STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 27. September 2011)
PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEMS OF SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl.
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.
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STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 27. September 2011 at 21h45 UTC, at least 30 larger plus 18 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 504 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple - 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 ?
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for 4,500 Haitians having been killed by a Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti.
LATEST:
STILL OVER 500 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies , for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia.
Updates on known cases of piracy - pls see also below these latest news and in the status section.
MV DOVER CREW IN DANGER ? (ecop-marine)
Officially not yet confirmed reports from sea-jacked MV Dover speak of a Mexican stand-off between two rival Somali pirate groups.
Both conflicting parties, split along clan-affiliations of Ali Saleban and Siwaqron sub-clans - both of Majerteen - stand heavily armed against each other on board of the vessel.
The Siwaqron group, holding also the translator, is apparently locked in at the wheelhouse and the Ali Saleban group members have barricaded themselves at the front of the Handymax bulk carrier. Each of the gangs holds hostages from the crew - 14 sailors are reportedly held in the rearhouse and 9 with the other group are locked in the anchor-chain chambers at the bow.
Luckily the Danish sailing family, held hostage earlier on that vessel too, was freed already and is safely back home.
The dispute is said to be about the sharing of the expected ransom drop.
A negotiation to solve the stand-off shall apparently take place tomorrow - on 28. September - and mediators try frantically to diffuse the extremely dangerous situation.
©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - articles above are exclusive reports and, if not specifically ©-marked , free for publication as long as cited correctly and the source is quoted.
The maritime articles below are cleared or commented. If you don't find a specific article, it most likely was not worth to be republished here, but if you feel we have overlooked an important publication, please mail it to us.
What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
SEARCH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNET PORTAL ON PIRACY
NATO WARNING:
Two vessels have reported on 23/09/2011 around 14h00 UTC suspicious activity by skiffs in the area of 12:22N - 043:54E.
One Skiff was reported in the area of 1222N 04350E, and had 3 persons on board. Another skiff in the area of 1222N 04354E had 4 persons on board. These skiffs appear to be acting suspiciously in this region.
Both vessels have reported they are safe.
IMB/PRC REPORTS:
24.09.2011: 2050 UTC: Posn: 12:25.8N - 043:38.2E, Gulf of Aden.
Pirates in a dark coloured rubber boat chased and fired upon a bulk carrier underway. Master, duty watchman and a duty armed guard noticed a small boat at a distance of 20 metres from the ship. Master raised alarm, all crew retreated to a safe area except Master and the bridge crew. Other guards came to the bridge, took their positions and one of the guard fired a warning shot resulting in the pirates aborting the attempted attack and moved away.
21.09.2011: 0643 UTC: Posn: 12:46.6S – 046:18.5E: Around 60nm east of Mayotte Island, Madagascar.
A container ship underway noticed two skiffs with three to four persons in each at a distance of 1.5nm. The skiffs increased speed to 18 knots and approached and chased the vessel from different sides. The vessel made evasive manoeuvres, increased speed and enforced anti piracy measures. The skiffs aborted the attempt after chasing the vessels for 25 minutes.
20.09.2011: 0734 UTC : 04:47S – 044: 35E: Around 300nm east of Mombasa, Kenya.
While underway, pirates in two skiffs armed with guns and RPG chased a general cargo ship with intend to hijack her. Ship took avoiding action however the pirates managed to board the vessel. All crew retreated into the citadel and requested for assistance. Prior to leaving the ship the pirates set fire to the vessel. A coalition warship arrived at location and rescued the crew.
Pirates 'bring shame on Somalia' By Will Ross (BBC)
Most Somalis will tell you they are disgusted by the cruelty of the pirates who are holding Judith Tebbutt.
The 56-year-old from Hertfordshire saw her husband David shot in front of her at a remote beach resort on the north Kenyan coast.
One respected elder was so angered he spoke out on a local radio station to condemn the kidnap and to call for the British woman's swift release.
"This action would definitely spoil the image of the millions of good Somalis across the globe," said Imam Omar Moalin Abshir in an interview with the BBC that was translated from Mogadishu.
"What hurt me is the fact that they have killed her husband as well as denying her, her freedom.
"I feel the worst thing you can do to someone is to deny them their freedom. That itself is a big crime."
Ransom payments
In 2008 pirates captured another British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler.
They were held for 13 months until a ransom was delivered.
Although significantly lower than the initial demand of $7m (£4.5m), it was reported to be around $1m (£650,000).
The fact that Mrs Tebbutt is also British is significant for Imam Omar Moalin Abshir, who is from the same Suleiman sub-clan as the pirates holding Judith Tebbutt.
"We know the kind gesture the British people and their government have extended to Somalis after the collapse of the Somali state.
"Many Somalis are today enjoying freedom and a good life in UK. It's a shame that this is how we repay our brothers in UK."
In Somali society the elders are treated with great respect. But when it comes to the pirates the rule book is torn up.
They are motivated by one thing only - money.
The size of the ransom payments make it a hugely profitable business.
Experts say the average payment is now $5m (£3.2m). According to the piracy watchdog and campaign group Ecoterra, the pirates are currently holding 48 vessels, along with 504 crew including a South African yachting couple.
'Shared ransom'
Despite the fact that the elders are pretty much ignored by the gangs, they are still working to help release Mrs Tebbutt.
They have appealed to the local administration of the Himan and Heb region to help. Its leader, Mohamed Aden, organised the handover of the Chandlers last November.
"Recently there was a meeting held by the elders from the central region where this issue was raised. We agreed to work together as elders and ensure she is freed.
"We are making contacts with elders in the specific area where she is said to be held and we are determined to use everything at our disposal to ensure the lady is released."
There had been fears that Mrs Tebbutt was being held by the Islamist insurgent group Al Shabab.
Although it is now clear from local reports that she is in the hands of pirates, Al Shabab - which is known to be running short of funds - is likely to gain from the kidnapping.
"According to information we are receiving, Al Shabab and the pirates are one and the same," said Imam Omar Moalin Abshir.
"They have a link and they share every ransom paid for the release of ships hijacked in Somalia - and that is a fact.
MV Hoàng Sơn Sun: "complete horror"
After a meeting with a British company which specializes in maritime hostage negotiation on 25.Jan.2011, Hoang Son, vice director of Hoàng Sơn Co Ltd had estimated the ransom would be $5 million
The Hoang Son Sun was carrying 21,000 tons of iron ore when it was attacked about 520 nautical miles South-East of Muscat, Oman on January 17.
