Yemenite Connection and Viewpoints on the MV FAINA Piracy Crisis off the Somali Coast

With the President of the Russian Senate in Yemen, while Neustrashimy sails through the Suez Canal, with Hakim Almasmari writing in the Yemen Post "that the tanks that were on the Ukrainian ship were on their way to Yemen", and with Nasser Arrabyee publishing an article entitled "Al Qaeda behind Red Sea piracy, official" in the semi-official Yemen Observer, the interest for the ongoing MV FAINA piracy crisis off the Somali coast shifts momentarily to Yemen.

To offer another dimension of information, I therefore re-publish Hakim Almasmari’s "Seven Military Ships Heading to Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden Regional Summit for Fighting Piracy Postponed" from the Yemen Post, a report on the visit of the Russian delegation to Yemen (written by Mohammed Bin Sallam) and an analysis on the "Sea Piracy and Yemen’s Elections" (by Ahmad Abdulmalik Al-Maqrami) also from the prestigious Yemen Times, plus Nasser Arrabyee’s piece from the Yemen Observer that echoes thoughts and policies of the Yemenite president Ali Abdallah Saleh (known as ‘al Geesh’ among Arabic speaking public – i.e. ‘the corporal’).

Read the last article attentively; published by Faris al Sanabani, press secretary, media advisor and interpreter to president Saleh, the Yemen Observer is known as ‘the palace’ in Sanaa. (More on Faris al Sanabani: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/30/se.01.html and http://www.ye.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2005012601#english).

Seven Military Ships Heading to Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden Regional Summit for Fighting Piracy Postponed
By Hakim Almasmari ( Yemen Post staff)

http://www.yemenpost.net/52/LocalNews/20081.htm

Yemen announced that it will postpone the regional summit for fighting piracy, which was planned to be held in Sana'a next week. Participating countries were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation between them in fighting piracy.

From his part, Minster of Transportation, Khalid Al-Wazir, told media outlets that the postponing came in response to the Regional Center for Combating Piracy request, adding that the summit will be held later this year.

Al-Wazir assured that Yemen will establish a center in Sana'a for monitoring ships in collaboration with 20 countries and International Maritime Organization.

In the meantime, seven military ships from six different countries have headed to Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden in a mission to fight Somali pirates, and to protect trade ships and fisheries from pirates operations, whose attacks have risen over the last few months, especially in the international waters between Yemen and Somalia.

This comes within the country's efforts to restrict piracy activities targeting ships off Yemen's coasts, especially in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Piracy activities have long been a headache for international navigation in the Gulf of Aden, which is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and connects Asia and Europe.

A Yemeni official who preferred not to reveal himself, told a Chinese agency that president Saleh's visit to regional countries came as the result of the Yemeni government's worry for business ships that pass by the Gulf of Aden.

The sudden movement by regional countries came after pirate's hijacked a Ukrainian ship that was believed to be carrying seven tankers. Further, pirates warned that they would explode the ship if procedures were taken against them.

Sources who asked to be left anonymous mentioned to the Yemen Post that the tanks that were on the Ukrainian ship were on their way to Yemen, and were part of the military agreement signed between Russia and Yemen.

Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Mrs. Sergey Meronof said last Friday while visiting Yemen that her country intends to send more military ships soon to free the Ukrainian ship if needed.

Russian delegation discusses mutual trade and facilities for its navy
By Mohammed Bin Sallam

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1200&p=front&a=2

Sana’a, Oct. 18 — A Russian delegation chaired by President of the Russian Senate Sergie Mironov left Sana’a last Thursday after a 22-hour visit during which it met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, Shoura Council Chairman Abdulaziz Abdulghani and other Yemeni government officials.

Speaking about military and strategic cooperation between Russia and Yemen, Mironov affirmed during a news conference in Sana'a that "Yemen agreed to allow Russian ships to use its ports for reaching strategic objectives, not as a station for them." This information was confirmed by Russian official Novocity News Agency.

"Yemen should approve the mooring of Russian ships along its shores in a gradual manner," he added, confirming the possibility of taking such a decision, most notably amid new moves contained in Russia’s defense and foreign policies.

The Russian delegation’s visit coincided with the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both states and the signing of the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement between the two states on 1 November 1928.

Unsatisfactory mutual trade volume

Regarding trade relations, Mr. Mironov stressed the necessity of exerting serious efforts to enhance trade and economic cooperation between both states, pointing out that the mutual trade volume, estimated at USD 178 million, is not good, nor does it fit the high level of political relations between Yemen and Russia.

Asked about progress in the field of education, the Russian official applauded cooperation between Russia and Yemen in higher education, and added that the Russian government would increase scholarships for Yemeni students, currently estimated at 50 scholarships per annum. He praised the level of scientific acquisition demonstrated by Yemeni students in Russian universities.

