23 November 2008

''Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods' It is all about justice

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''Beyond the immediate need to temporarily send warships to police the troubled waters, a coalition force tasked with fishery protection should be deployed. It could be done under the auspices of the United Nations, African Union, or a coalition of willing states.
This option will address a root cause of the piracy problem, rob the modern-day buccaneers of their legitimacy, and be more acceptable to the region as an enduring part of the solution.
First, this option will address the very problem that originally sparked this rise in piracy. The problem of piracy in Somalia originated about a decade ago because of disgruntled fishermen.
The headless state had no authority to patrol its tuna-rich coastal waters and foreign commercial vessels swooped in to cast their nets. This proved a slap in the face for Somalis, who saw these vessels as illegal and raking in profits at the expense of the local impoverished population. To make matters worse, there were reports that some foreign ships even dumped waste in Somali waters.''
www.csmonitor.com

• Katie Stuhldreher is a graduate student at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, where she's currently researching Somali piracy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Salaam alaikum Nimo,

I was hoping for your take on this. And you've delivered and enlightened.

My understanding was that piracy was a direct result of what is happening on the Somali mainland: the Ethiopian invasion, Washington's complicity and the rise of local tyrants. There was even a news reporter who remarked that "the world has been held hostage by the pirates". That's like saying hyenas can be held hostage by a lion cub. It was very amusing watching NATO spokesmen crying foul.

But what was missing from my earlier perspective was what you've brought forward: the problem in the waters themselves, of corporations coming into the waters and robbing the fishermen and the nation with no element of morality and valid permission.

So now when the fishermen take the only possible route, they are evil.

Anonymous said...

It sounds like many of us loss words.

Where is aiman? I kept checking the Website wanting to see a word from you.

The catastrophe in Somalia overwhelmed me, cannot take the one Palestine.

N

Anonymous said...

Salaams Nimo,

I am sorry I didn't check your reply to this post. Right now am in Australia. Hope and pray everything is good with you. Will just update on Gaza.