[VICTORIA 3/OCT/08 © A POSITIVE OUTCOMES COMMENT] Just when the world was almost forgetting the captive tales of yore that romanticized the villainy of “Captain Blackbeard”, “Long John Silver” and the happy-go-lucky “Captain Jack Sparrow” they have resurrected in the Western Indian Ocean shelf.
This time around they are not accompanied by a parrot aptly named “Captain Flint” chanting “pieces of eight”, neither are they flying the dreaded “Jolly Roger” flag. They are also not merry drinking from endless streams of kegs and vats of rum and other rot-gut liquor at their success of pillaging ill-gotten wealth through sheer bravado of cutlasses and muskets. And they are not donning eye-patches nor sporting wooden legs either.
As times change we change with them too.
Long John Silver and his comrades are now confined to history and more precisely teenage hood fancies. But there are ‘new kids on the block’ who seem eager to replace Silver and his ilk. Somali Pirates.
The rapid deterioration of Somali into lawlessness with the ‘failed state’ tag has given rise to new notions. On the one count Somali was associated with the augmentation of Islamic militancy which military watchers associate with terrorism. The emergence of piracy from the conflict cauldron that is Mogadishu was not predicted. When they ventured into the infamy of piracy, everyone dismissed them as a joke and acted as if they were gadflies and inconsequential.
Initially Somali was seen as a terrorist haven; lately that image seems to be paving way to piracy. But are terrorism and piracy related?
Writing in Legal Affairs, Douglas R. Burgess Jr. draws parallels between piracy and terrorism: “At first glance, the correlation between piracy and terrorism seems a stretch. Yet much of the basis of this skepticism can be traced to romantic and inaccurate notions about piracy. An examination of the actual history of the crime reveals startling, even astonishing, parallels to contemporary international terrorism. Viewed in its proper historical context, piracy emerges as a clear and powerful precedent.”
The “Long John Silver” antics currently being employed by Somali sea bandits are not comforting news to Small Island Developing states like Comoros, Seychelles and others. Looked at from a larger context, the gnawing threat of piracy, its correlation to terrorism and even possibly mercenary activities call for a rethink of how the world views the Horn of Africa’ and the Western Indian ocean shelf. In the last one month piracy in the Indian Ocean however, has made headlines and nudged the superpowers to rethink maritime security and the protocols governing international waters.
A decade ago, the Asian shipping lines held the top spot in piracy and related ship attacks. The Strait of Malacca which adjoins, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia was a pirate’s haven ten years ago.
The mantle is now held by Somalis. The Somalis this week pushed piracy to new levels after hijacking a Ukrainian (read Russian) ship destined to Mombasa City (Kenya’s coastal capital). Unlike other pirates, the Somali pirates are debunking the age-old time honored tactics of piracy by setting precedents. According to the Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) a Malaysian based outfit that monitors piracy, African waters now lead in piracy accounting for 56% of all piracy related activities.
By hijacking the MV-Faina which throughout its voyage has been flying the Belize flag the Somali “jolly roger flyers” have made world news thanks to the nature of the booty aboard the ship. MV-Faina is a precious arsenal and small wonder the pirates are unwittingly playing to the world media, demanding a hefty $35 million ransom (they have since reduced to $20 million) before releasing the cargo. Originally, the ‘precious cargo’ of some 35 T-75 Russian military tanks and an unspecified amount of artillery which has raised red flags in Washington, Moscow, Paris, London and Brussels respectively, not to mention sending shivers in Nairobi, Mogadishu and the entire East and central Africa was allegedly destined for Kenya. The spin wags are now saying the cache of weapons was not destined to Nairobi, but to Southern Sudan. Is this the reason why the pirates are dancing to the world media? Just listen to this.
According to Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program the military hardware is destined for Southern Sudan.