May Hung Bui Thai since the days of detention.
After running some distance, the robbers asked the ship anchored about three nautical miles from shore, the crew then began calling the family company to report the incident and demanded ransom.Also from that day, his life is the day you complete horror. REFERENCE
EU urges more aggressive action on pirates (TheFINANCIAL)
European Union states on Friday called for "more robust" action from the international fleet in the Indian Ocean to step up the fight against increasingly daring and well-armed pirates.
The defence ministers of the 27 EU countries also demanded a boost in spending on Atalanta, the EU's naval operation launched in 2008, at their meeting in Wroclaw, Poland, which holds the rotating six-month EU presidency.
"The pirates are building up their capabilities, ready to resume their operations once the monsoon is over," said Gerald Howarth, Britain's Minister for International Security Strategy.
"There is a limited window of opportunity for us to take more robust action," he told reporters.
The stricter stance demanded also by France and Spain could involve Atalanta vessels firing on hideouts of Somali pirates on land.
"We have brought up the possibility of action seeking to neutralise the pirates' nests on the coast. But we're not there yet," Belgian Defence Minister Pieter de Crem told AFP.
However, some European countries including Germany are sceptical, saying it goes beyond the current mandate based on a United Nations resolution.
They argue that Atalanta's primary mission is to protect the boats of the World Food Programme, carrying aid to starving, displaced Somalis.
French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet backed the use of force, citing the example of the recent liberation of a French woman taken hostage in a September 8 attack during which her husband was killed by pirates.
Evelyne Colombo was then freed unscathed by a Spanish Atalanta vessel which opened fire at the pirate boat.
The Spaniards were "efficient" because they allowed themselves to "destroy a boat and force the pirates who fell in the water... to become prisoners", said Longuet.
Some ministers also expressed "concern on a possible lack of resources" for Atalanta, which is facing a shortage of ships as of the end of the year, said Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak.
They "have expressed strong support for the operation and are committed to continue it" and "engage new resources" despite budgetary restrictions forced by austerity steps affecting spending on defence, he added.
At the moment, Atalanta can reckon with a mere six ships -- two Spanish, two German, one Dutch and one French -- to cover the extremely vast area.
Somali pirates have seized at least 49 vessels and taken more than 500 hostages, according to the monitoring group Ecoterra.
The United Nations registered 171 attacks in the first half of 2011.
Pirates start ship blaze By Andy Pierce (tradewindsnews)
Piracy has returned with a vengeance following the end of the monsoon season, with a Greek vessel on fire after an attack in the Somali Basin.
Pirates hit Cyprus Maritime’s 22,600-dwt Pacific Express (built 1981) yesterday and it was feared the ship had been taken.
It has been speculated a rocket propelled grenade fired from a pirate skiff caused the blaze, but TradeWinds is told the flames were started by pirates after they were unable to hijack the vessel.
All 26 crew on board the Cyprus-flagged ship have been successfully evacuated and are uninjured.
They are now on board the Italian warship Andrea Doria, having sheltered in a citadel following the initial attack.
Sources at Cyprus Maritime say they are hopeful the ship will not be lost.
While it is expected to require some assistance, it is thought it will be able to be repaired.
“The fire was in the accommodation block, so there is no reason the ship should sink,” the owner said.
Sources say the attack comes as the monsoon waves which have largely held pirates at bay for the past couple of months have now gone.
This is the second pirate attack in the past few days, following a scare for a Cosco ship at the weekend.
Sources say the 15,837-dwt An Ning Jiang (built 1985) was subject to AK-47 fire as it waited to berth at Mombasa on Saturday.
The crew of six are said to have taken to the citadel. A group of armed guards were on board, but it is not clear what role they played in the ship’s escape.
“The weather has abated and pirates are definitely starting to go to sea again,” one source cautioned.
Between Piracy And Persia: Mounting Threats To Maritime Chokepoints In Middle East By Yoel Guzansky, Jonathan Schachter and Gallia Lindenstrauss (FPRI
Maritime chokepoints are among the most sensitive locations where geography, trade, and politics meet. The challenges posed by Middle Eastern chokepoints, in particular, were evident even before the massive dependence on oil of the twentieth century. These points have become increasingly volatile in recent years, and especially since the Arab uprisings began. Complications include increased regional instability and aggravation of existing threats, preeminently piracy, terrorism, and the challenges posed by Iran.
PIRACY AND TERRORISM AS GROWING CONCERNS
Though states’ interests vary and are sometimes in conflict with one another, all value unfettered shipping. In recent years, the greatest regional threat to this common interest in the Red Sea, has been Somali piracy (although not exclusively). Much has been undertaken to address this ongoing problem. International efforts and resources, including the deployment of European, American, NATO, Chinese, Indian, Iranian, and other naval forces, coordinated commercial shipping movements, dedicated tracking and communications resources, and widespread adoption of anti-piracy practices have driven the attacks away from the Bab el-Mandab Strait further east along the Yemeni coast of the Indian Ocean (towards the Straits of Hormuz) and to the south of the Horn of Africa. [1]
Tactical measures have reduced (that is, displaced) the number of pirate attacks in the Red Sea in recent years. However, the strategic problem of failing states—of which piracy is only a symptom—may be getting worse at the sea’s two ends and in the middle. Somalia’s ongoing problems could prove to be just the tip of the iceberg. Current international anti-piracy efforts mainly target the symptom (i.e. attacks on the seas) and not the fundamental causes of the phenomenon.
Yemen has been racked by sectarian and tribal violence. In the last two years, it has become the adopted home of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This is similar to how the political and economic conditions in Somalia proved to be a breeding ground for both piracy, and the Islamist terrorist group, al-Shabaab. Recent reports suggest that AQAP has seized control of areas along the Yemeni coast. While Yemen’s instability predates the large-scale demonstrations that swept across the Arab world in early 2011, an increasingly chaotic Yemen could make the country ever more attractive as a base for Somali pirates, expanding their already thriving black market for weapons.
While instability in Yemen, or even its collapse, would not lead inevitably to increased piracy on the Red Sea, it is a distinct possibility. This potential, combined with the global importance of undisturbed shipping through the area, suggest that the stability, security, and prosperity of these states provide a distinct shared interest.
