Let’s talk about Somalia.
After the government of President Siad Barre (who had created a socialist state in 1970) was overthrown in 1991, the country broke into pieces. Somalia is currently in three semiautonomous regions. One region is “Independent Republic of Smaliland” which is not recognized by international bodies, but is relatively stable and has its own infrastructure in place. The second is the anarchy in the south (this region has no government, and is currently fighting between anarchy or an islamic state). The last region is called Puntland (which is along the northern shore and is where most of the piracy is taking place).
What are they taking? Vessels along the coast, sometimes with lots of ammunition, tanks, grenade launchers, etc.
The Telegraph states 01/14/09: “There have already been 11 attempted hijackings off Somalia this year, after more than 100 raids in 2008 resulted in 40 successful seizures. Pirates are still holding 11 ships with more than 210 crew members as hostages.”
NY Times states 9/28/08: “This year is one of the worst on record, with more than 50 ships attacked, 25 hijacked and at least 14 currently being held by pirates.”
What is going on recently? They’re still taking ships!
Telegraph 01/14/09: “Last week, pirates released the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star after a ransom of £2 million [$3 million] was paid. At least five of the pirates drowned with their booty, running into tens of thousands of pounds, after their skiff overturned as they sped away from the freed tanker. There have been reports that a separate gang holding the MV Faina, seized with 33 Soviet-era tanks onboard, is close to a settlement with the vessel’s Ukrainian owners.”
Bloomberg 01/10/09: “U.S. and Russian warships continue to track a Ukrainian boat containing T-72 battle tanks that pirates hijacked Sept. 25.”
What are they doing with them? Ransoming them for millions of dollars!
BBC news 09/26/08: “Senior UN officials estimate the ransoms pirates earn from hijacking ships exceed $100m (£54m) a year.”
This is ridiculous. There is a problem with this. By actually giving the ransom, we are allowing these criminals to continue. Paying them is validating their work, and shows other criminals new lucrative work.
*mindthenews*
Links:
Articles Referenced: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/4238924/Cargo-ship-escapes-Somali-pirates.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/africa/27pirates.html?_r=1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7637257.stm http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aY74pRAHq4Jc&refer=africa
Country Profile: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072592.stm
Fun video concerning the subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkJsQR–2jE&feature=channel_page
