From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Apr 15 2009 - 08:05:07 EDT
Analysis: Somalia Piracy Began in Response to Illegal Fishing and Toxic
Dumping by Western Ships off Somali Coast
April 15, 2009
Video:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/14/analysis_somalia_piracy_began_in_respo
nse
President Obama vowed an international crackdown to halt piracy off the
coast of Somalia Monday soon after the freeing of US cargo ship captain
Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage by Somali pirates since last
Wednesday. While the pirates story has dominated the corporate media, there
has been little to no discussion of the root causes driving piracy. We speak
with consultant and analyst Mohamed Abshir Waldo. In January, he wrote a
paper titled "The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?"
[includes rush transcript]
Mohamed Abshir Waldo, a consultant and analyst. He joins us on the line from
Mombasa. He is Kenyan of Somali origin. He wrote a piece in January titled
"The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?"
Rush Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama vowed an international crackdown to halt piracy
off the coast of Somalia Monday soon after the freeing of US cargo ship
captain Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage by Somali pirates since
last Wednesday. Three Somali pirates were killed in the US operation.
While some military analysts are considering attacks on pirate bases inside
Somalia in addition to expanding US Navy gunships along the Somali
coastline, others are strongly opposed to a land invasion. US Congress
member Donald Payne of New Jersey made a brief visit to the Somali capital
of Mogadishu Monday and said piracy was, quote, a "symptom of the decades of
instability." His plane was targeted by mortar fire as he was leaving
Somalia, soon after a pirate vowed revenge against the United States for
killing his men.
Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Fox News over
the weekend that the US should assemble a, quote, "coalition of the willing"
to invade Somalia.
Meanwhile, local fishing and business communities along the Somali coast are
suffering as a result of the increased American and international naval
presence in their waters.
SOMALI FISHERMAN: [translated] American Marine forces always arrest us as we
continue fishing. We meet their warships, and at times they send helicopters
to take photos of us, as they suspect we are pirates. And we are not.
SOMALI BUSINESSMAN: [translated] People are worried about the troops, as it
is becoming more and more difficult to do business. There's a lot of
warships patrolling the sea, and merchant ships are getting more and more
checked, thinking they are operated by pirates.
AMY GOODMAN: While the pirates story has dominated the corporate media,
there has been little to no discussion of the root causes driving piracy.
Mohamed Abshir Waldo is a consultant and analyst in Kenya. He is Kenyan of
Somali origin. In January, he wrote a paper called "The Two Piracies in
Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?" He joins us on the phone right
now from Mombasa.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Hello. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Good to have you with us. Can you talk about what you think the
two piracies are?
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Well, the two piracies are the original one, which was
foreign fishing piracy by foreign trawlers and vessels, who at the same time
were dumping industrial waste, toxic waste and, it also has been reported,
nuclear waste. Most of the time, we feel it's the same fishing vessels,
foreign fishing vessels, that are doing both. That was the piracy that
started all these problems.
And the other piracy is the shipping piracy. When the marine resources of
Somalia was pillaged, when the waters were poisoned, when the fish was
stolen, and in a poverty situation in the whole country, the fishermen felt
that they had no other possibilities or other recourse but to fight with,
you know, the properties and the shipping of the same countries that have
been doing and carrying on the fishing piracy and toxic dumping.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain what IUUs are?
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: IUUs are-I don't remember now, but it's uninterrupted
an unreported fishing, unlicensed, unreported, uncontrolled, practically,
fishing. Without [inaudible]-
AMY GOODMAN: In your article, you say-in your article, you say it stands for
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing fleets from Europe-
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Correct.
AMY GOODMAN: -and Arabia and the Far East.
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Correct, correct. And this has been known to both the
countries in the West that had these fishing fleets, which included Spain,
Italy, Greece, and eventually UK and others who joined later, as well as
Russian. And, of course, there were many more from the East. And this
problem has been going on since 1991. And the fishing communities and
fishermen reported and complained and appealed to the international
community through the United Nations, through the European Union, with no,
actually, response in any form at all. They were totally ignored.
AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed Abshir Waldo, explain how what you call "fishing
piracy" began.
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Fishing piracy means fishing without license, fishing
by force, even though the community complains, even though whatever
authorities are there complain, even though they ask these foreign fishing
fleets and trawlers and vessels that have no license, that have no permit
whatsoever, when they tell them, "Stop fishing and get out of the area,"
they refuse, and instead, in fact, they fight. They fought with the
fishermen and coastal communities, pouring boiling water on them and even
shooting at them, running over their canoes and fishing boats. These were
the problems that had been going on for so long, until the community
organized themselves and empowered, actually, what they call the National
Volunteer Coast Guard, what you would call and what others call today as
"pirates."
