Tuesday, April 14, 2009
It actually has been baffling that despite the huge deployment of naval forces from the US and many other powerful countries including France, Russia, China, Britain, India, Germany and Malaysia, pirates in comparatively ramshackle craft and puny arsenals have continued capturing merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden waters off Somalia.
The pirates have in the past fortnight dramatically stepped up their attacks.
They may have sensed that despite the superior firepower and capacity for swift air and sea responses to any SOS, the multinational forces have often been too slow to take action.
And even when they did respond in time, they preferred not to employ lethal force, often waiting idly by while ransom demands were negotiated.
The response that freed the captured American captain of a ship that had escaped the pirates thus ups the ante in the war against piracy.
Shippers plying the dangerous waters and others dependent on the sea lanes must now brace themselves for an escalation of piracy.
The multinational forces must be ready to act more decisively to prevent ships falling into the hands of the pirates.
Of the countries in the region, Kenya has pivotal interest in the war against piracy. For some reason nearly, all the captured brigands are being brought here for trial.
That might be Kenya’s noble contribution to the fight against piracy, but it may also expose the country to retaliation, especially if the pirates are linked to international terrorist groups that have reportedly set up bases in lawless Somalia.
It would make more sense if the burden of trying the terrorists was shared by all the countries in the greater Horn of Africa region. Tanzania, Djibouti, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Egypt can all share that risk.
Source: Daily Nation, April 14, 2009