Egypt is also a concern when it comes to maritime chokepoints. While the effective management and smooth operation of the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean (SUMED) pipeline remain a clear Egyptian interest, the country at present is experiencing its greatest political challenge in over half a century. Egypt’s poverty and governance problems pale in comparison to those in Yemen and Somalia, and the country appears an unlikely source of Red Sea piracy. Yet, Egypt is struggling with a restive Bedouin population in the Sinai Peninsula. In May 2011, an Egyptian security official claimed that over 400 Bedouin, Palestinian, and foreign Arab members of al Qaeda were in the peninsula. While Egypt dedicates significant resources to securing the Suez Canal, it is possible that the canal or the SUMED pipeline could become targets for future attacks. An attack on either site could hinder global transportation. This is not just a theoretical concern. In 2009, Egyptian authorities arrested 26 people for planning to attack ships in the Suez Canal and oil pipelines. [2] The Sinai pipeline, which carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan, and provides Israel with more than 40 percent of its natural gas supply primarily for electricity generation, has been sabotaged repeatedly in recent months. [3]
THE IRANIAN THREAT
Iran’s threats to close the Straits of Hormuz to international shipping and, thereby, stop the flow of Gulf oil have increased in frequency and intensity recently. Senior Iranian officials have warned explicitly that Iran can—and will—block the Straits in response to any act of aggression. In general, these pronouncements are intended to deter the international community from increasing pressure on Iran and to raise the perceived cost of any military confrontation with it, particularly against its nuclear facilities. Former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s naval force, Rear Admiral Morteza Saffari, warned in 2010 that U.S. warships are easy prey for the Iranian navy. Iran also threatened to respond if its ships’ cargoes are subjected to inspections (a step included in a 2010 Security Council resolution on Iran). Iran ended the “Great Prophet 6” maneuvers in July 2011 by firing several supersonic coast-to-sea missiles against moving targets near the Hormuz Straits to demonstrate that the country is capable of disrupting, if not blocking, the Straits and will not hesitate to do so. [4]
Because of America’s military superiority in the Gulf, Iran has placed a priority on acquiring and building a large number of small, fast-moving vessels (some of which are for unmanned use). It also has re-outfitted civilian vessels for military missions. As a result, in recent years there have been reports of Revolutionary Guard naval vessels skirmishing with U.S. ships. These incidents were demonstrative, rather than destructive (the U.S. ships were not actually attacked). They were intended to send a message (“naval diplomacy”) to the United States—namely that Iran sees the Straits as its strategic backyard. In recent months, there have been several near misses between Iranian and American ships because of Iran’s increased military activity. Both sides appear uncomfortable with the rising tensions in the Straits, as evidenced by occasional talk that a “hot line” should be established between the two rivals.
Recent assessments suggest that the American Fifth Fleet is capable of opening the Straits to naval traffic within a few weeks, even if Iran were willing to sacrifice all of its assets, suffer massive retaliation, and potentially lose many of its own oil facilities and export revenues. [5] Such assessments may be based on the fundamental weakness of the Iranian air force, a belief in the American ability to paralyze Iranian positions near the Straits (where Iran stations its coastal defense cruise missiles), and America’s improved ability to remove naval mines. In addition, unlike other vessels such as cargo ships, tankers are hard to sink due to their size, structure, and the fact that crude oil doesn’t burn easily.
Even in the unlikely possibility that Iran could effectively close the Straits for a long period of time, such a move would not be in Iran’s best interests. It would interfere with the import of refined oil to Iran and its export of crude oil (which accounts for some 80 percent of its income). Also, it would undoubtedly lead to a confrontation with the U.S. Navy, which has a clear operational advantage. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, the majority of Iran’s oil exports pass though the waterway. [6]
Yet, even a partial blockade of the Straits with rapid, effective international action to open them, would affect the already volatile global energy market. The impact of even a limited campaign on the market would likely last a long time, beyond the event itself, because of the residual concern about supply disruptions. In order to mitigate these negative effects, three options are available:
- Tapping into strategic petroleum reserves, half of which are in the United States. In July 2011, because of the impact of the “Arab Spring” on oil prices, there was an international decision to release a limited quantity of oil from American, as well as other reserves. [7]
- Taking advantage of excess global oil production capacity, which is primarily concentrated in Saudi Arabia. Saudi senior officials have claimed that the Kingdom can produce an additional four million barrels of oil per day, which approximately equals Iranian production capability.
- Using alternate shipping routes, such as the Saudi East-West and the Habshan-Fujairah pipelines, which can carry up to five million and 1.5 million barrels, respectively, per day.
That said, any confrontation might develop into a more widespread campaign, where both sides lose the ability to limit its scope in time and space. For example, Iranian harassment actions and U.S.-led counter-actions could precede an attack on the western shore of the Gulf, where there is strategic infrastructure, including ports, refineries, and desalination plants. This possibility undoubtedly would give pause to anyone considering a muscular response to Iran’s threats.
The Hormuz Straits are not the only point of maritime friction with Iran. The Red Sea is becoming an increasingly important Iranian-Israeli arena. Iran reportedly transports and even manufactures weapons in the Sudan to supply terrorist groups in Africa and the Middle East. According to U.S. sources, Israel, in turn, has dispatched its air force to attack Iranian weapons convoys headed for Hamas-controlled Gaza. [9] Israel is increasingly concerned that Iran has invested significant efforts in developing its relationships with several East African countries, including Kenya, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Tanzania, and the Comoro Islands. For Israel, this is reminiscent of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s initiatives in the 1960s that were intended to provide Egypt with greater ability to block Israeli shipping along the length of the Red Sea. In addition, as part of Iran’s high profile, regional muscle flexing, in 2011, it dispatched ships to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, and reportedly for the first time, sent submarines to the Red Sea.
The Iranian threat also has implications for the Black Sea region and the Turkish Straits. Already in 2007, there were reports that the United States might use air force bases in Bulgaria and on Romania’s Black Sea coast to launch an attack on Iran. [10] Recently, Russia complained about the presence of a U.S. Aegis cruiser with antimissile technology in the Black Sea as part of a joint U.S.-Ukrainian naval exercise. [11] The perceived need for deploying such technology on the European continent is an indication, in part, of the growing fear in the West of Iranian intentions because of the increased range of Iranian missiles.