During the news conference, Mironov reviewed the latest developments in the Qoqaz region, clarifying his government’s position about the war that broke out in the area as a result of a war announced by Georgia against Southern Republic of Ossetia, as well as the motives of why his state recognized the independence of Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The Russian Senate President expressed his happiness about visiting Yemen, praising the strong move of cooperation between both countries over the past two years, which according to him, is symptomatic of the generous support shown by political leaderships of both friendly nations. In the meantime, he confirmed that his state is determined to promote mutual cooperation with Yemen in the various areas and applauded the balanced positions demonstrated by Yemen on Russian issues.

"Friendship and Cooperation Agreement"

From his side, Yemeni Shoura Council Chairman Abdulaziz Abdulghani described Yemeni-Russian relations as "strong and intimate", adding that these relations have gained in strength since both states signed the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement eighty years ago.

Abdulghani co-chaired the official discussions held on Thursday between Yemen’s Shoura Council and the Russian Senate with Mironov. Both sides noted they were satisfied with cooperation between both official institutions, mainly after they signed cooperation protocols, due to function as a general frame for fruitful cooperation in the future.

Saleh's prospective visit to Moscow

Various news agencies have confirmed that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will conduct an official visit to Moscow in the near future as part of an effort to prevent a potential American-European plan to internationalize the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and nearby islands under the pretext of increasing piracy in the area.

These developments coincided with a declaration by European Union states to send troops to the region while ships from various states are heading toward Yemeni and Somali shores to drive pirates out and protect commercial ships sailing through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The ships, currently present in Yemeni and Somali territorial waters, are from the U.S., France, Spain, Italy, Britain, India, the Netherlands, Germany and Malaysia, in addition to a Russian warship that arrived at Aden Harbor last week. Such steps were taken in response to over 55 piracy operations in the area since the beginning of 2008.

With regard to Saleh's prospective visit to Moscow, Yemeni observers and officials, who request anonymity, said that the visit comes as a response to an invitation from his Russian counterpart Dimitri Medvedev, and expect that the main purpose of the presidential visit is to import Russian arms to Yemen.

As evidence in support of the visit's purpose, these observers and officials stated that a Yemeni military delegation, headed by Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmad, had already made a visit to the Russian capital Moscow during which they discussed military and technical cooperation between both states with Russian military officials.

Moscow-based sources mentioned that the visiting Yemeni team discussed the subject of utilizing Russian experiences in developing Yemen's armed forces, adding that the MiG Corporation would work in this context in order to update the MiG aircrafts possessed by the Yemeni army.

According to the same sources, both sides would have discussed the possibility of equipping Yemen's armed forces with Cornet-1 model anti-craft systems and sophisticated K-52 model helicopters, plus the possibility of Yemen getting Su-35 model long-range fighter jets.

Weapon deals

The sources confirm that most of Yemeni officials' visits to Moscow were related to talks on military cooperation and weapon deals, adding that Yemen has good relations with Russia in this regard. They indicated that both states have signed big deals on weapon import over the past ten years.

According to international media reports, Yemen stands fourth on the list of Russian weapon importers worldwide, while Libya is the biggest Russian weapon importer in the Arab world. Yemen is estimated to have imported Russian arms worth about USD 12 billion from the 1994 Civil War until the past year.

Media sources disclosed that Yemen annulled a weapon deal including MiG-29 aircrafts and armored cruisers with Moscow earlier this year, as the final arrangements were being made for Yemen to pay Russia. As to why the deal was annulled remains unclear, but the sources attributed it to budget deficits.

According to American sources, Yemen imported light and heavy arms from Russia between 1996 and 2003 for a total cost of USD 200 million, plus other arms worth USD 50 million from the U.S. between 2000 and 2003.

In addition, Yemen signed a deal with China to buy USD 100 million worth of Chinese arms. The country has also imported USD 50 million worth of weapons from some west European states such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. It also imported other weapons worth USD 200 million from other European states within the same time period.

Criticism over military spending

The Yemeni government currently faces local and international criticism over imbalanced spending on arms import at the expense of development. According to a previous analytical study by Dr. Nasser Al-Awlaqi, Professor of Agricultural Economy at Sana'a University, Yemen is the third-largest military spender and its population the second poorest in the Arab world.

According to reports on imbalanced spending on armament, Yemen is one of the largest weapon importers although it is one of the poorest Arab states. The reports state that Yemen's military budget has increased three-fold between 1998 and 2003 while the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated Yemen's military spending at nearly USD 885.5 million.

In late 2005, the Yemeni government announced a ban on purchasing arms via brokers and tradesmen, warning all local tradesmen against importing arms to the country. This procedure came after the U.S. government and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) suspended three deals, which arm tradesmen were about to finalize in the Yemeni government's name to import arms from European states.

