By SAMUEL B. HOFF • January 15, 2009
After a year of unrelenting attacks by Somali pirates, it appears that the international community is finally coalescing together to fight the maritime marauders. This article assesses the damage wrought by the pirates and how various nations have reacted to the hijackings.
Before 2008, scattered attacks by pirates from Somalia were reported but largely ignored. However, over the last year piracy increased markedly in the Horn of Africa, from the Gulf of Aden to as far south as Mombasa, Kenya.
All told, there were more than 100 attacks against all types of ships, which garnered a record $50 million profit. In most cases, the pirates traded human hostages and cargo for ransoms as high as $3 million. The element of surprise and a speedy takeover combined to make the pirates a force to be reckoned with.
Probably the most noteworthy hijacking occurred in September 2008, when a Ukrainian freighter loaded with heavy weapons was seized. In November, the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star was commandeered off the coast of Kenya; it is said to be the largest ship ever hijacked.
Individual nations and later the United Nations and NATO finally began fighting back. For instance, both China and the United States led the global effort to reduce piracy in the Indian Ocean waterways off of eastern Africa by providing naval escorts for their ships. These nations were joined by Russian, European Union and NATO naval forces. Further, France and Denmark tried a tactic of tit-for-tat by actually detaining and holding pirates who were thwarted from attacking their vessels.
Then on Dec. 16, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to authorize military raids against pirates. According to American figures, the percentage of successful hijackings fell from 50 to 35 percent in the final few months of 2008.
Other than sheer force of the American, Asian and European powers, the elimination of Somali piracy must be undertaken with a multi-faceted approach. On the one hand, the world’s ships could avoid the Horn of Africa sea lanes altogether. That strategy not only would embolden the hijackers, but cost untold extra time and money in transporting goods and people to their destination. Another alternative is to let the pirates engage in a civil war of sorts with radical Islamic militants.
Claiming that the aforementioned Saudi tanker was a “Muslim vessel,” militants have declared their intention to subdue the pirates, while others believe the extremists want a piece of the purloined loot. According to George Washington University graduate student Katie Stuhldreher, the solution to Somali piracy lies in an international effort to restore safe fishing in the area. Of course, that means stabilizing a country regarded as a failed state for two decades.
Somalia’s most recent attempt to govern itself has reached a crossroads. In order to reduce infighting among political factions, Abdullahi Yusef recently stepped down as president.
Almost simultaneously, a major force of Ethiopian troops allied with Yusef and other transitional leaders pulled out of Somalia. Meanwhile, the leader of the breakaway region of Somaliland has offered its harbor as a naval base to confront pirates in exchange for recognition as an independent nation.
The vacuum in government and lack of police presence in southern Somalia has resulted in fights between moderate and extremist Islamic militias for control. The impact on the population has been devastating, with over a million displaced persons within the country and almost half that amount as refugees in neighboring nations.
Obviously, stopping Somali pirates at sea means giving them a reason to support their country on land.
That starts with providing basic health care to lower infant mortality and to increase the life expectancy of people. Beyond that, the present 38 percent literacy rate must be raised and the education system vastly improved.
While Somalia has little arable land, a majority of its labor force is nonetheless employed in the agriculture area. Somalia’s economic potential may be in the development of its natural resources, which include unexplored iron ore deposits and likely oil reserves, according to the 2009 World Almanac and Book of Facts.
The events of 2008 severely hindered shipping in the Horn of Africa at a time when much of the world experienced difficult economic circumstances. While the global powers acted to protect their own possessions first, they should consider ways to help Somalis help themselves. Along these lines, Middle East Times editor Claude Salhani has called for a “Marshall Plan” for the region. Of course, American assistance to Somalia has lagged since the 1993 Mogadishu debacle.
It’s time for the United States and other nations of the world to reengage Somalia. In doing so, they would not only eradicate piracy and augment security, but advance social and economic conditions as well.
Samuel B. Hoff is George Washington Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science and Law Studies Director at Delaware State University.


 

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