SUNDAY EDITORIAL | While combating piracy is a must, the approach has taken the wrong route.
The emergence of piracy along Somalia's coast as a threat to international shipping lanes is rooted in the lack of peace in the Horn of Africa country. Since 1991, Somalia has not had an effective national government, which could challenge the rise of piracy and bring an end to pirate attacks. Naturally, the lack of order creates the recipe for criminals to come up with brilliant schemes to enrich themselves at the expense of fellow nationals and of the world.
The year 2008 will remain memorable because of the skyrocketing number of pirate attacks and the amount of money the pirates have collected thus far. Millions of U.S. dollars have been paid to the pirates, who use the money to buy new weapons, equipment and help fund new attacks. At first, the pirates began their campaign along Somalia's shores but have since hijacked ships as far away as the Arab kingdom of Oman, in the Persian Gulf.
The world's unbalanced attention on piracy is counter-productive on many levels. While combating piracy is a must, the approach has taken the wrong route. In one case, French troops landed on Somali soil and arrested, many say 'kidnapped,' six men who were accused of being pirates. Some of the real pirates, who spoke with Garowe Online, say the six men were not involved in piracy but were seeking "hand-offs" from the rich pirates.
The French military's raid did not stop piracy; on the contrary, pirate attacks increased ten-fold. In one August week, five ships were hijacked by pirates, with one group collecting a $2.5 million ransom payment, according to insiders. Clearly, the military strategy to combat piracy has failed because NATO ships regularly monitor the Indian Ocean coast and Red Sea shipping lanes.
The solution is not in looking at piracy as an isolated problem, but as part of the bigger Somali problem. Political instability in Mogadishu leads to instability across Somalia; for example, piracy is concentrated in Puntland, a relatively-safe region in the country's northeast. What is the connection between the insurgency in Mogadishu and insecurity along Somalia's Puntland shores, one wonders. The connection, quite simply, is that criminal elements thrive in disorder. What you have in Somalia, rightly or wrongly, is a lawless land struggling to re-emerge as a responsible member of the world community.
But the international community's approach to deal separately with each Somali problem - extremism, piracy, separatism, clan violence - has failed numerous times since 1991. Somalia needs peace first, then Somalis can combat piracy on their own.
Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com
