection of frightened despots desperate to get the US military still more deeply involved in the region. That would be the start of a journey down slippery slope.
1. Intervention will violate Libya's sovereignty. This is not just a legalistic point – although the importance of observing international law should not be discounted if the big powers in the world are not to be given the green light run amok. As soon as NATO starts to intervene, the Libyan people will start to lose control of their own country and future.
2. Intervention can only prolong, not end the civil war. "No-fly zones" will not be able to halt the conflict and will lead to more bloodshed, not less.
3. Intervention will lead to escalation. Because the measures being advocated today cannot bring an end to the civil war, the next demand will be for a full-scale armed presence in Libya, as in Iraq – and meeting the same continuing resistance. That way lies decades of conflict.
4. This is not Spain in 1936, when non-intervention meant helping the fascist side which, if victorious in the conflict, would only encourage the instigators of a wider war – as it did. Here, the powers clamouring for military action are the ones already fighting a wider war across the Middle East and looking to preserve their power even as they lose their autocratic allies. Respecting Libya's sovereignty is the cause of peace, not is enemy.
5. It is more like Iraq in the 1990s, after the First Gulf War. Then, the US, Britain and France imposed no-fly zones which did not lead to peace – the two parties in protected Iraqi Kurdistan fought a bitter civil war under the protection of the no-fly zone – and did prepare the ground for the invasion of 2003. Intervention may partition Libya and institutionalise conflict for decades.
6. Or it is more like the situation in Kosovo and Bosnia. NATO interference has not lead to peace, reconciliation or genuine freedom in the Balkans, just to endless corrupt occupations.
7. Yes, it is about oil. Why the talk of intervening in Libya, but not the Congo, for example? Ask BP.
8. It is also about pressure on Egyptian revolution – the biggest threat to imperial interests in the region. A NATO garrison next door would be a base for pressure at least, and intervention at worst, if Egyptian freedom flowers to the point where it challenges western interests in the region.
9. The hypocrisy gives the game away. When the people of Bahrain rose against their US-backed monarchy and were cut down in the streets, there was no talk of action, even though the US sixth fleet is based there and could doubtless have imposed a solution in short order. As top US republican Senator Lindsey Graham observed last month "there are regimes we want to change, and those we don't". NATO will only ever intervene to strangle genuine social revolution, never to support it.
10. Military aggression in Libya – to give it the righty name – will be used to revive the blood-soaked policy of 'liberal interventionism'. That beast cannot be allowed to rise from the graves of Iraq and Afghanistan.
(*) Andrew Murray is National Chair, Stop the War Coalition
Egypt's billionaires are still in power By Lee Mwiti (NationMedia)
Forget what you have been hearing in the Press; Egypt is still the place to be, at least when it comes to investment.
At the twilight of former President Hosni Mubarak's reign, rumours frantically did the rounds to the effect that the family name was worth up to a staggering $70 billion.
While this may never be confirmed, this figure would have landed the family right at the top of the world's rich list, currently headed by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.
Mr Slim, a telco magnate among other things, is worth $74 billion according to the latest annual ranking by Forbes magazine.
But here's the interesting part. Africa has, at 14, an almost insignificant (1.2 per cent actually) share of the world's 1,210 confirmed billionaires, but eight of these hold Egyptian citizenship.
The others are four South Africans and two Nigerians. This is in itself an improved showing—last year, there were only 10 Africans on the list.
Reigns supreme
The Sawiris family, better associated with the Orascom conglomerate brand, reigns supreme, making up half of the Egyptian list. The three sons—Samih, Naguib and Nassef and patriarch Onsi are worth a combined $13.4 billion.
Bahrain Clashes Turn Ugly (NakedNews)
Confrontations between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bahrain took an ugly turn on Wednesday in the country's capital. Soldiers overran demonstrators in Manama's main square, where they'd been camping out for weeks. At least 200 people have been injured in the clashes so far as military forces work to reclaim the city.
Violence rocks Bahrain (Peninsula)
Frenzied clashes swept Bahrain yesterday, as the kingdom declared a three-month state of emergency that gave the state's military chief wide authority to battle protesters demanding political reforms and equal rights for Shias.
