January 2009 – The Somali Piracy Records. IX

In their 118th Press Release Update, the leading environmental NGO Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to MV FAINA, calling for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Ukraine. I therefore republish it integrally.

118th Update 2009-01-23 16h15:37 UTC

Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !

Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.

We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 121 - 2882 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the four months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved, though contacts and direct negotiations have now commenced.

Next of kin to the seafarers on board MV FAINA shall be assisted to make phone-calls to their held family members, was revealed today by local contacts, though the ownership of the weapons-transporter has not revived the Inmarsat phoneline on the bridge of the ship. It could not be confirmed, however, if such contacts were established already today.

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit !

The Somali as well as the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli sides must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority ! And in order to avoid the destruction of the vessel and its cargo by anybody as well as to avert the subsequent humanitarian, health and environmental horror-scenario, such can only be achieved together with the release of the ship, where also the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov is still kept.

The MV FAINA is one of at least 49 ships that pirates seized last year off the Horn of Africa during a surge in piracy driven in part by Somalia's growing poverty and instability. The multimillion dollar ransoms are believed by many to be one of the only ways to "make money" in the impoverished nation. But while the many cases of sea-jacked merchant vessels on innocent passage (sailing even outside the EEZ e.g. in the Indian Ocean) constitutes clear piracy, Somali actions against illegal fishing or against any transport of illegitimate or clandestine goods has a legal standing. Ecoterra advocates to end all destructive, detrimental, criminal and illegal activities in Somali waters.

Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to the vessel, and calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia and Ukraine as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, which have been subjected already to serious threats, acts of intimidation and persecution.

Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA case now with absolute top priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed by the captors and facilitated by the owners. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.

Clearing-house:

News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --------

Games Crazy People Play: Kidnapping, Pirating, and War - Naval War-games to protect Fish-piracy and to cover the real agenda

Local reports speak of another release. After having concluded the agreement yesterday 15h00 local time, Liberia-flagged MT BISCAGLIA is said to have sailed free from Garcaad at the Indian Ocean shore in Northern Somalia with all crew members reportedly being all right. Apart from 25 Indians, the ship had three Bangladeshi, one of them the captain, and three security guards as crew - two Britons and one Irish, who abandoned ship upon attack on 28th November 2008. The vessel was released against a ransom by air-drop and a naval vessel was said to be nearby. Mr. Rabi Charan Kar and Ms. Sabita Rani Kar will be happy to hear that their son Mr. Himansu Kar is safe. The 1986 built chemical and oil-products tanker with a gross tonnage of 16,282 is carrying palm-oil. Managed by ISHIMA PTE LTD, Singapore, the vessel has as registered owner WINGED FOOT SHIPPING LTD, Marshall Islands. So far no official confirmation could be received.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 15 foreign vessels with a total of 248 crew members accounted for (of which 44 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by naval forces. For 2009 the account stands at 11 abandoned attacks and 2 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as one wrongful attack by friendly fire on the side of the naval forces. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.

Directly related news ------

International negotiators are nearing an accord to hold trials for captured Somali pirates and jail them outside their homeland. The head of a new U.S.-led anti-pirate task force (CTF 151) said Friday the deal could be reached in weeks. It would provide a broad legal framework to address the growing problem of piracy off the coast of lawless Somalia. Rear Adm. Terence McKnight says the pirates would face justice in the region. "We're working with a couple of countries that have helped ... out before", McKnight said in a telephone interview with AP from the USS San Antonio, which began anti-piracy patrols last week along with another U.S. warship. He would not disclose the possible countries for the trials. The U.S. Navy began special anti-piracy patrols last week. The United States hopes more than a dozen other nations will eventually join the task force, but so far CTF 151 consists only of 3 American ships. Interestingly such press-releases and wire service-spreads usually push the sentence: "Somalia has been without a functioning government for nearly 20 years". in order to justify unilateral outside interference into the sovereignty of the Somali State - but when it comes to "endorsing" Security Council Resolutions or other strategic steps always a "Somali Government" was at hand in order to give the foreign strategic moves a carte blanche. Likewise "regional agreements", like the apparently "closed-door"-one in Djibouti to be held in 3 days by IMO, are pushed for by global powers and the UN. They usually cover up and cater for the international agenda to get the local proxy-endorsements they need to appear legitimate. France and Netherlands are among few European nations that appear straight and willing to hold their own piracy trials — which are difficult to be held in Somalia at present, though calls to establish a proper piracy tribunal inside Somalia had been made by Somali government officials already last year. To use the arm-twisting by former colonial powers (like in the case of the British and Kenya) or the most likely financial coercion (like in the proposed case of the US-Americans and Kenya) is not a wise move to compensate for own shortcomings.