CONCLUSION
Piracy, terrorism, and the growing threat from Iran are problems that the international community is trying to tackle collectively. These problems are not necessarily distinct, as Iran is trying to increase its influence in states with weakening governmental control such as Yemen, partly as result of the “Arab Spring.” Iran is also taking advantage of growing piracy to justify its increasing naval presence in the Red Sea vicinity. These Iranian efforts to project power have turned the waters around the Horn of Africa into another area of maritime friction. The result is that other navies operating in the area are now combating both piracy and Iranian weapon smuggling and muscle flexing.
Authors:
Yoel Guzansky, Dr. Jonathan Schachter and Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss are research associates at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tel Aviv University. For a more detailed version of this issue, see “Power, Pirates, and Petroleum: Maritime Choke Points in the Middle East,” published in the July 2011 issue of the INSS Strategic Assessment.
Notes
1. The move eastward also reflects pirates’ ability to adapt and extend the distances at which they can operate. See Lauren Ploch et al, Piracy off the Horn of Africa (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011), p. 1.
2. Alaa Shahine and Alaric Nightingale, “Suez Canal Ships, Pipelines Were Plotters’ Targets,” Bloomberg, July 9, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPJCNKXydyAc
3. Karl Vick, “The Sinai Gas Blast: Another Reason for Israeli Anxiety over Egypt,” Time, February 7, 2011, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2046573,00.html
4. “Iran to test-fire new Supersonic Missiles,” PressTV July 4, 2011, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187450.html; See also “Iran Tests Hitting Mobile Naval Targets with Hi-Tech Missile,” Fars News, July 6, 2011. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004151166
5. Anthony Cordesman, Iran, Oil and the Strait of Hormuz (Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C., March 2007), p. 6, http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/070326_iranoil_hormuz.pdf.
6. Gawdat Bahgat, “Persian Gulf Security at the Turn of the Century: Opportunities and Challenges,” Defense Analysis 15, no. 1 (1999), p. 82.
7. Dan Strumpf, “Oil Futures: Oil Plunges as IEA Plans to Tap Strategic Reserves,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110623-710876.html.
8. Yoel Guzansky, “The Straits of Hormuz: Strategic Importance in Volatile Times,” INSS Insight No. 204, September 3, 2010, http://www.inss.org.il/publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=4387
9. Luis Martinez, “Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes against Sudan,” ABC News, March 27, 2009, http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2009/03/exclusive-three.html
10. Rick Rozoff, “Black Sea Crisis Deepens as US-NATO Threat to Iran Grows,” Global Research, September 16, 2009, http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15239
11. “Russia Decries U.S. Antimissile Ship’s Presence,” Global Security Network, June 13, 2011, http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20110613_3406.php
5 Somali men convicted of pirate attack on US warship appeal their convictions (AP)
Attorneys seeking to overturn the first piracy conviction in a U.S. courtroom in nearly 200 years told a federal appeals panel Tuesday the actions of five Somali men who attacked a Navy warship in waters off Africa did not meet the legal definition of pirates because they did not board the ship or rob it.
The government, however, countered that their violent actions clearly fell within widely accepted international and U.S. law defining piracy.
The hearing was before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. District Court of appeals, which typically issues an opinion several months after arguments.
The five defendants, who are serving mandatory life terms for their piracy convictions, were found guilty by a jury in Norfolk in the April 1, 2010, attack on the USS Nicholas. The ship was in the Indian Ocean north of the Seychelles Islands when it was attacked by three men in a skiff, who fired rocket-propelled grenades and raked the ship with AK-47 fire. No sailors were injured in the attack.
During arguments before the three judges, an attorney representing one of the Somalis said the government was using “amorphous” interpretations of international law to make the piracy count stick.
The attorney, James R. Theuer, said the Supreme Court has been clear about a key element of piracy: “It is robbery at sea.”
But the government said Congress has embraced the definition of piracy as defined by the law of nations and the evolution of the law over the centuries.
Benjamin L. Hatch, an assistant U.S. attorney, said that piracy definition includes “violent attacks on the high seas” and does not require actual robbery.
The Nicholas, which was part of an international flotilla combating piracy in the seas off Africa, was mistaken by the defendants for a merchant ship because the Navy used a lighting array to disguise the 453-foot warship and attract pirates.
One of the attorneys, David W. Bouchard, referred to the three in the skiff as the “Marx Brothers” for their wayward attack on the Nicholas.
Hatch later bridled at the comparison, saying “This was not the Marx Brothers, but a group of men who shot at U.S. Navy sailors in the dark of night.”
Defense attorneys were also appealing several other convictions and questioned whether the five were properly read their Miranda rights once they were captured by the crew of the Nicholas.
Hatch said the men were treated properly and were informed of their right to an attorney. None of the defendants speak English.
The Nicholas ruling could have an impact beyond that case. Last August, a judge in Norfolk dismissed piracy counts against five defendants accused in an attack on another Navy ship, the USS Ashland. The judge concluded that since the men had not taken control or robbed the ship their actions did not rise to the nearly 200-year-old U.S. Supreme Court definition of piracy.
In the April 10 attack on the Ashland, a 610-foot dock landing ship, the ship’s 25mm cannons destroyed a skiff, killing one Somali man and injuring several others.
The government appealed the Ashland ruling, but judges on the 4th Circuit set that aside until they heard the Ashland case.
The last U.S. conviction for piracy was in 1819, and involved a foreign vessel. U.S. piracy law was based on that case.
Besides piracy, the five Ashland defendants were convicted of plundering, weapons, assault, explosives and conspiracy charges.
Confusing reports on m/v Pacific Express pirates attack By Mikhail Voitenko (Maritime Bulletin)
Maybe there was a second attack, but let’s hope Somali Report was wrong and m/v Pacific Express is safe.
Somalia Report said in latest report by Andrew Mwangura, that m/v Pacific Express was hijacked, but navies said otherwise, vessel avoided pirates and continued voyage to Mombasa. Details of the attack from Maritime Assistance Center (MAC) Securewest International:
On 20-SEP-2011 at 10:34 LT ( 07:34 UTC ), the PACIFIC EXPRESS was attacked by a PAG while underway in position 04 47 0 S, 044 35 0 E, 300nm SE of Mombasa, Kenya on bearing 099. A PAG of one skiff with six pirates on board fired at the PACIFIC EXPRESS. The Master raised the alarm and undertook evasive maneuvers to prevent PAG from coming alongside. A second PAG skiff also with six pirates on board joined the attack and pursuit. Ladders, RPG's and guns were spotted on both PAG skiffs. Vessels evasive maneuvers and anti-piracy measures initiated disrupted several attempts made by the two skiff to come alongside and board vessel. The Pacific Express continued on to their destination port of Mombasa.
