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To settle Somali piracy,bring justice to its fisheries

By li Hongmei (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-11-25 13:52

In the past few weeks, Somalia, a remote state that was forgotten for more than a decade once again made the world take notice. While Somalia's weak transitional government fails to assert control on land, a band of highly organized pirates have taken firm control of the country's sea lanes.

The pirates' recent seisure of a Ukrainian ship transporting military hardware and a Saudi oil supertanker has prompted the world to take action, with many countries sending warships to patrol the area around the Somali coast and Gulf of Aden.

A longer-term solution may prove simpler and less costly: Forget about freight and focus on fishing. Beyond the immediate need to temporarily send warships to police the troubled waters, a coalition force tasked with fishery protection should be deployed. It could be done under the auspices of the United Nations, Afircan Union, or a coalition of willing states.

This option will address a root cause of the piracy problem, rob the mordern-day buccaneers of their legitimacy, and be more acceptable to the region as an enduring part of the solution.

The problem of piracy in Somalia originated about a decade ago because of disgruntled fishermen.Additionally, the headless state had no authority to patrol its tuna-rich coastal waters, and foreign commercial vessels swooped in to cast their nets. This proved a slap in the face for Somalis.

To make matters worse, there were reports that some foreign ships even dumped waste in Somali waters. That prompted local fishermen to attack foreign fishing vessels and demand compensation. And the success of these early raids in the mid-1990s persuaded many young men to hang up their nets in favor of AK-47s.

On account of this, making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods, and in the meantime, a fishery protection force will eliminate the pirates' source of legitimacy.

Last but not the least, an international force sent to protect local industry will achieve the same goal as warships but in a more acceptable and more constructive way. In a long run, the creative solution could make Somali waters more secure and give its people much-needed hope for the future.