Sunday, March 21, 2010
WASHINGTON: Armed crews are a good deterrent against Somali pirates, but the problem off the Horn of Africa will only be solved when Somalia itself is at peace, a top US official said Friday.
Thomas Countryman, principal deputy assistant at the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, said that while Washington does not encourage an escalation of violence in the region, shooting back at pirates does work.
“The firing of warning shots is often enough to cause pirates to break off the pursuit,” Countryman told journalists.
The official said there had “not been a case of successful piracy” against an armed American-flagged ship.
He said that US ships delivering government food aid to Somalia were required to “take certain security measures and in very high risk areas this [includes] to carry weapons.”
“In our view we find it works,” he added.
A loose coalition of countries ranging from China to the United States and EU nations is attempting to impose order in the seas off Somalia, a crucial shipping lane that Countryman said serves
Several governments offer naval escorts to their own flag ships, but there is no single policy on arming merchant vessels.
Earlier this month a Spanish tuna fishing boat made news when private security guards aboard repelled a pirate attack.
Countryman said naval patrols had finally succeeded in creating “an internationally recognized transport corridor.”
However, far more resources are needed in regional courts, particular in Kenya, so that captured pirates can be prosecuted.
“There is not right now enough legal capacity in the region. It’s true that some suspected pirates … will be released,” he said.
Long term, the only real solution will be to end anarchy in Somalia and provide employment opportunities for the impoverished population, he said.
“In order to completely address the issue we have to restabilize Somalia,” Countryman said. “In terms of breaking the motivation that young Somali men may have to risk their lives, it’s very much an economic question.”
Source: Agence France Presse