Somalia Report said:
Maritime sources told Somalia Report Monday afternoon (Sep 19) that the MV Pacific Express came under pirate attack while en-route to Mombasa in position 04:47 south-04435 east at around 0734 UTC.
The vessel was attacked by armed pirates on two skiffs approximately 180 nautical miles East South East from Mombasa, Kenya. She activated alert which was picked by the Italian ro-ro cargo ship MV Joly Corallo and relayed to naval ships in and around Kenyan territorial waters. The alert signal was quickly picked up by Italian naval ship patrolling in the area. The Italian navy responded in a way of intercepting and investigating the incident but the failed to rescue the ship and crew.
Comment: there’s one mistake in Somalia Report report – vessel couldn’t be attacked in pos 180 nm ESE off Mombasa. Due to coordinates of attack, accident took place some 300 nm almost straight east off Mombasa. Maybe there was a second attack, but let’s hope Somali Report was wrong and m/v Pacific Express is safe.
General cargo Pacific Express IMO 8009454, dwt 22597, built 1981, flag Cyprus, manager Cyprus Maritime Co., Athens. Crew presumably 26: 25 Filipinos and 1 Ukrainian. Cargo 3300 mt of steel bar and coil.
[N.B.: Meanwhile the crew has been brought to Mombasa in Kenya, to where the vessel will be tugged by two tug-boats from Tanzania to discharge its steel cargo destined for this harbour. After the attack MV PACIFIC EXPRESS was abandoned by the crew in location 04:24 S and 042:20 E. NATO reported MV PACIFIC EXPRESS was boarded by pirates from two skiffs with six pirates each with guns and an RPG on 20. September 2010 at 07h34 UTC in position 04:47S – 044: 35E approximately 300 nautical miles south-east of Mombasa. The vessel is in the moment around 150nm south-east of Mombasa and the crew must therefore have been sailing the vessel for about 150nm until the Italian warship staged the "rescue".]
Confusing reports on m/v Dover release By Mikhail Voitenko (Maritime Bulletin)
Some maritime periodicals reported the release of m/v Dover on Sep 19 or 20, after pirates got a ransom of some $7 million (the sum claimed by pirates, and not confirmed by other sources). Ransom is double, because it includes ransom for the release of 7 crew (2 Danish, 4 Filipinos) hijacked by pirates from Danish general cargo vessel Leopard. Somali Report said vessel is not free yet, but she could be released on Sep 21. Hijack report:
28 February 2011, the Bulk Cargo Carrier MV DOVER was pirated in position Latitude: 18 48N 05852E - approximately 260 nautical miles North East of Salalah in the Norther Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. NATO and EU NAVFOR confirmed the seajacking. The Panama-flagged, Greek owned vessel was en rout from Port Quasim (Pakistan) to Saleef (Yemen). The MV DOVER has a crew of 23 (3 Romanian, 1 Russian and 19 Filipinos). Vessel was registered with MSC(HOA), and was reporting to UKMTO. Dover IMO 7433634, dwt 37951, built 1981, flag Panama, manager/owner Worldwide Shipmanagement, Athens, Greece.
Somali Report website issued the next day an apology:
Yesterday Somalia Report prematurely published a report that the MV Dover had been freed. Our correspondent spoke to a pirate on board the Dover who confirmed the vessel has not yet been freed, but negotiations are on-going. We apologize for this inconvenience while our thorough, fact-checkin
g and hard nosed editor is away. Please bear with us and our typos for the next two weeks.
EU NAVFOR Flagship escorts food aid to Somalia (ecop-marine)
The German frigate FGS BAYERN, part of the Operation ATALANTA counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa, has recently escorted the merchant vessel “SEA MASTER I” safely into the port of Bossasso on the northern coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR reported.
The press release stated: "The ship was loaded with humanitarian-aid as part of the World Food Programme aid to those in need in Somalia and her cargo was several thousand tons of urgently needed food, including sorghum and vegetable oil."
Though analysts maintain that these naval escorts for WFP chartered vessels are a waste of money, because never ever a WFP vessel with humanitarian aid was really sea-jacked and held for ransom, since powerful Somali businessmen have to come up with multi-million dollar bonds before anything is sent, this escort was a welcomed change to the usual escort of weapons and ammunition transports destined for the TFG governance or the AMISOM troops.
Since Sultan Qaboos came to power and even shortly before, the Brits have been under the skin of the Omani security apparatus.
OMAN AND BRITAIN WORK TO MAINTAIN RELATIONS (CMF/PR)
The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset is currently alongside in Muscat, Oman and will help maintain UK – Oman relations and promote the role of combined Maritime Forces (CMF) whilst in port.
HMS Somerset sailed from Plymouth on 17 August and has recently commenced duties in theatre. Having recently taken over from her sister ship, HMS Monmouth, the crew are firmly focused on securing worldwide trade routes and working to deter threats to the global economic recovery. The Royal Navy is conducting Maritime Security Operations under international maritime conventions, so that commercial shipping can operate freely while transiting the region. An end to the monsoon season is expected to herald an increase in piracy in the region.
The new British Ambassador to Oman, His Excellency Mr Jamie Bowden will visit HMS Somerset in Muscat and discuss the importance of Maritime Security in the region with the Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Bristowe.
Commander Bristowe said: “This visit to Muscat provides an ideal opportunity to further our diplomatic bonds with a country in close proximity to vital trade routes. Many nations are working towards maritime security within the region and support from such a hospitable nation as Oman is crucial to enable a continued naval presence. Free and safe transit of one of the busiest waterways in the world is mutually beneficial to both Oman and the UK; as such it is a worthy undertaking on which to strengthen our countries’ good relations.”
HMS Somerset is currently working under Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) as part of Combined Task Force (CTF)150 which patrols the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman. It is a multinational endeavour and exists to create a lawful and stable maritime environment free from terrorism, smuggling and other illegal activities. The principal mission is to deter, disrupt and defeat attempts by international terrorist organisations to use the maritime environment as a venue for an attack or as a means to transport personnel, weapons and other materials.
Throughout Somerset’s deployment her ship’s company will conduct a series of regional engagements to enhance relations and promote the roles of CMF and the Royal Navy. She will also engage directly with mariners at sea to reassure them of the Royal Navy’s commitment to secure the maritime environment and deter illegal activity.
