France warns Somalia pirates

Saturday, April 12, 2008

 

PARIS - France’s defence minister warned today it would not tolerate extortion attempts, after 30 hostages were freed from a luxury boat off Somalia and a French military operation against pirates who had held them.

 

The pirates’ release of the crew members on Friday, a week after they were seized, saw six hostage-takers arrested in a dramatic French raid afterwards as they attempted to escape in a 4x4, French officials said.

 

A source close to the negotiations with the pirates said the boat owner paid some two million dollars to free the hostages, and that a portion of the money was recovered when the six pirates were detained.

 

"This is the first time a country has decided not to let itself be extorted, but to take matters into its own hands," Herve Morin said on RTL, praising French special forces for apprehending six of the hostage-takers.

 

Morin added that President Nicolas Sarkozy had ordered that, if possible, the hostage-takers be captured alive to face justice.

 

"The president gave an instruction that - if it was possible without any collateral damage - we tried to apprehend the hostage-takers so they can be delivered to justice," Morin said.

 

The 22 French crew members of the 30 people aboard the Le Ponant yacht are expected to be brought back to France soon, probably by Monday evening, Morin said. A special plane has already left for the French military base in Djibouti to collect them.

 

Morin also called on the United Nations to launch an "international initiative" to protect maritime shipping in areas where piracy is on the rise, such as off Somalia. That call was echoed by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, whilst on a trip to Japan.

 

The French foreign ministry indicated that it would like to see those six captured brought to France for trial.

 

"The foreign affairs ministry and the justice ministry are working together to ensure that these people will be tried in France," a spokesman said.

 

That is expected to cause a "number of problems", a source close to the case told AFP, since the yacht was boarded in international waters, taken to Somalia’s territorial waters, and then the hostage-takers captured on Somali soil.

 

Although the French general in charge of the rescue operation, Jean-Louis Georgelin, said yesterday no "public money" had been paid to the kidnappers, a source close to the case suggested around two million dollars had been handed over.

 

Yesterday a local Somali regional governor said that three people were killed when French helicopters carried out a raid on pirates after the hostages were freed.

 

Sarkozy’s office "categorically" denied the governor’s claims. "Not a drop of blood was spilt," Morin insisted today.

 

The other crew members are six Filipinos, a Ukrainian and a Cameroonian.

 

Source: AFP, April 12, 2008