"One of the cargo arrived at the port of Mombasa in October last year, two in February this year. The seized load of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and some ammunition was the fourth cargo with military equipment for southern Sudan," says Mwangura who hastens to add that the pirates have documented proof authenticating such a claim. Mwangura’s claims are supported by Nathan Christensen a US Navy spokesman in charge of the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
The Kenya government knowing fully well the implications of such allegations has rebutted the claims. This is because a UN arms embargo on Sudan is still in force. Right from the time when the drama played out, Nairobi claimed ownership of the military hardware.
They say there is no honour among thieves, well the Somali buccaneers seem to be doing the exact opposite as if their action is an ‘honourable act’. And this is what makes the entire scenario somewhat curious. One would expect that after hijacking the MV-Faina with its booty, the pirates would have ‘disappeared’ with the cargo and auction it as usual in their black markets before attracting undue attention. But this is not the case. If anything the pirates fully aware of satellite imagery and GIS mapping techniques are using their modern day “Captain Flint” [Long John Silver’s parrot] to shout a “pieces of eight” (old Spanish coins much loved by pirates) for the world to ‘hear them out’.
But wait a minute who said piracy is a dishonorable profession? Its not and the Somali Jolly Roger standard bearers seem to have their history right. In her treatise “Piracy of Yore versus Piracy Today” Cindy Vallar notes: “Piracy thrives when three requirements are met: A place to prowl where the rewards are great; an area where the risk of detection is slight and a safe haven.” The Somali brigands perfectly fit this description.
I guess they also know pretty well that Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh were knighted for buccaneering Spanish ships and wrecking havoc on several Spanish coastal cities. In other words in the 16th century courtesy of the “letters of marque” proffered by Queen Elizabeth pirates acted as appendages of the Royal Navy. And they were knighted for flying the Jolly Roger insignia high and enriching the ‘House of Windsor’ while amassing some fortune for themselves. The Somali pirates know that piracy is a time honoured profession used by legitimate governments to fight secret illegitimate wars. And it is with these in mind that the events surrounding the saga of MV-Faina should be viewed with.
There is much more to it than sheer Captain Jack Sparrow-inspired histrionics and Long John Silver’s audacity. The undercurrents are not the ransom money. If anything the pirates are playing some hard ball politics and sending some overt messages. The question should be who has given them the “letter of Marque”? [ENDS]
This time around they are not accompanied by a parrot aptly named “Captain Flint” chanting “pieces of eight”, neither are they flying the dreaded “Jolly Roger” flag. They are also not merry drinking from endless streams of kegs and vats of rum and other rot-gut liquor at their success of pillaging ill-gotten wealth through sheer bravado of cutlasses and muskets. And they are not donning eye-patches nor sporting wooden legs either.
As times change we change with them too.
Long John Silver and his comrades are now confined to history and more precisely teenage hood fancies. But there are ‘new kids on the block’ who seem eager to replace Silver and his ilk. Somali Pirates.
The rapid deterioration of Somali into lawlessness with the ‘failed state’ tag has given rise to new notions. On the one count Somali was associated with the augmentation of Islamic militancy which military watchers associate with terrorism. The emergence of piracy from the conflict cauldron that is Mogadishu was not predicted. When they ventured into the infamy of piracy, everyone dismissed them as a joke and acted as if they were gadflies and inconsequential.
Initially Somali was seen as a terrorist haven; lately that image seems to be paving way to piracy. But are terrorism and piracy related?
Writing in Legal Affairs, Douglas R. Burgess Jr. draws parallels between piracy and terrorism: “At first glance, the correlation between piracy and terrorism seems a stretch. Yet much of the basis of this skepticism can be traced to romantic and inaccurate notions about piracy. An examination of the actual history of the crime reveals startling, even astonishing, parallels to contemporary international terrorism. Viewed in its proper historical context, piracy emerges as a clear and powerful precedent.”
The “Long John Silver” antics currently being employed by Somali sea bandits are not comforting news to Small Island Developing states like Comoros, Seychelles and others. Looked at from a larger context, the gnawing threat of piracy, its correlation to terrorism and even possibly mercenary activities call for a rethink of how the world views the Horn of Africa’ and the Western Indian ocean shelf. In the last one month piracy in the Indian Ocean however, has made headlines and nudged the superpowers to rethink maritime security and the protocols governing international waters.
