Somali Fishermen vs. The European Union and the US Report (Assessment)

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Introduction

Maritime piracy has increased in the recent past especially on the African coasts. Maritime piracy not only leads to the loss of innocent lives but also leads to losses of valuable goods and huge amounts of money spent either on the ransom demanded by the pirates or on the rescue mission by multi-international parties. The case brief under analysis in this paper entails five Somali fishermen who were arrested with the intent of seizing a Netherlands ship and demanding a ransom. In short, they were imprisoned for maritime piracy.

Arguments for the case

Attacking the problem directly using private organizations

One of the suggestions made on tackling the maritime piracy problem is making use of the private sector rather than the developing countries’ governments. Due to the corrupt nature of developing countries’ governments, it would be more effective to use private and non-governmental organizations to assist in combating the problem. One of the benefits of this measure is that many such organizations have highly trained personnel who are capable and well-equipped to deal with the problem. The experience of such organizations in similar matters is also vast thus making it an effective measure of tackling the problem.

Second, the organizations may have employees who are well familiar with the language and culture of the affected people and this makes it easier to deal with the problem. The third important benefit is that this measure would create more jobs for Americans rather than waste American resources (the United States Foreign Affairs, 2009).

Increasing patrol in the troubled waters

One of the efforts being currently undertaken is the deployment of patrol ships such as ships from the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard to the high-risk seas such as off the coast of Somalia. The United States has also entered into agreements with other countries from the developed world to do the same and as a result, the troubled seas are currently being patrolled by more than 40 well-armed ships.

In addition, maritime security protective regions have been created on troubled waters. These regions are well guarded and enable ships to transit without any risks. The United States has also entered into an agreement with the affected African countries such as Kenya to prosecute the pirates who are arrested. These efforts have bore fruits in the fight against maritime piracy. For instance, in the period between January and April of 2009, 15 pirate vessels were interdicted as compared to only 8 during the entire year of 2008 (United States Foreign Affairs, 2009).

Arguments against the case

Waste of taxpayers’ money on corrupt governments

One of the suggestions made on tackling the maritime piracy problem is providing military training to the developing countries on whose coast the piracy takes place. The subcommittee however opposes this suggestion terming it as a waste of taxpayers’ money. The argument made is that military training of the affected developing country would not be an effective measure of dealing with the problem since the problem is complex. Moreover, it was argued that the majority, if not all of these developing countries have corrupt governments. It is therefore possible that the equipment supplies sent by the developed countries for the training may be used for other selfish motives besides the military training of personnel (Ong-Webb, 2006).

Lack of cooperation from other countries

As discussed earlier, one of the measures being taken to combat maritime piracy is the deployment of patrol ships to the troubled waters and prosecuting the apprehended pirates in developing countries. So far, the United States has only managed to enter into agreement with the Kenyan government to prosecute the pirates who are arrested. Efforts to make similar agreements with other African countries have proven futile. The lack of cooperation from these countries is a big challenge to the war on maritime piracy (Eggleston, 1994). However, this unwillingness on the part of the African countries is understandable to some extent.

First and foremost, Somalia is a highly volatile country with links to deadly terrorist groups. The country’s involvement in piracy is only a tip of the iceberg and is a proof of a much deeper problem. Thus, interfering with the country’s piracy activities is viewed as a risk not only to the security and peace of the African continent but also the international community as a whole. To avoid this, the United States should dig deep into the root cause of the problem and try to address it first using more diplomatic means before tackling the maritime piracy issue.

Unfortunately, success in dealing with the political, social and economic challenges facing the Somalis lies with the Somalis themselves rather than with the international community. Any positive change in the country can only come about if it is initiated and implemented by the Somalis and not by any outsiders. As a result, a lot of resources are needed to sensitize and educate the Somali people and this adds to the challenge of fighting maritime piracy (United States Foreign Affairs, 2009).

Freezing and tracking of pirates’ concessions

Another anti-maritime piracy effort being made by the Unites States and its allies is the tracking and freezing of the ransoms paid by the victim countries to the pirates. This effort is yet to yield any dividend given that the ransoms are usually paid in the form of bags of $100 or Euros dropped by helicopters to the pirates’ vessels. Tracking this money as well as the assets of the pirates is thus a big challenge to the United States that remains to be realized.

Additionally, the US argues that the increase in the number of pirates’ attacks is as a result of the willingness of victim countries to pay the ransom demanded by the pirates. The suggestion made is that the victim countries should not give in to the pirates’ ransom demands. However, others argue that the ransom is a worthy price to pay for the release of the hijacked ships. Moreover, pirates nowadays do not think twice about killing their hostages if the ransom demanded is not paid. Therefore, the risk of losing innocent lives adds to the challenge of fighting maritime piracy (Forest, 2007).

Conclusion

Maritime piracy has become a big problem to the shipping community. Not only does piracy lead to the loss of billions of dollars worth of goods but there is also the risk of loss of lives. Numerous efforts have been made by the United States and its allies to combat maritime piracy. Although some degree of success has been achieved in the form of increase in the number of interdictions, the number of pirates’ attacks continues to grow.

This shows that loopholes exist in the fight against maritime piracy (Chalk, 2008). It is important to note that this fight can only be successful if the underlying political, economic and social problems facing the Somali people are addressed. Without this, non-troubled seas would remain just an illusion to the shipping community. Based on the arguments presented in this paper, the five Somali fishermen should not be imprisoned.

Reference List

Chalk, P. (2008). The maritime dimension of international security: terrorism, piracy and challenges for the United States. Arlington: RAND Corporation.

Eggleston, B. (1994). Maritime piracy: a historical threat in modern times. New York: Joint Military Intelligence College.

Forest, J. (2007). Countering terrorism and insurgency in the 21st century. Arlington: RAND Corporation.

Ong-Webb, G. (2006). Piracy, maritime terrorism and securing the Malacca Straits. Singapore: ISEAS.

United States Foreign Affairs. (2009). International efforts to combat maritime piracy: Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight of the Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives 111th Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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