(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 21, 2009: The best way to combat piracy off Somalia is to create a national naval force financed by international aid in the impoverished east African nation, a Somali government minister said April 20. 
During counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg escorts April 19, 2009 MV Abdul Rahman, a United Nations World Food Program ship, to a port in Somalia to deliver urgent humanitarian supplies in this Canadian National Defence handout photo obtained on April 20, 2009. HMCS Winnipeg is operating in the Gulf of Aden under Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) to counter acts of piracy and provide security for transiting merchant vessels. Commanded by Commander Craig Baines, the Halifax-class patrol frigate has a crew of approximately 240, including a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment. Canada's participation in SNMG1, conducted under Operation SEXTANT, represents a continuing commitment to international peace and security. HMCS Winnipeg is the 5th Canadian Ship to deploy since 2006 to join SNMG1, which represents a multi-national maritime force capable of conducting missions across a broad spectrum of operations anywhere around the world.
The solution for battling pirates lies in "helping the Somali government create naval forces to face this criminal operation," Somali Minister for Planning and International Cooperation Abdirahman Abdishakuur told the U.S. government's Middle East satellite network Alhurra Television.
Somali naval forces would "need training and support to be equipped and ready to carry out operations at sea," Abdishakuur said.
"We, as a government of national unity, are trying to stop these operations and promote peace and security in Somalia, but we need the assistance of the international community," he added.
The pirates who continue brazen attacks on vessels off the Horn of Africa feed off Somalia's internal chaos, where close to two decades of war and lawlessness have made piracy one of the few viable businesses.
Some two dozen international ships - operating under U.S., EU and NATO commands - patrol the seas off Somalia.
More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested in the Gulf of Aden last year. Pirate attacks soared 200 percent compared with 2007, with more than 130 merchant ships assaulted, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Representatives of 24 nations are to meet next month in New York to look at legal measures to fight the crime wave.
"The international community has spent millions of dollars to combat piracy," Abdishakuur said.
"If they spend 10 percent of what they spend at sea to help the Somali government, they will be able to put an end to these operations."
Aside from a national naval force, the minister said, the only viable way to combat piracy is to fight economic conditions on land.
The youths getting involved with piracy are all unemployed, and so "there is no alternative for them but to resort to these criminal activities.
"We should provide the youth with work and education opportunities to bring them back to the community and public life," Abdishakuur said.
Piracy is expected to be a key issue when donors to Somalia meet on Thursday in Brussels.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has pledged to step up the piracy fight following the capture of a U.S. cargo ship earlier this month.
U.S. Navy snipers ended the standoff by rescuing captain Richard Phillips and shooting dead three pirates. U.S. forces captured a fourth pirate, a teenager, who will reportedly go on trial in New York.
During counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg escorts April 19, 2009 MV Abdul Rahman, a United Nations World Food Program ship, to a port in Somalia to deliver urgent humanitarian supplies in this Canadian National Defence handout photo obtained on April 20, 2009. HMCS Winnipeg is operating in the Gulf of Aden under Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) to counter acts of piracy and provide security for transiting merchant vessels. Commanded by Commander Craig Baines, the Halifax-class patrol frigate has a crew of approximately 240, including a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment. Canada's participation in SNMG1, conducted under Operation SEXTANT, represents a continuing commitment to international peace and security. HMCS Winnipeg is the 5th Canadian Ship to deploy since 2006 to join SNMG1, which represents a multi-national maritime force capable of conducting missions across a broad spectrum of operations anywhere around the world.
The solution for battling pirates lies in "helping the Somali government create naval forces to face this criminal operation," Somali Minister for Planning and International Cooperation Abdirahman Abdishakuur told the U.S. government's Middle East satellite network Alhurra Television.
Somali naval forces would "need training and support to be equipped and ready to carry out operations at sea," Abdishakuur said.
"We, as a government of national unity, are trying to stop these operations and promote peace and security in Somalia, but we need the assistance of the international community," he added.
The pirates who continue brazen attacks on vessels off the Horn of Africa feed off Somalia's internal chaos, where close to two decades of war and lawlessness have made piracy one of the few viable businesses.
Some two dozen international ships - operating under U.S., EU and NATO commands - patrol the seas off Somalia.
More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested in the Gulf of Aden last year. Pirate attacks soared 200 percent compared with 2007, with more than 130 merchant ships assaulted, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Representatives of 24 nations are to meet next month in New York to look at legal measures to fight the crime wave.
"The international community has spent millions of dollars to combat piracy," Abdishakuur said.
"If they spend 10 percent of what they spend at sea to help the Somali government, they will be able to put an end to these operations."
Aside from a national naval force, the minister said, the only viable way to combat piracy is to fight economic conditions on land.
The youths getting involved with piracy are all unemployed, and so "there is no alternative for them but to resort to these criminal activities.
"We should provide the youth with work and education opportunities to bring them back to the community and public life," Abdishakuur said.
Piracy is expected to be a key issue when donors to Somalia meet on Thursday in Brussels.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has pledged to step up the piracy fight following the capture of a U.S. cargo ship earlier this month.
U.S. Navy snipers ended the standoff by rescuing captain Richard Phillips and shooting dead three pirates. U.S. forces captured a fourth pirate, a teenager, who will reportedly go on trial in New York.
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