A decade ago, the Asian shipping lines held the top spot in piracy and related ship attacks. The Strait of Malacca which adjoins, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia was a pirate’s haven ten years ago.
The mantle is now held by Somalis. The Somalis this week pushed piracy to new levels after hijacking a Ukrainian (read Russian) ship destined to Mombasa City (Kenya’s coastal capital). Unlike other pirates, the Somali pirates are debunking the age-old time honored tactics of piracy by setting precedents. According to the Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) a Malaysian based outfit that monitors piracy, African waters now lead in piracy accounting for 56% of all piracy related activities.
By hijacking the MV-Faina which throughout its voyage has been flying the Belize flag the Somali “jolly roger flyers” have made world news thanks to the nature of the booty aboard the ship. MV-Faina is a precious arsenal and small wonder the pirates are unwittingly playing to the world media, demanding a hefty $35 million ransom (they have since reduced to $20 million) before releasing the cargo. Originally, the ‘precious cargo’ of some 35 T-75 Russian military tanks and an unspecified amount of artillery which has raised red flags in Washington, Moscow, Paris, London and Brussels respectively, not to mention sending shivers in Nairobi, Mogadishu and the entire East and central Africa was allegedly destined for Kenya. The spin wags are now saying the cache of weapons was not destined to Nairobi, but to Southern Sudan. Is this the reason why the pirates are dancing to the world media? Just listen to this.
According to Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program the military hardware is destined for Southern Sudan.
"One of the cargo arrived at the port of Mombasa in October last year, two in February this year. The seized load of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and some ammunition was the fourth cargo with military equipment for southern Sudan," says Mwangura who hastens to add that the pirates have documented proof authenticating such a claim. Mwangura’s claims are supported by Nathan Christensen a US Navy spokesman in charge of the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
The Kenya government knowing fully well the implications of such allegations has rebutted the claims. This is because a UN arms embargo on Sudan is still in force. Right from the time when the drama played out, Nairobi claimed ownership of the military hardware.
They say there is no honour among thieves, well the Somali buccaneers seem to be doing the exact opposite as if their action is an ‘honourable act’. And this is what makes the entire scenario somewhat curious. One would expect that after hijacking the MV-Faina with its booty, the pirates would have ‘disappeared’ with the cargo and auction it as usual in their black markets before attracting undue attention. But this is not the case. If anything the pirates fully aware of satellite imagery and GIS mapping techniques are using their modern day “Captain Flint” [Long John Silver’s parrot] to shout a “pieces of eight” (old Spanish coins much loved by pirates) for the world to ‘hear them out’.
But wait a minute who said piracy is a dishonorable profession? Its not and the Somali Jolly Roger standard bearers seem to have their history right. In her treatise “Piracy of Yore versus Piracy Today” Cindy Vallar notes: “Piracy thrives when three requirements are met: A place to prowl where the rewards are great; an area where the risk of detection is slight and a safe haven.” The Somali brigands perfectly fit this description.
I guess they also know pretty well that Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh were knighted for buccaneering Spanish ships and wrecking havoc on several Spanish coastal cities. In other words in the 16th century courtesy of the “letters of marque” proffered by Queen Elizabeth pirates acted as appendages of the Royal Navy. And they were knighted for flying the Jolly Roger insignia high and enriching the ‘House of Windsor’ while amassing some fortune for themselves. The Somali pirates know that piracy is a time honoured profession used by legitimate governments to fight secret illegitimate wars. And it is with these in mind that the events surrounding the saga of MV-Faina should be viewed with.
There is much more to it than sheer Captain Jack Sparrow-inspired histrionics and Long John Silver’s audacity. The undercurrents are not the ransom money. If anything the pirates are playing some hard ball politics and sending some overt messages. The question should be who has given them the “letter of Marque”? [ENDS]
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