nstOnline
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| Major General (R) Datuk Mohamed Rozi Baharom says pirates know how to use weapons effectively |
KUALA LUMPUR: The government should consider putting armed personnel on board merchant ships plying pirate-infested waters such as the Gulf of Aden where two Malaysian vessels were hijacked recently.
"It will not be practical to have our Royal Malaysian Navy ships escort each Malaysian vessel plying the route. So, maybe, a few armed commandos can be stationed on Malaysian merchant ships while they are in the waters there and leave once the ships are cleared," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Mohamed Rozi was the deputy commander of the Malaysian Battalion I under the United Nations Operations in Somalia (Unosom) II in 1993.
"Before this, they were doing their fighting inland and getting their 'income' there. But after the long war, there are not many opportunities left, so it makes sense for them to go out to sea and 'fish' for more income by preying on ships."
He was also not surprised by the International Maritime Bureau's report, made available on its website, that the pirates there had fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades when attacking merchant ships.
"When I was there, the locals told me that a true Somali would have an AK-47 assault rifle and a woman with him at all times. The wars have taught them how to use weapons effectively."
He said whether the 65 kidnapped Malaysian and Filipino crewmen would be released remained to be seen, even though most of them were Muslims, as are most Somalis.
"The pirates may treat their Muslim captives better, but then they can be very unpredictable."
Source: ntsOnline, Sept 04, 2008