Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Don't pay ransoms to pirates: Somali PM

The Somali Prime Minister has urged firms not to pay ransoms to islamic priates and blamed the foreign navies for not being able to stem the pirate attacks.

In principle the Somali PM is correct. Paying the ransoms to the pirates only encourages more pirate attacks just like paying ransoms to islamic terrorists who kidnap foreigners encourages more kidnappings.

As for the navies, most of them are shackled by political correctness and just capture and release the pirates. In order to put an actual dent in piracy around Somalia, you must strike inland at their base of operations. Just like the Marines did in Tripoli. Reuters

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister said on Wednesday that foreign navies patrolling off Somalia's coast have failed to discourage piracy "an inch" and condemned firms paying ransoms to sea gangs hijacking ships.

Somali buccaneers have made millions of dollars seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, and have driven up insurance rates for merchant ships passing through the waterways linking Europe to Asia.[...]

Sharmarke said foreign navies patrolling Somalia's coastline have not been able to stem the sea gangs. There were 18 pirate attacks in March alone, the International Maritime Bureau says.

"They (the navies) have not discouraged (the pirates) an inch. The only way out is to have a Somali security force on the ground that can prevent piracy before it happens," he said.

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