The Ugandan government wants compensation worth $14m from the African Union for the depreciation of its military hardware being used in the peace keeping mission in Somalia. The Minister of Defence, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, told Members of Parliament yesterday that Uganda should be compensated for weapons worn out in the past two years as it executed the African Union mission in Somalia. "We have made calculations of the depreciation and the total comes to around $14 million dollars. We expect this money soon", he said. Dr. Kiyonga, who was appearing before the parliamentary committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, said before UPDF deployed in Somalia, AU agreed to compensate for the devalued weapons used to keep peace in the anarchic state. Uganda deployed 1,500 soldiers in 2007, who were later joined by two Burundian battalions in the lawless state to make a 3,000-strong force. The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, asked MPs to urge the African Union to swiftly pay for the depreciated equipment "Honourable members, if you can, please tell them to quickly work on the reimbursement", Gen. Aronda said. He said Uganda and Burundi were planning to send more 1,600 troops to fill the security vacuum left by Ethiopian forces in the Somali capital Mogadishu. This means there is still a vacuum of 3,500 troops to reach the targeted 8,000-strong force. "We are sending a third battalion to beef up security. Burundi is preparing to another as we wait for Nigeria which has recommitted itself to send troops", he said. Gen. Aronda said the Transitional Government in Mogadishu is in talks with the opposition to recruit 10,000 soldiers who will supplement the AU force.

The Russian Navy has rejected media reports that the Baltic Fleet's Neustrashimy missile frigate is in an unsatisfactory technical condition, a Navy spokesman said on Friday, as reported by RIAN. "I am authorized to categorically deny this information, which aims to detract from the achievements and service of the crew of the Neustrashimy, which was the first Russian warship to implement with dignity the task of providing security for navigation in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa", Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said. The Neustrashimy was replaced as planned by the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer earlier in the month and is currently on its journey back to its base in Russia's Kaliningrad region.

Mohamed Omar Habeb (Mohamed Dhere) has been released by the Ethiopian troops on Thursday after being in jail for 21 days, sources told Waagacusub Media as fighting raged in the capital this afternoon between the Islamists and AU peacekeeping forces. Mr. Habeb, a former warlord, has been in an Ethiopian-run prison in Baidoa, the seat of the transitional federal parliament, 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu. No comments yet from the Somali government of his release but it comes as the Ethiopian troops are leaving the country after 2 years of presence defending the beleaguered against the Islamic militants. Mr. Habeb did not give any details about his release but said he will be back in Mogadishu. Some reports say a private jet will be taking him to the capital. On 1st January 2009, the Ethiopian forces detained Mr. Habeb from a house in KM4 junction in south of Mogadishu where he was allegedly hiding. He was accused of turning a deaf ear to orders from the Ethiopian commanding centre in the capital. Witnesses said Islamic militants attacked the presidential headquarters in the capital with mortars as the African Union peacekeepers responded with heavy artilleries. There is no immediate casualty from the latest shelling. This follows a series of confrontations between the TFG forces and fighters loyal to Islamist groups killing dozens of people mainly civilians and wounding hundred other over the past days.

Impacting news from the global village -------

US-American President Barack Obama mops a nasty stain off the American image with his sweeping moves to close the Guantanamo prison, ban torture and upend Bush administration polices on terror suspects. The new president's rupture with his predecessor's way of doing business, including orders to close secret CIA overseas prisons, gained Obama high praise at home and abroad on Thursday. The benefits can hardly be overstated. But what's to be done with captives who are certifiably too dangerous to release but who cannot be brought to trial for risk of revealing intelligence secrets or because evidence against them was elicited under torture? Thursday's orders could be seen, especially in the Muslim world, as little more than window dressing — a new face on a new administration's fight against what the U.S. still sees as an unchanging terrorist foe that is sly, brutal and deadly.

In ordering the dramatic changes, the president foresaw that challenge and established a task force from among all government agencies assigned to protect national security and prevent a future terrorist attack. Its charge: come up with a workable new model "so we don't find ourselves in this position going forward". In his first White House briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs emphasized that Obama took action with American security uppermost in his mind. But the spokesman repeatedly refused to, as he put it, "prejudge" what the task force would decide. Many nominal U.S. allies in the Muslim world, meanwhile, rule over populations that view the boot of one American soldier on their soil as an affront to God and are prepared to sacrifice their lives to right that perceived wrong whether there is a Guantanamo or not. Understanding his great difficulties in those lands, Obama named two special representatives Thursday for a new run at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and staunching the growing resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell was assigned to bring his vast negotiating experience to the former problem. Richard Holbrooke, a former top State Department official, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the architect of the Dayton Peace Accords that ended fighting in Bosnia, takes on Afghanistan. There are, too, international organizations that found past concerns dismissed out of hand by the Bush administration. At the United Nations, torture investigator, Manfred Nowak, warned that inmates eventually freed from Guantanamo should be allowed to sue the United States if they were mistreated. "Justice also means to look into the past", said Nowak, an Austrian law professor. He contends there are reliable accounts that Guantanamo detainees have been tortured. Pierre Kraehenbuehl, head of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the organization would closely monitor the Guantanamo closure. "Indeed the question now will be how it will be closed down and what it will mean for the detainees that are in there", he said.

End of the Ecoterra 118th Press Release Update