However, she will remain at readiness to respond to any tasking, ranging from humanitarian aid to full maritime or littoral conflict. Somerset is due to return to the UK in February 2012.
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news of events 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. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl.
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented.
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA AND NO TO AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION
NO foreign or local military governance on land or foreign naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat infringing on the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972, and the 200nm EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone / UNCLOS) already in place since 1989.
NO to any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in relief food or Genetically Engineered (GE) seed supplies.
A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia By K’NAAN (TheNewYorkTimes)
ONE has to be careful about stories. Especially true ones. When a story is told the first time, it can find a place in the listener’s heart. If the same story is told over and over, it becomes less like a presence in that chest and more like an X-ray of it.
The beating heart of my story is this: I was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. I had a brief but beautiful childhood filled with poetry from renowned relatives. Then came a bloody end to it, a lesson in life as a Somali: death approaching from the distance, walking into our lives in an experienced stroll.
At 12 years old, I lost three of the boys I grew up with in one burst of machine-gun fire — one pull from the misinformed finger of a boy probably not much older than we were.
But I was also unusually lucky. The bullets hit everyone but me.
Luck follows me through this story; so does my luckless homeland. A few harrowing months later, I found myself on the last commercial flight to leave Somalia before war closed in on the airport. And over the years, fortune turned me into Somalia’s loudest musical voice in the Western Hemisphere.
Meanwhile, my country festered, declining more and more. When I went on a tour of 86 countries last year, I could not perform in the one that mattered most to me. And when my song “Wavin’ Flag” became the theme song for the World Cup that year, the kids back home were not allowed to listen to it on the airwaves. Whatever melodious beauty I found, living in the spotlight, my country produced an opposing harmony in shadows, and the world hardly noticed. But I could still hear it.
And now this terrible year: The worst famine in decades pillages the flesh of the already wounded in Somalia. And the world’s collective humanitarian response has been a defeated shrug. If ever there was a best and worst time to return home, it was now.
So, 20 summers after I left as a child, I found myself on my way back to Somalia with some concerned friends and colleagues. I hoped that my presence would let me shine a light into this darkness. Maybe spare even one life, a life equal to mine, from indifferently wasting away. But I am no statesman, nor a soldier. Just a man made fortunate by the power of the spotlight. And to save someone’s life I am willing to spend some of that capricious currency called celebrity.
We had been told that Mogadishu was still among the most dangerous cities on the planet. So it was quiet on the 15-seat plane from Nairobi. We told nervous jokes at first, then looked to defuse the tension. The one book I had brought was Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast.” I reached a chapter titled “Hunger Was Good Discipline” and stopped. That idea needed some contemplation. The very thing driving so many from their homes in Somalia was drawing me back there. I read on. Hemingway felt that paintings were more beautiful when he was “belly-empty, hollow-hungry.” But he was not speaking of the brutal and criminally organized hunger of East Africa. His hunger was beautiful. It made something of you. The one I was heading into only made ashes of you.
By now, the ride was bumpy. We were flying low, so I could see Baraawe and Merca, beauties of coastal towns that I had always dreamed of visiting. The pilot joked that he would try to fly low enough for my sightseeing, but high enough to avoid the rocket-propelled grenades.
FOR miles along that coast, all you see are paint-like blue water, beautiful sand dunes eroding, and an abandoned effort to cap them with concrete. Everything about Somalia feels like abandonment. The buildings, the peace initiatives, the hopes and dreams of greatness for a nation.
With the ocean to our backs, our wheels touch down in Mogadishu, at the airport I left 20 years before to the surround-sound of heavy artillery pounding the devil’s rhythm. Now there is an eerie calm. We clear immigration, passing citizens with AK-47’s slung over their shoulders.
It’s not a small task to be safe in Mogadishu. So we keep our arrival a secret until after we ride from the airport to the city, a ride on which they say life expectancy is about 17 minutes if you don’t have the kind of security that has been arranged for me.
Over breakfast at a “safe house,” I update my sense of taste with kidney and anjera (a bread), and a perfectly cooled grapefruit drink. Then we journey onto the city streets. It’s the most aesthetically contradictory place on earth — a paradise of paradox. The old Italian and locally inspired architecture is colored by American and Russian artillery paint. Everything stands proudly lopsided.
And then come the makeshift camps set up for the many hungering displaced Somalis. They are the reason I am here. If my voice was an instrument, then I needed it to be an amplifier this time. If my light was true, then I needed it to show its face here, where it counts. Nothing I have ever sung will matter much if I can’t be the mouth of the silenced. But will the world have ears for them, too?
I find the homeless Somalis’ arms open, waiting for the outside world and hoping for a second chance into its fenced heart. I meet a young woman watching over her dying mother, who has been struck by the bullet of famine. The daughter tells me about the journey to Mogadishu — a 200-mile trek across arid, parched land, with adults huddling around children to protect them first. This mother refused to eat her own food in order to feed abandoned children they had picked up along the way. And now she was dying because of that.
The final and most devastating stop for me was Banadir Hospital, where I was born. The doctors are like hostages of hopelessness, surrounded and outnumbered. Mothers hum lullabies holding the skeletal heads of their children. It seems eyes are the only ornament left of their beautiful faces; eyes like lanterns holding out a glimmer of faint hope. Volunteers are doing jobs they aren’t qualified for. The wards are over-crowded, mixing gun wound, malnutrition and cholera patients.
Death is in every corner of this place. It’s lying on the mattresses holding the tiny wrists of half-sleeping children. It’s near the exposed breasts of girls turned mothers too soon. It folds in the cots, all-knowing and silent; its mournful wind swells the black sheets. Here, each life ends sadly, too suddenly and casually to be memorialized.
In this somber and embittered forgotten place, at least they were happy to see I had come.
Rap artist makes plea: 'Why have we done nothing? (M2)
During a campus visit on Sept. 19, rap artist K'naan implored the members of his audience to ask themselves a question that has profound implications for the people of his native Somalia.
"Does your life have more currency than others?" he asked. "Does it mean more because you live here?"
If we believe that all human beings are equally deserving of life, then "we'll do something" to help the four million Somalis facing death from hunger, he told the near-capacity crowd in the Yale University Art Gallery.
