Latin American Herald Tribune
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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GALKAIO, Somalia – The Somali pirates who hijacked a Spanish fishing boat 11 days ago said Tuesday that they would respond to any attempt to rescue the Alakrana by killing the crew of the trawler.Spain has to meet three conditions before talks on freeing the vessel can even begin, pirate chieftain Abdi Benlow, known as “Sugulle Ali,” told Efe from Hindawao, a town on Somalia’s central coast.
“Our conditions are simple: Spain must first unconditionally release our two detained comrades; second, withdraw all her warships; and stop the fishing by Spanish boats that violate Somali waters,” he said.
Ali declined to say whether the Alakrana was anchored near Hindawao, where pirates held the Ukrainian freighter Faina from September 2008 to February of this year.
“If they don’t respect what we tell them, hostility will be created toward the Spanish citizens (16 of the Alakrana’s crew of 36) and it will not be good for them,” the pirate said.
Ali said the Spanish navy is planning to rescue the Alakrana and “they think we’re stupid, like when the French navy attacked us. Now we are prepared and ready for action if we are attacked.”
“Our actions will include killing the crew members,” he said, recalling that five pirates were killed and a dozen captured in two rescue missions mounted by the French navy.
Last month, the pirates freed three citizens of the Seychelles after the island’s government agreed to release 23 Somalis. The swap took place after the pirates threatened to kill the hostages, who were crew members on a cruise ship.
Sources in the coastal town of Garacad told Efe the Alakrana is anchored between that town and Hindawao. They added, however, that the pirates have moved the boat’s skipper several times to thwart an attempted rescue.
Spain’s defense minister, Carme Chacon, said Tuesday that she was unaware of any threats to kill the crew of the Alakrana.
Chacon, who is visiting Spanish peacekeeping forces in Bosnia, praised the performance of her country’s military units in Somali waters and said that they have an obligation to capture pirates when circumstances allow.
The Spanish navy frigate Canarias, which is part of Operation Atalanta, an anti-piracy effort launched by the European Union in February, captured two Somali pirates early this month and the two men were quickly sent to Madrid for trial.
Regarding the Alakrana, Chacon said the crew members are well and that her ministry has contacted their families to assure them the EU force is fully engaged in trying to secure the boat’s release.
Source: Latin America Herald Tribune, Oct 14, 2009