- Title: SOMALIA: France hands pirates to Somalia, pirates defend their "cause"
- Date: 3rd January 2009
- Summary: BOSASSO, SOMALIA (JANUARY 02, 2009) (REUTERS) SOMALI/PUNTLAND NAVY SHIP DOCKING AT PORT VARIOUS OF PIRATES COMING OF BOAT ONTO BOSASSO PORT (SOUNDBITE) (Somalia) PUNTLAND INTERIOR MINISTER, ABDULAHI SAID SAMATAR, SAYING: "Here you see today our Puntland forces left the port at midday using a navy ship and they went to the French navy ship that docked 12 miles off the Bosasso port. They (French forces) contacted us and told us they have captured Somali pirates and they handed them over and we have received them." VARIOUS OF BOSASSO PORT
- Embargoed: 18th January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Somalia
- Country: Somalia
- Reuters ID: LVA4SL32XA97932BGUJQJWJT28JB
- Story Text: France handed over pirates to Somalia as foreign navies foiled more attempted hijacks, but the buccaneers defend their "cause", saying they have been driven to piracy by illegal fishing by foreign fleets.
French forces handed over eight pirates to Somali authorities on Friday (January 02) and a new get-tough approach by foreign navies thwarted more attacks in vital shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia.
Rampant piracy off Somalia's coast has alarmed nations around the world worried about threats to global trade and warships have rushed to curb the hijacks, typically carried out by a handful of well-armed bandits in small speedboats.
The French frigate that captured the pirates was patrolling as part of a European Union anti-piracy naval task force under British command set up last month, the first such naval operation of its kind.
"Here you see today our Puntland forces left the port at midday using a navy ship and they went to the French navy ship that docked 12 miles off the Bosasso port. They (French forces) contacted us and told us they have captured Somali pirates and they handed them over and we have received them," said the Interior Minister for Puntland, Abdulahi Said Samatar.
Even though the semi-autonomous region of Puntland has run its affairs for years with relative independence from the chaotic south of Somalia, it has became a base for pirates earning millions of dollars in ransoms.
While some analysts say Puntland officials are complicit in the attacks, authorities in the poor, arid region deny any involvement and say 96 pirates are now in jail there.
Dozens of other ships are still being held by the pirates after a surge in attacks at sea this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia.
Among the captured vessels are a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star, and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying some 30 Soviet-era tanks, the MV Faina.
Many of the ships are held in Eyl, a remote former fishing village on the Puntland coast that has become a well-defended base for the pirates.
Fish stocks have drastically reduced in the Gulf of Eden and fishermen blame it on European fishing fleets illegally trawling Somali territorial waters for tuna, and even more clandestine crafts dumping deadly toxic waste on its shore.
Enraged by the depleting of fish stocks, some fishermen formed gangs that turned into a dangerous and well organized network of pirates.
"What made us turn to piracy is, previously we were fishermen in the Somali coast, we were living on this fishing job, but we met a lot of problems from big fishing ships. They came in and took all kinds of fish from the sea. In the end we decided to protect ourselves from those ships and that is why we are pirates," said one pirate who refused to reveal his identity.
The European Union, the United States, China, India, Malaysia, Turkey and Russia now all have frigates in the waters off Somalia and Japan is considering following suit.
"Those coalition forces in the sea, we think they are on the wrong because our sea has been cleared of fish. If they are looking for a solution, there should be negotiations. They could say, lets us talk… and we would talk and try to solve the issue, but they don't want that," said the unidentified pirate in an interview with Reuters.
There were nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters in 2008, despite the presence of several foreign warships. The sea gangs are holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crew.
"We are hijacking ships from the Gulf of Aden because we realized there was no alternative solution to the looting of our sea and our property of fish. They are doing what they are doing (fishing) illegally and so we are also doing this (piracy) illegally," said the pirate.
On Friday the Greece's merchant marine ministry said that EU forces had foiled an attack on a Greek-flagged oil tanker the "Kriti Episkopi", with 29 crew.
The ship was en route to Greece from Iran when it issued a distress signal as pirates attempted to board the vessel, the ministry said.
Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year on their way to and from the Suez Canal. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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