AMY GOODMAN: So you're saying illegal fishing is happening off the coast of
Somalia. What countries are engaged in it?
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: The countries engaged include practically all of
southern Europe, France, Spain, Greece, UK. Nowadays I hear even Norway.
There were not many Scandinavians before, but Norwegian fishing now is
involved in this, you know, very profitable fishing business. So, there are
others, of course. There are Russian. There are Taiwanese. There are
Philippines. There are Koreans. There are Chinese. You know, it's a
free-for-all coast.
And to make things worse, we learned that now that the navies and the
warships are there; every country is protecting their own illegal fishing
piracies-vessels. They have come back. They ran away from the Somali
volunteer guards, coast guards, but now they are back. And they are being
protected by their navies. In fact, they are coming close to the territorial
waters to harass again the fishermen, who no longer have opportunity or
possibility to fish on the coast because of the fear of being called pirates
and apprehended by the navy, who are at the same time protecting the other
side.
So the issue is really a matter of tremendous injustice, international
community only attending and talking and coming to the rescue of the-of
their interests and not at all considering or looking from the Somalis'
side. This does not mean I am condoning or anyone is condoning piracy or
endangering the life of innocent sailors and crews or damaging the property
of others, but these people, these fishermen-turned-pirates, had no
alternative but to protect themselves, to protect their turf, to-you know,
an act of desperation, you might call it.
AMY GOODMAN: What do people in Somalia feel about the pirates, the issue of
pirates off the coast?
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: A mixed reaction, I think, in Somalia. The people do
not want the innocent sailors to be harmed. They don't want any major
environmental disasters to happen by blowing up chemical- or oil-carrying
vessels. And they urge the pirates, or fishermen pirates, they urge them not
to do any such things.
On the other hand, since there's no sympathy, there's no understanding,
there is no readiness for dialogue with the coastal community, with the
community in general, with the Somali authorities or the regional government
or the national government on a joint action for solving these problems,
then it's each for his own way of doing. But the people are very concerned.
On the one hand, they would like this to be resolved peacefully; on the
other, they feel very sad for injustice being done by the international
community.
AMY GOODMAN: A little more on the issue of toxic dumping, if you would,
Mohamed Abshir Waldo. I don't think people in the United States understand
exactly what it is you're referring to and how it affects people.
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Well, toxic dumping, industrial waste dumping, nuclear
dumping, as you are probably aware and have heard and many people know, for
quite some time, in the '70s mainly, in the '80s, in the '90s, there was a
lot of waste of all these kinds that companies wanted to get rid of,
following very strict environmental rules in their countries. So where else
to take but in countries in conflict or weak countries who could not prevent
them or who could be bought? So these wastes have been carried to Somalia.
It's been in the papers. It has been reported by media organizations like Al
Jazeera, I think, like CNN. Many had reported about the Mafia, Italian
Mafia, who admitted it, dumping it in Somalia for quite some time, for quite
a long time.
And as we speak now, I heard yesterday, in fact, another vessel was captured
in the Gulf of Aden by community-this time not pirates, by the community,
when the suspected it, and it was carrying two huge containers, which it
dumped into the sea when they saw these people coming to them. They have
been apprehended. The vessel had been apprehended. Fortunately, the
containers did not sink into the sea, but they are being towed to the coast.
And this community has invited the international community to come and
investigate this matter. So far, we don't have action. So this dumping,
waste dumping, toxic dumping, nuclear waste dumping has been ongoing in
Somalia since 1992.
AMY GOODMAN: When I read your article, Mohamed Abshir Waldo, it reminded me
of a controversial memo that was leaked from the World Bank-this was when
Lawrence Summers, now the chief economic adviser, was the chief economist at
the World Bank-in which it said, "I think the economic logic behind dumping
a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable, and we
should face up to that. I've always thought that under-populated countries
in Africa are vastly under-polluted." He said he was being sarcastic.
MOHAMED ABSHIR WALDO: Actually, the more formal official concerned with this
UN habitat has also confirmed in various reports that this has been dumped
in Somalia. The special representative of the Secretary-General,
Ould-Abdullah, who is now working with the Somali authorities, has also, I
think, made a statement to that effect. So it is very well known. It's not
something hidden. It's not something we are making up. The world knows, but
it doesn't do anything about it.
AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed Abshir Waldo, thank you for joining us, a consultant in
Kenya, speaking to us from Mombasa.
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