International News
UK blocks UN sanctions against Somali pirates
August 10, 2010 · 4 Comments
NEW YORK (Somalilandpress) — Britain is blocking a move to place two alleged Somali pirate commanders on a UN sanctions list, fearing it could hurt the British shipping industry, said officials.
Britain has asked for a “technical hold” to be placed on a US proposal to add Abshir Abdillahi and Mohamed Abdi Garaad to the list of people subject to sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 1844, Britain’s Foreign Office said.
The “technical hold”, requested in April and in effect indefinitely, gives the British government time to look into the legal implications of implementing the measures.
Security Council Resolution 1844 imposes a travel ban and an asset freeze on people who “engage in or provide support for acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia”. The US proposal marks the first time that alleged pirates would be targeted by the sanctions, throwing up legal questions for Britain.
Pirates from Somalia, which is battling an Islamist insurgency, have made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms for the release of ships and crews seized in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Britain does not condone the payment of ransoms and supports strong action against known pirates, the Foreign Office said.
However, it is not illegal under British law to pay ransom and if the two alleged pirate commanders were added to the list, it could create a legal conflict for British-based companies by outlawing ransom payments that ended up in the hands of the two suspects, a British government source said.
The move could throw “UK companies open to prosecution,” the source said, adding that the issue created a “difficult balancing act” between cracking down on piracy and the shipping industry’s commercial interests. A number of options were being considered for resolving the problem, the source said without elaborating.
The Financial Times reported on Monday that the proposed sanctions would affect law firms, insurers and private security companies in London that arrange ransoms to release kidnapped ships and crews.
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill from British-based BP’s Macondo well and US concern over the release last year of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya have caused strains between the United States and Britain’s three-month-old coalition government.
Source: Reuters | Tuesday, 10 August 2010
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Somalilland marine forces can contribute in a major way to putting an end to piracy in the Gulf of Somaliland (it is wrong to say the Gulf of Aden) like no other,
provided they get a better training and better training, because they will be then able to engage those ALL PUNTLAND PIRATES, NOT ONLY IN THE SEA BUT ALSO AT THEIR HIDEOUTS IN THE LAND, SOMETHING WHICH THE INTERNATIONAL NARINE FORCES CAN NOT DO BECAUSE THEY NEED SPECIAL PERMISSIONS TO INVADE SOMALI TERRITORY. BUT EVEN NOW AND WITHOUT ANY INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN THIS FIELD, SOMALILANDERS DO NOT SIT IDLE. THEY USE THEIR MEGA FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO FIGHT OFF PIRACY. THEY CHALLENGE PIRACY AND DID SAVE A NUMBER OF SHIPS FROM THOSE PIRATES. UNLIKE OTHER SOMALIS, IT IS INHERENTLY PART OF SOMALILANDERS’ CHARACTER TO ALWAYS TAKE THE INITIATIVE AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE. IT IS IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S INTERESTS TO WORK WITH SOMALILAND IN PARTNERSHIP IN ORDER TO PUT AN END PIRACY TO THIS PIRACY AS WELL AS THE OTHER KIND OF PIRACY IN WHICH FOREIGN SHIPS INVADE OUR WATERS IN A FRENZY OF CONTENTIOUS ILLEGAL FISHING IN WHICH ARAB COUNTRIES SUCH AS EGYPT AND YEMEN STEAL OUR MARINE WEALTH.
The United States and Great Britain should be able and capable to find
ways and means to settle these issues one way or another. These two
formidable world authorities shouldn't allow lingering weird policies
as the whole World looks upon and await concret results. However, it would seem to me that Britain stance more or less addresses the problems at hand.
Cheers.
Hhhhmmmmmm…at least the pirates have curtailed illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters including Somaliland waters. Although they must be condenmed for kidnapping innocent tourists, at least they've stemmed the flow of illegal activities in our waters.
The UN and the international community have failed to recognise Somaliland and they continue to meddle in Somali politics which has doomed the region to remain a failed state. So not only are the pirates generating an income for themselves and their familes in a country with no industry, commerce or development, they are also safeguarding Somali/Somaliland waters. So what's the harm in that.
If the UN can impose sanctions on them, they can also sanction the causes. We need a ''trusted'' country to be given permission to patrol our waters and be on the look out for toxic waste dumpers and illegal fishers, that way we could utilize our resources and even pay them.