Piracy impacts on Regional trade, says Kibaki
Written by George Chellah and Joseph Mwenda
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:19:25 PM
KENYAN President Mwai Kibaki has said the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia impacts on the regional and international trade and posses a great danger to the environment. And President Rupiah Banda, who is the incoming chairman of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) reaffirmed his government's continued support to the ICGLR process in the promotion of peace, security, democracy and good governance and the observance of good human rights.
Addressing the 3rd ordinary summit of the ICGLR at Lusaka's Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) yesterday, President Kibaki described the security situation in Somalia as serious.
"A serious security situation still prevails in Somalia, related to this unresolved conflict is the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia, which remains a matter of great concern. This is a matter of international concern as it impacts on the regional and international trade and posses a great danger to the environment," President Kibaki said.
He appealed to the international community to assume greater responsibility in Somalia.
"In order to ensure the emergence of a stable and democratic country," he said.
He reminded the delegates that they were gathered to review the progress that they had made since committing themselves to co-operate in promoting peace, security and development in the region.
"You will recall that we signed a pact on security, stability and development in the great lakes region during our last summit held in Nairobi, Kenya," he said.
President Kibaki said he was happy to observe that much progress had been made after most of the member states ratified the pact.
He said the ICGLR has made very encouraging progress.
"We are encouraged by the co-operation between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in addressing the issue of armed militia groups in Eastern DRC through their joint co-operations," he said.
He said the ICGLR was also encouraged by the renewed diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda.
"We hope that lasting peace will soon be realized in the region," he said.
He said a look at the issue of human development portrayed a region faced by the most serious challenges of poverty, hunger, disease and environmental degradation.
President Kibaki said he believed that with sincere commitment on the part of all member states and with the spirit of togetherness they had a great chance of success.
President Kibaki who handed over the chairmanship to President Rupiah Banda expressed gratitude for the cooperation extended to him during his tenure as chairman.
And President Banda urged the ICGLR to continue recognizing the assistance rendered by the Africa Union and United Nations.
"The assistance rendered by the Africa Union, United Nations and the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region is something we all must recognize, without the involvement of these bodies, a number of achievements would not have been recorded."
"It is therefore, only befitting that we consolidate these efforts by ensuring that the gains we have made with their support continue to be sustained," Banda said.
"I wish to reaffirm my government's continued support to the ICGLR process in the promotion of peace, security, democracy and good governance and the observance of good human rights."
"Regarding the current peace and security situation in the region, I wish to state that the region continues to face many challenges," he said.
Banda described the disarmament and border security initiatives between Rwanda and Congo DR, which was done within the framework of the Nairobi CommuniquĊ½ as encouraging to the region.
"The cessation of hostilities in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is a positive move towards the attainment of peace in the region which we must all continue to pursue with determination," said Banda.
Banda applauded Nigeria's former president General Olusegun Obasanjo and Tanzanian former leader Benjamin Mukapa for their commitments towards the normalization of the situation in the region.
Banda further said Zambia had found suitable accommodation for the regional centre for democracy, good governance and civic education.
"I am happy to inform you that Zambia has found suitable accommodation for the region for the regional centre of good governance and civic education. As Zambia this gives us a sense of humility that you ICGLR member states proposed that the regional centre be named "The Levy Patrick Mwanawasa Regional Centre for the promotion of democracy, good governance, Human Rights and Civic Education."
"We indeed appreciate your thoughtfulness in bestowing this honour on our late president.
And special envoy of the Secretary General on the Great Lakes region and former Nigerian president General Olusegun Obasanjo said he was glad that tension in the Great Lakes Region had eased in the past year.
General Obasanjo welcomed last week's summit between President Joseph Kabila of Congo DR and Rwanda's leader Paul Kagame.
"I commend both leaders' commitment to promote peace and stability in the Great Lakes region," he said. "This is no doubt a result of the collective efforts of the two countries and the region."
He said the meeting between the two leaders was an example of how the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) could serve effective instrument for change.
He further observed that the Great Lakes Region was still faced with profound security, humanitarian, developmental and environmental challenges.
And in his message to the (ICGLR) read for him by Ambassador Ahmed Haggag, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said his country attached particular importance to the attainment of peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.
"This emanates not only from the geographical proximity, cultural bonds, but also from the Nile River that creates a life line binding the history and destiny of our peoples."
"Our endeavours in achieving real peace within this region should aim at formulating wider mutal confidence and practical capacity building programs.
"It should also include coordinating policies of disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants in the society, in addition to programs of repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons."
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mukapa and Central African Republic Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadera were among the several dignitaries that attended the summit.
Labels: ICGLR, MWAI KIBAKI, PIRACY, RUPIAH BANDA
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Accused Somali pirate pleads not guilty in NY court
Written by Christine Kearney
Friday, May 22, 2009 1:56:08 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Somali teenager accused of holding a U.S. ship captain hostage in the Indian Ocean after an attempted hijacking pleaded not guilty on Thursday to 10 charges, including piracy and kidnapping.
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the sole surviving accused pirate from the foiled bid to hijack the huge U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama, entered his plea at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The slightly built Muse, who prosecutors said acted as the leader of the pirates, appeared in court in a prison uniform and entered his plea in a quiet voice through an interpreter.
His lawyers told the court that he needed an operation for his hand that was injured during the attack, and had been granted little contact with his mother and family in Somalia since being held in U.S. custody.
Prosecutors and representatives for Muse disagree about his age. Outside the courthouse, lawyers said they were looking for witnesses in Somalia to prove Muse is a juvenile after a judge ruled in April he is aged 18 and would be tried as an adult.
