MENACE OF PIRACY

It is a matter of deep concern for the international community that Somalian pirates are running amuck increasingly, abducting and holding hostage large numbers of people for releasing whom they extract huge ransoms. According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates took a record 1,181 hostages in 2010 as ship hijackings in waters off Somalia escalated. As many as 53 vessels worldwide were seized by them last year. Earlier this year, Somali pirates were holding 31 vessels and 713 crew members of various nationalities.

It is unfortunate indeed that coordinated international action to curb this menace is woefully lacking though even the UN Security Council has authorised military action against the pirates. On paper more than two dozen countries – including China, Britain, Russia, Japan, India, South Korea and the Netherlands – have joined the U.S. Sixth Fleet in patrolling the waters where the pirates operate, but there is little by way of punitive action. If there were a Somali government, it would ideally secure its own shoreline. What passes for a government at the moment controls only a corner of Mogadishu, the capital city. That reinforces the need for concerted action internationally to stave off the threat to shipping routes and international commerce besides human lives. The reality is that most nations prefer to pay ransom for their citizens — and the Navy refuses to go hunting for pirates. This makes piracy all the more lucrative. Statements like those of Indian Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday ruling out any plans for offensive action against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden serve to embolden the pirates. Even if such action is not planned it is wrong for Mr Antony to send out such weak signals.
To remedy the situation, diplomatic steps must be taken to encourage a functioning Somali state which can contain its lumpen elements, captured pirates must be handed out deterrent punishment and there should be more armed guards on-board ships. The international community can ill afford the kind of laxity that prevails today in this regard.