A day after Gulf troops entered the country, disturbances shook the kingdom through the day. A hospital source said two men, one Bahraini and the other Bangladeshi, were killed in clashes in the Shia area of Sitra and more than 200 people were wounded in various incidents. State television said a Bahraini policeman was also killed, denying media reports that a Saudi soldier had been shot dead.
"In order for the situation to return to normal we have to establish order and security and ... stop the violations which have spread disturbances among the people of our dear country," said Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed Al Khalifa.
Analysts said the troop movement showed concern in Saudi Arabia that any concessions in Bahrain could inspire the kingdom's own Shia minority.
Iran criticised the decision to send in Saudi troops. "The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain's internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran. A Bahraini foreign ministry official called the remarks "blatant interference in Bahrain's internal affairs", the state news agency BNA said, adding that Manama had recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations.
Thousands of Bahrainis marched on the Saudi Embassy in Manama to protest against the intervention. "People are angry, we want this occupation to end. We don't want anybody to help the Al Khalifa or us," said a protester. Violent clashes between youths wielding clubs, knives and rocks have become daily occurrences, forcing Bahrain University and many schools to close in order to avoid further trouble.
Armed youths attacked the printing press of Bahrain's only opposition newspaper Al Wasat overnight in an effort to stop its publication. Metal barricades and piles of sand and rocks blocked the main road to the financial district and most shops were shut.
Around Bahrain, residents have placed skips, bins and pieces of metal on the road, to prevent strangers from entering their neighbourhoods. Young men, some wearing masks and carrying sticks, guarded the entrances to their areas.
The United States dispatched Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman to Bahrain to push for dialogue to resolve the crisis. The largest Shia opposition group, Wefaq, condemned the imposition of emergency rule and urged international intervention.
Is Obama Even Worse Than Bush? By David Swanson (WarIsACrime)
When I advocated the impeachment of George W. Bush, I did so despite, not because of, all the animosity it fueled among impeachment supporters. I didn't want retribution. I wanted to deter the continuation and repetition of Bush's crimes and abuses. Specifically, and by far most importantly -- and I said this thousands of times -- I wanted to deny all future presidents the powers Bush had grabbed. One-time abuses can be catastrophic, but establishing the power to repeat them can multiply the damage many fold, especially when one of the powers claimed is the power to create new powers.
There's a common tendency to confuse politics with reality television shows or to imagine that politicians are, even more than fictional heroes, your own personal friends. This tendency is only compounded by the partisan framework in which we are instructed to imagine half the politicians as purely evil and the other half as essentially good. So, let's be clear. There's very little question that Barack Obama speaks more eloquently than Bush, and that Obama at times (and more so as a candidate than as a president) expresses far kinder and wiser sentiments than Bush. It seems quite likely to me that had Obama been made president in 2000 he would have done far less damage than Bush by 2008. Obama is probably a fun guy to play basketball with, while Bush might be expected to throw elbows, kick opponents, and pull your shorts down. But I'm interested in something more important than the spectacle of personality here. I think Obama would make a wonderful powerless figurehead, and I dearly wish that were what he was. I th
There's a common tendency to confuse politics with reality television shows or to imagine that politicians are, even more than fictional heroes, your own personal friends. This tendency is only compounded by the partisan framework in which we are instructed to imagine half the politicians as purely evil and the other half as essentially good. So, let's be clear. There's very little question that Barack Obama speaks more eloquently than Bush, and that Obama at times (and more so as a candidate than as a president) expresses far kinder and wiser sentiments than Bush. It seems quite likely to me that had Obama been made president in 2000 he would have done far less damage than Bush by 2008. Obama is probably a fun guy to play basketball with, while Bush might be expected to throw elbows, kick opponents, and pull your shorts down. But I'm interested in something more important than the spectacle of personality here. I think Obama would make a wonderful powerless figurehead, and I dearly wish that were what he was. I th
[Message clipped]
--
A.H Amin
No comments:
Post a Comment