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From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Mon Aug 09 2010 - 23:52:24 EDT
UK blocks sanctions against suspected Somali pirates
By Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent, BBC News website
Legal problems are still hindering the effort to deal with Somali pirates.
SPS Victoria and pirate skiff The SPS Victoria fired warning shots to
prevent the pirates fleeing
It's emerged that the British government is blocking a move at the UN to
take action against two suspected pirate organisers.
This is despite tough British language condemning pirates and the paying of
ransom, and its contribution of warships to the anti-pirate operation run
by the EU, known as EU Navfor.
The EU operation has itself been reduced to near farce in the last week,
with a Spanish ship having to send pirates back to Somalia, after catching
them red-handed, because the problems of prosecuting them are too great.
A look first at the British position.
The Foreign Office in London confirmed a story in the Financial Times that
the UK is blocking an American proposal to add the names of two alleged
pirate leaders to a UN sanctions list.
Continue reading the main story
Sanctioning Pirates
* A UN sanctions committee can add names to its list under Security
Council resolution 1844
* The assets of people on the list are frozen and they are subjected to
a travel ban
* No actual alleged pirates have been listed so far
The British action, known as a technical hold, was taken back in April and
has not been lifted.
The reason, I am told, is that the paying of ransom is not a criminal
offence in the UK. This has made it possible for ransom to be paid for
dozens of ships and their crews, and many of the negotiations go through
London.
But, the argument is, if the suspected pirate leaders, named by the Foreign
Office as Abshir Abdillahi and Mohamed Abdi Garaad (with numerous variants)
are put on the UN sanctions list, then ransom in effect becomes an offence
in the UK and might put an end to many ransom deals.
Doing business
According to British officials Abdillahi and Garaad are "high-profile
pirate leaders involved in hijacks in the Gulf of Aden".
Indeed, they are alleged to be so influential that almost all ransoms are
said to involve them in some way.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
In the 19th Century the problem would have been dealt with in somewhat
shorter order”
End Quote
Britain has applied the technical hold because it is under pressure from
ship-owners and seafarers who prefer the present system. This system is
basically one of doing business, not waging war. The ship is taken,
negotiations take place, the money is paid and the ship and its crew are
released.
For example, on 29 July the Maltese-flagged merchant vessel MV Frigia was
freed with its crew of 21. It had been hijacked on 23 March. It is presumed
that money changed hands.
Gavin Simmons of the London Chamber of Shipping told the FT: "To
discontinue payments or make them illegal would jeopardise the safety of
seafarers held captive."
This is something of an embarrassment to the British government. Foreign
Office officials told me it was being discussed "at the highest level" and
something might develop "in the next few months".
Warning shots
But even the at-sea operations against the pirates are still bedevilled by
inhibitions caused by the law.
Pirates surrendering to crew of SPS Victoria The pirates were arrested, and
weapons were found on the skiff
Early on the morning of 3 August, the Spanish ship SPS Victoria responded
to a distress call from the MV Bow Saga, a Norwegian chemical tanker, that
she was under attack in the Gulf of Aden.
The Bow Saga reported that a pirate skiff with seven people on board had
shot at the bridge, damaging the windows. The ship carried out evasive
manoeuvring and deployed fire hoses.
The Victoria already had a helicopter airborne and was able to respond
within 10 minutes. The pirates broke off and tried to flee but the Victoria
fired warning shots, first from the helicopter and then from the warship
and the pirates stopped.
Weapons were found on the skiff.
However, EU Navfor has now reported: "The seven individuals apprehended
have been returned to Somalia."
It stated that "due to the legal framework and timeliness encompassing
piracy and criminal activity at sea, the prosecution of the seven
individuals in this specific case could not be initiated with confidence."
That encapsulates the problem. Pirates caught in the act cannot easily be
prosecuted and in this case were simply sent back home.
Kenya has taken about 100 pirate suspects and has imprisoned about 20 of
them. But Kenya is now threatening to withdraw its co-operation, saying
that it is not being given enough support.
Both examples show how far the international community is from solving a
problem that in the 19th Century would have been dealt with in somewhat
shorter order.
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