The defense lawyers said they had difficulty communicating with Muse and he did not understand why he had been given medication. They said they could not reveal what the medication was for.
"It's heart-wrenching. He is confused," said one of his lawyers, Deirdre von Dornum.
She said Muse was just "a boy who fishes and now he has ended up in solitary confinement here so it is a truly terrifying situation.
According to the indictment, Muse threatened the captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, with a firearm and then, using a radio to communicate with U.S. representatives, "threatened to kill the captain unless his demands were satisfied."
Phillips was held hostage on a lifeboat for several days after he volunteered to go with the pirates in exchange for the crew. He was rescued when U.S. Navy snipers killed three pirates and captured Muse.
Muse also is charged with seizing a ship by force, possession of a machine gun and hostage taking. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. The next hearing was set for September 17.
Somali advocates in the United States say Muse is unfairly being made an example of to pirates around the world.
Idd Mohamed, the Somali deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters Thursday he believed the U.S. system was was fair and transparent.
Labels: COURTS, PIRACY, SOMALIA
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NATO forces free 20 hostages from Somali pirates
Written by Alison Bevege
Saturday, April 18, 2009 4:36:16 PM
ON BOARD CORTE-REAL (Reuters) - Dutch commandos freed 20 Yemeni hostages on Saturday and briefly detained seven pirates who had forced their captives to sail a "mother ship" attacking vessels in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said.
The sea gangs have captured dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors prisoner and made off with millions of dollars in ransoms in recent months despite an unprecedented deployment by foreign navies off the east African coast.
NATO Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes, speaking on board the Portuguese warship Corte-Real, said the 20 fishermen were rescued after a Dutch navy frigate, on NATO patrol, responded to an assault on a Greek-managed tanker by pirates firing assault rifles and grenades.
The Dutch ship, the HNLMS De Zeven Provincien, chased the pirates, who were on a skiff, back to their "mother ship" -- a hijacked Yemeni fishing dhow.
"We have freed the hostages, we have freed the dhow and we have seized the weapons," Fernandes said. The Corte-Real is also on a NATO mission.
He said the hostages had been held since last week. The commandos briefly detained and questioned the seven gunmen, he told Reuters, but had no legal power to arrest them.
"They can only arrest them if the pirates are from the Netherlands, the victims are from the Netherlands, or if they are in Netherlands waters," Fernandes said.
He said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade was later found on board the tanker, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Handytankers Magic managed by Roxana Shipping SA of Greece.
On Friday five gunmen in a skiff neared a Danish cargo vessel, the MV Puma, in the Gulf of Aden, prompting U.S. and South Korean warships to send aircraft to the scene.
Last week, Somali pirates captured two more ships and opened fire on two others. A French naval frigate seized 11 gunmen on Wednesday, foiling yet another attack.
Labels: AFRICOM, PIRACY, SOMALIA
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Somali politicians fuel piracy, says African Union
Written by Daniel Wallis, NAIROBI (Reuters)
Friday, November 21, 2008 4:23:26 AM
The growth in piracy off Somalia is being aggravated by the country's feuding politicians and the United Nations should send peacekeepers there quickly, Africa's top diplomat said on Thursday.
Gunmen from the chaotic Horn of Africa country grabbed world headlines with Saturday's spectacular capture of a huge Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil, the biggest ship hijacking in history.
Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, said the increasing piracy was "a clear indication of the further deterioration of the situation with far-reaching consequences for this country, the region and ... international community."
Scores of attacks in Somali waters this year have driven up insurance costs for shipping firms, and even made some companies divert cargo around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
Military forces from NATO, the European Union and elsewhere are trying to protect vessels using the area -- one of the world's busiest shipping corridors linking Europe to Asia -- but have been unable to stop most attacks.
Since seizing the supertanker Sirius Star, Somali gunmen have hijacked a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading for Iran and a Thai fishing boat. East African maritime officials say a third vessel, a Greek carrier, was also taken, but Athens denies it.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Wednesday the owners of the Sirius Star were in talks over a possible ransom.
The tanker was seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya -- far beyond the gangs' usual area of operations. It was believed to be anchored near Eyl, a former Somali fishing village that is now a well-defended pirate base.
The huge ship was carrying as much as 2 million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports.
The audacity of the attack underlined the extent of a crime wave that experts say has been fueled by an Iraq-style Islamist insurgency onshore, dimming hopes for U.N.-led peace talks, and the lure of multi-million-dollar ransoms.
An Indian warship sank a pirate vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday after a brief gun battle, and Moscow has proposed that NATO, the EU and others should launch land raids against the pirates' bases in coordination with Russian forces.
Somali gunmen are believed to be holding more than 200 hostages and about a dozen ships in the Eyl area, including a Ukrainian vessel loaded with 33 tanks and other heavy weapons.
Experts say pessimism over the outlook for peace talks, memories of disastrous interventions in the past and the need to deal with emergencies elsewhere -- from Afghanistan to Congo -- have snuffed out the will to take further action.
The AU's Ping strongly endorsed the conclusions of a regional meeting in Ethiopia this week that expressed dismay that Somalia's interim government had still failed to agree on a new cabinet and other steps toward political reconciliation.
The Western-backed administration is insisting on U.N. troops to replace a small AU military force.
"(Ping) is particularly disturbed by the political impasse and the rift within the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) top leadership," according to an AU Commission statement.
"He calls for more sustained and coordinated efforts by the international community to support the peace efforts in Somalia, including the early deployment of UN peacekeeping forces."
Labels: AU, JEAN PING, PIRACY, SOMALIA
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