The untold story of Somali piracy, toxic waste dumping
Saeed Shabazz/Special to the NNPA from the Final Call
Issue date: 4/26/09 Section: Politics
UNITED NATIONS (NNPA) - The head of the UN's body charged with combating piracy has advocated establishing a UN force to fight the piracy problem off Somalia's coast-but the problem may be more complex than simple banditry on the high seas.
According to the UN secretary-general's spokesman's office, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Bureau Efthimios Mitropoulos said the Gulf of Aden, the gateway to the vital Suez Canal, and the eastern coast of Somalia rank as the world's top piracy hot spots.
The Gulf of Aden accounted for a third of all attacks on ships in the first nine months of 2008, said Mitropoulos. Thousands of cargo ships and tankers pass through on their way to Mombasa port in Kenya or destinations in southern Africa.
While the hijackings have been described as the work of criminals, officials admit the problem of waste dumped off the coast of Somalia may be a reason why ships have been commandeered.
In September, a Ukrainian freighter with Russian tanks on board, anti-aircraft guns and heavy weaponry was seized by Somali pirates and ransom negotiations are ongoing.
A spokesman for the pirates, who reportedly use the autonomous region of Puntland as their base, told Al Jazeera some of the ransom money will be used to help clean up waters off the Somali coast ravaged by years of toxic waste dumping. The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years," the spokesman said.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special envoy for Somalia, said the world body had "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are responsible for the dumping. The United Nations has also been told that some Somali pirates claim to act as "coast guards," protecting their country's waters, he added.
"This is not something new, the accusation that toxic dumping is happening off the shores of Somalia, it is amazing though that it is now coming out," said Sadia Aden, president of the Somalia Diaspora Network. "Opinions are mixed on the pirates. Some of the people are saying the pirates are defending our territory," Aden told The Final Call.
According to the UN secretary-general's spokesman's office, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Bureau Efthimios Mitropoulos said the Gulf of Aden, the gateway to the vital Suez Canal, and the eastern coast of Somalia rank as the world's top piracy hot spots.
The Gulf of Aden accounted for a third of all attacks on ships in the first nine months of 2008, said Mitropoulos. Thousands of cargo ships and tankers pass through on their way to Mombasa port in Kenya or destinations in southern Africa.
While the hijackings have been described as the work of criminals, officials admit the problem of waste dumped off the coast of Somalia may be a reason why ships have been commandeered.
In September, a Ukrainian freighter with Russian tanks on board, anti-aircraft guns and heavy weaponry was seized by Somali pirates and ransom negotiations are ongoing.
A spokesman for the pirates, who reportedly use the autonomous region of Puntland as their base, told Al Jazeera some of the ransom money will be used to help clean up waters off the Somali coast ravaged by years of toxic waste dumping. The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years," the spokesman said.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special envoy for Somalia, said the world body had "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are responsible for the dumping. The United Nations has also been told that some Somali pirates claim to act as "coast guards," protecting their country's waters, he added.
"This is not something new, the accusation that toxic dumping is happening off the shores of Somalia, it is amazing though that it is now coming out," said Sadia Aden, president of the Somalia Diaspora Network. "Opinions are mixed on the pirates. Some of the people are saying the pirates are defending our territory," Aden told The Final Call.
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Jennifer
posted 4/27/09 @ 2:22 PM EST
Great job on publishing this article. There is not enough attention brought to why these Somalians are pirating. Even though many wouldn't agree with pirating, it is important to learn the other side of the story. (Continued…)
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