A poet and hip hop artist who earned international fame when his song "Wavin' Flag" was chosen as the anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, K'naan spoke as part of a panel discussing the famine crisis in Somalia. Joining him in the discussion were his friend Sol Guy, a Canadian social entrepreneur and music promoter, and Yale political science lecturer David Simon. The event -- co-sponsored by the gallery, the Yale World Fellows Program and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas -- was organized by World Fellow Gavin Sheppard, a cultural entrepreneur from Canada whose initiative The Remix Project uses hop-hop music to help at-risk youth develop skills.
K'naan, who fled Somalia as teenager and eventually moved with his family to Canada, showed a video depicting scenes from his recent visit to the African country with Guy -- his first trip back to his childhood home of Mogadishu. He noted that his celebrity status made his homecoming an emotionally complicated one for him.
"I feel like a fireman whose son is in the building," he told his audience. "I have an intimate stake in this situation."
Guy discussed how he and K'naan had thought about how to respond to the escalating crisis well before the famine and its effects had come to international attention.
In the music industry, Guy said, the common response has been to host a concert or to inspire people to purchase a song to raise money. He and K'naan opted instead to visit Somalia "so that we could speak firsthand," he told the audience. While there, they visited the only hospital in Mogadishu that provides care to malnourished children and filmed a discussion they had in the hospital about the prevalence of flies where sick and dying children lie unprotected on the ground, owing to a lack of mosquito nets.
The two have since attempted to bring international attention to the plight of the Somali people, hundreds of thousands of whom, they said, will die as a result of the famine. K'naan has appeared with U2 singer Bono -- who is also helping to draw attention to the crisis in Somalia -- in interviews on national news networks such as CNN, among other venues.
"Artists are sensitive people," K'Naan commented, adding that those with renown are in "an incredibly privileged position" to inspire a response to international humanitarian crises and other causes.
He recalled a time in his own life when he questioned the merit of his own artistry, a soul-searching that took place while he stayed in Guy's home.
"I asked, is it necessary for me to create? I couldn't answer that question. ... My music is so personal, so intimate to my life. ... I wondered if it was something anybody else would care about. I wondered if my specificity was not segregating me to a solitary place in music."
Two questions, he said, became intertwined for him at that time: "Does anybody care about me? Does anybody care about anyone else?"
Once able to continue on and share his musical creations with the world, K'naan said, he found affirmation from those who told him that his music not only touched them personally but also inspired them to learn more about the Somali people.
Still, the question about empathy persists, said K'naan, as he watches thousands die in his native country, largely ignored by the rest of the world.
"Why have we done nothing?" he asked his audience.
Guy also discussed the responsibility of artists, as well as the media, to respond to international crises. He noted that while sometimes the collaboration of artists in benefit events results in an initial outpouring of public support, the activism is not always sustained. "Sometimes we do an event where the artist community rallies, and then we go home and get back to all the things that distract us," he said.
In other situations, the role of celebrity artists simply should be to help raise awareness or facilitate a reaction to a problem, Guy added.
"If you inspire and provide action steps, the next job is to go out of the way and let people run with it," he commented.
Simon discussed the history of the Somali conflict and noted that most Americans associate Somalia with civil war, the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab and with piracy.
"It's a story of bad guys and victims," the Yale instructor said, "but one that never gives agency or recognition to the people of Somalia."
That issue was raised again following a question from a member of the audience, who asked the panel if there are ways to "re-package" the negative messages about Somalia -- and its people as victims -- to focus instead on the strengths of the country's citizens.
"Just because there is war or suffering or hardship or intense poverty in a country -- where we wonder how they survive -- [we must remember] that these people are on the edge but alive, living immediate and vibrant lives: laughing and looking in the mirror, hoping for another day," said Guy. "They are wanting to live."
K'naan echoed that view, bringing a human narrative to the story of Somalia by telling the audience about the Somalis love of poetry, how families in Mogadishu helped out those less fortunate by inviting them to live and eat in their homes, and about the generous support of the Somali diaspora for those back home. He also gave audience members a "homework" assignment.
"Learn something that is good about the place," he urged. "Tell someone something good about Somalia."
For more information on K'naan's initiative to help Somalis affected by famine, visit http://knaanmusic.ning.com .
On Top of Famine, Unspeakable Violence By Nicholas D. Kristof (NewYorkTimes)
IMAGINE that you’re a Somali suffering from the drought and famine in that country. One of your children has just starved to death, but there’s no time to mourn. Depleted and traumatized, you set off on foot across the desert with your family, and after 15 exhausting days finally reach what you believe is the safe haven of Kenya.
But at the very moment when you think you’re secure, you encounter a nightmare broached only in whispers: an epidemic of violence and rape. As Somalis stream across the border into Kenya, at a rate of about 1,000 a day, they are frequently prey to armed bandits who rob men and rape women in the 50-mile stretch before they reach Dadaab, now the world’s largest refugee camp.
It is difficult to know how many women are raped because the subject is taboo. But more than half of the newly arrived Somalis I interviewed, mostly with the help of CARE, said they had been attacked by bandits, sometimes in Somalia but very often on Kenyan soil. Some had been attacked two or three times.
In short, this seems like an instance of mass rape — adding one more layer of misery to the world’s most desperate humanitarian crisis. The United Nations warns that 750,000 Somalis are at risk of starving to death in the coming months, and it’s increasingly clear that those who try to save themselves and their children must endure a gantlet of robbers and rapists.
“There were three places where bandits attacked us,” a 35-year-old mother told me. “The first two times they took money and food. The last time, I had nothing left to give them. So they raped me.” The rape, by three men, occurred inside Kenya.
Another woman, a 20-year-old, said she was raped twice during her journey, first in Somalia and then after she had crossed into Kenya. One time, she said, the rapists left her naked in the desert.
Although Somalian culture sometimes blames a woman for being raped, there seems less of that now, perhaps because so many have been brutalized. The 20-year-old said her husband would not divorce her: “My husband still loves me,” she said simply.
For unmarried women, rapes often involve tearing and physical injuries. That’s because Somali girls often undergo an extreme kind of genital cutting, infibulation, that involves slicing off the genitals and sewing up the vagina with a wild thorn.
The bandits, who are virtually all ethnically Somali, seem to fear the Shabab militia on the Somalian side of the border. On the Kenyan side, which is sparsely populated with little police presence, they feel impunity.
Aid groups have begun sending out vehicles to search for refugees near the border, sparing them the final few days of hiking. That has helped, but the vehicles can’t rescue everyone.
One obvious solution is to establish reception centers along the border, and then bus refugees to Dadaab. Kenya isn’t embracing that idea, however, for fear of an even larger Somali influx.
