Garowe, Somalia, August 22, 2009 (SL Times) – In an interview with the BBC Somali Service (Aug.20, 2009), Puntland’s Interior Minister, Abdillahi Ahmad Jama said that the Egyptian government should return to Puntland the Somali pirates that are being held as prisoners in Egypt. He argued that since the pirates are from Puntland then they should be tried, and if convicted, should serve their sentences in Puntland.
He was speaking in connection with an Egyptian ship that was held hostage by Somali pirates and that was subsequently rescued by the owner of the ship. The rescue operation led to the killing of some of the pirates and the taking of others to Egypt as prisoners.
Puntland often claims that it cannot stop the piracy that emanates from its territory because of lack of resources. But the UN and many Somalis believe that Puntland’s government works in cahoots with the pirates. The interior minister’s passionate defense of the pirates coupled with the lack of any serious attempts to stem piracy or rescue hostages, is just one more piece of evidence that Puntland’s government is part of the piracy racket.
 

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