According to the sources, sellers clarified to Yemen that there are no international or regional legal risks related with purchasing arms, but the European and American oversight bodies had convinced countries of origin that Yemen is notorious for transferring imported arms to a third party, which may be an intermediary, adding that Yemen lacks a good storage system for its imported arms.

Sea piracy and Yemen’s elections
By Ahmad Abdulmalik Al-Maqrami

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1200&p=opinion&a=2

Piracy operations emerged suddenly in the Gulf of Aden in an unprecedented manner and have continued to increase over time.

The strangest thing is that the NATO ships, which frequently patrol the waters and inspect other ships, have done nothing in this regard.

Did such piracy operations appear suddenly via individual and random initiatives? Or was there something seriously wrong behind them? I don’t think that such extensive operations and irresponsible actions are the direct result of individual and random efforts, particularly as individual actions usually lack the required accuracy, dexterity and capacity.

The beginning may be random or implemented by a certain individual. But seemingly, they are the sort of actions that attract attention from conspirers against Yemen’s security and stability. Meanwhile, international agencies gave the green light to pirates to do whatever they wanted, even if they had the intention to harm Yemen’s security and stability. These international agencies also provided lavish support to pirates and backed them while implementing their irresponsible actions in the sea.

U.S military bases in the region are likely

Through such irresponsible actions taking place at sea, the involved international organizations and U.S. Administration are creating new cards for them to play in the region. These organizations and the U.S. Administration may promote further piracy activities until the situation requires that the latter suggest the necessity of establishing U.S. military bases in the region, and dispatch U.S. patrols to the Arab Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The current political situation in Yemen encourages the Americans to play with their cards in the region. And, the political congestion, currently experienced nationwide, forces the Yemeni regime to easily deal with the U.S. demands. The Yemeni authority has no objection to responding to any U.S. demands and obeying its orders.

It has no objection to establishing further military access to the Americans, as well as agreeing to grant them a military base here or there.

Inevitably at this point, the Yemeni authority will stipulate that the U.S. Administration should support and back the upcoming electoral process in Yemen, according to the shape, image and result sought by the authority, which is surely against the opposition’s will. Such a condition may be fulfilled, particularly as the U.S. Administration never hesitates to deal with any democracy-related demands worldwide.

Ambiguous statements are deceptive

It is enough for the Americans to throw ashes on the eyes of others by producing ambiguous statements that hold the stick at the middle point with the malicious intention of deceiving both parties involved (ruling and opposition parties) into thinking such statements are in their favor. The U.S. Administration feels satisfied with granting certificates to a particular journalist, praising a particular newspaper or signing a contract with a particular organization, while in fact, it does nothing to address what is going wrong in the nation.

The U.S. Administration has proven that it will side with oppressive regimes and tyrannous authorities via providing material and spiritual support and any necessary logistic assistance. As a result, one may find that a large and unexpected number of local journalists are promoting suspicious activities funded by the U.S. Administration.

In fact, they don’t know that this administration is responsible for the piracy operations taking place in Yemen’s territorial waters.

Al Qaeda behind Red Sea piracy, official
By Nasser Arrabyee

http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10015029.html

The head of Yemeni National Security claims al-Qaeda is probably behind the increasingly common acts of piracy along the Somali coast and in the Arabian Sea.

"We don’t exclude that al-Qaeda has found an appropriate environment in Somalia to carry out its terrorist acts especially after its call for its members last April to move the battle into the sea to control sea outlets," said Ali Al Ansi, head of National Security, in a Tuesday press statement.

Al-Ansi praised the efforts of his country’s coastguards for the steps they have taken to combat piracy.

Yemen has trained and deployed about 1200 soldiers as coastguards since 2002, when it established the Authority for Coast Guards with American and European support.

"We still need a lot of support to face challenges like Al Qaeda, illegal immigrants, and illegal fishermen, etc," Colonel Lutf Al-Barati, commander of the Coast Guards in the Gulf of Aden, told the Yemen Observer.

"The pirates have become very powerful people with millions of dollars and a lot of equipment. They are not merely gangs, but rather they may actually control Somalia."

The Coast Guards commander said material and human resources are not enough to fight piracy.

"We feel sad when we receive distress signals from ships which need our help, but we cannot do anything for them," Al Barati said.

The Yemeni government has called for increasing support from the international community to bring peace to Somalia, in part by sending international forces, including those from Islamic and African forces to replace Ethiopian forces already in the country.

Observers however warned against internationalizing the area of the Arabian Sea without first finding a solution for the situation in Somalia.

"Any international protection in the south of the Arabian Sea without considering the situation in Somalia will not solve the problem of piracy which is getting stronger and stronger because of the unrest in Somalia," said analyst Mohammed Al Sabri, a specialist in the African Horn affairs.

Note
Picture: Military ships off the Yemenite coast (from the Yemen Post)