It would be unfair to beat up on Kenya, for by international standards it has borne its responsibilities and been quite hospitable to Somali refugees. It doesn’t turn people away from Dadaab, and so Kenya’s third-largest city is now a Somali refugee camp. Yet the fact remains: To avert mass rape and violence, Kenya must permit aid agencies to establish reception centers at the Kenya-Somalia border.
Americans also suffer from compassion fatigue, and that brings me to a final point. In a previous column from Dadaab, I told of a father of eight who had lost two of his children to starvation and feared that he would lose three more. Many readers responded bluntly that when men have eight children, it is pointless to help. Saving Somalis, they say, reflects a soggy sentimentality and runs against a Malthusian constraint of mouths multiplying more rapidly than food.
This view is both repulsive and wrong. I often write about the need for more family planning, but Somalis have eight children partly because they know that several may die. If we help save lives now so that parents can be confident their kids will survive, family size will drop. Likewise, educate girls and they will have fewer children.
That is what has happened around the world: In India, women now average 2.6 births, down from about six in 1950. This pattern is a reason to support family planning and girls’ education — not a reason to let children die.
We mustn’t turn away from starving children because their mothers had no access to education or contraception. It would be monstrous to allow Somalis to starve to death because they lost the same lottery of birth that all of us won.
Somalia’s future debated at UN (AFP)
The roadmap adopted on September 6 demands the end of the transitional government, which has proven incapable of restoring peace and authority to a country ravaged by 20 years of civil war.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the roadmap as a “crucial step toward building a stable, prosperous future for the Somali people” as she urged Somali leaders to take up the task.
“If Somali leaders do not follow the roadmap that has been negotiated by Africans for Africans, then I don’t know that the international community will be here next year and the year after with support. It is now up to Somalis,”the top US diplomat said.
One of the most delicate topics concerns finding agreement on a new government structure in a Somalia riveted by significant tribal tensions and bitter political rivalry.
“The Horn of Africa is the most complex, volatile and climatically challenged region in Africa today,” a senior US official said ahead of the UN meeting.
“Somalia is at the center of these many challenges and faces a humanitarian crisis, a security crisis and a political set of challenges.”
Meeting participants “stressed the importance of conducting popular consultations on the draft constitution and the reform of parliament to enable adoption of a new constitution by a representative body without delay,” a UN statement said.
“The meeting affirmed the importance of the development of government institutions and civilian capacity building across Somalia.” Delegations also expressed concern about the “expanding reach and increased levels of violence” of Somali pirates, and discussed the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia.
Last week, Somalia made a request at the UN Security Council for AMISOM’s personnel limits is nearly doubled from 12,000 to 20,000 peacekeepers.
The UN was expected to devote an entire meeting to the humanitarian crisis triggered by a drought in the region.
Some four million Somalis have been hit by famine and 750,000 could die, according to the United Nations. And the international community has increasingly denounced the Shebab for preventing aid to reach the needy, forcing a massive exodus to Kenya and Ethiopia.
Shebab’s efforts to block access to vulnerable areas of Somalia “has exacerbated this crisis,” said Clinton.
SOMALIA: "Lives before politics" (IRIN)
Twenty aid agencies issued an open letter on 21 September urging the international community to "put people's lives before politics if [we are] to stand any chance of aiding people suffering from the famine in Somalia".
The agencies said that while aid was getting through in many areas, "it is not at the scale needed to address the enormity of the crisis and hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance".
They warned that with the coming rains expected to bring the threat of deadly disease, restrictions were still preventing the rapid boost in aid that was so desperately needed to save lives.
The letter urged the international community to change its approach to Somalia "and enhance diplomatic engagement with the parties to the conflict, to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid".
The number of aid agencies operating in the country has risen sharply in recent months, but "we are receiving only around 30 to 40 percent of the food needed", Abdullahi Shirwa, head of Somalia's National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), told IRIN.
Although aid agencies were scaling up assistance to tens of thousands in Mogadishu and parts of southern Somalia, Shirwa said these attempts were being hampered by the lack of proper delivery mechanisms.
"We don't have the roads, the transport capacity [or] the human resources [to deliver aid] and insecurity in parts of the country is an issue of concern," Shirwa said.
He said that lack of proper planning by aid agencies, the constant movement of people and not enough food supplies were all contributing to the delay in reaching the needy. "In some camps the health situation is better than the food situation, while in others the food situation is better than health and sanitation. "We should have started planning for this much earlier, maybe May. We are all still catching up." Ahmed Adam, country director for the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), told IRIN his group was working to improve coordination among the organizations under OIC and with agencies outside the umbrella of the OIC.
He said the OIC would cooperate with any agency, "because we are all working towards one goal; saving lives".
Aid gaps
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA-Somalia), said aid agencies reported in August they had reached 1.3 million people, "which would be 32 percent of the four million people currently in need", said Roberta Russo, a spokeswoman.
According to OCHA, there are at least 30 humanitarian agencies working in Mogadishu and more than 60 in southern Somalia.
Regarding food aid delivery to areas under Al-Shabab control, OCHA said: "In general, our position is that we continue to negotiate with any local authority to be able to reach people in need. Aid should be delivered following humanitarian principles, to the people who are most in need, wherever they are."
Policy "confusion"
An aid worker, who requested anonymity, told IRIN the Somali government's sometimes confused policy concerning access to areas under Al-Shabab was contributing to delays in delivery. "One minute they say you can go anywhere you want and the next they say you cannot go to Al-Shabab territory. It is as if the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. It is very confusing."
Mogadishu Mayor Mohamud Ahmed Nur had said no foreign aid workers would be allowed to cross into Al-Shabab areas. On 13 September, Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces arrested four Turkish aid workers who had delivered food to displaced families in K50, controlled by Al-Shabab. They were later released.
Abdisamad Mohamud Hassan, the Minister for Interior and National Security, told IRIN the TFG's policy on delivering aid to the affected population was clear. "Any one individual or agency willing to help those in need is welcome to go anywhere there is a need, whether in Al-Shabab areas or the government's."
Hassan said the Somali people, particularly those in areas under Al-Shabab control, continued to be deprived of the aid they needed to survive "and getting help to them is the number-one priority".
But the efforts to reach them should not endanger those who came to help. "We must find the best way to deliver food and protect the aid workers," he said, adding, "This is the government policy and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and does not speak for the government."
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