Somali Official Calls for International Help to Counter Piracy

April 20, 2009 | Springfield, Va.« Back to Press Releases

During an exclusive interview with Alhurra Television, Abdirahman Abdishakuur, the Somali Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, discussed the problem of piracy, proposed the creation of Somali naval forces, and called for international cooperation to address piracy. He affirmed that piracy can not be dealt with only at sea; even more important, the international community must provide the necessary aid to Somalia to fight the pirates on land and stop them from launching these criminal acts. The following are excerpts from his interview with Alhurra Television. (All excerpts have been translated from Arabic.)

The establishment of a Somali naval force to counter piracy
"We, as a national unity government, are trying to deal with the problem in a serious way to stand against this criminal act. The Somali government is now in the process of creating Somali naval forces to confront these pirates in the Somalia’s territorial waters. But, as we always say, the problem that the international community is witnessing in the Somali territorial waters can not be dealt with at sea; the fight should be carried out through supporting the Somali government, training the naval forces, and providing the needed capabilities to establish such a force to fight these pirates and stop them."

Piracy is not a bargain chip for aid
"We are not in a position of strength and will not negotiate using piracy as a bargaining chip. We consider piracy a criminal act committed against both the Somali people and local, regional, and international interests. What we want is to stop these crimes and this form of aggression committed by Somali pirates and the only way to stop it is by supporting and providing assistance to the Somali naval forces to be able to deal with it effectively. These pirates are operating from Somali territories, and if the transitional government, the Somali unity government, is capable of stopping these crimes on land, it will certainly be able to stop them at sea."

The solution to end the problem of piracy
"The solution lies in, first, helping the Somali government create naval forces to face this criminal operation. Also, these naval forces need training and support to be equipped and ready to carry out operations at sea to deal with piracy. The second element is to address that these young people who are joining Somali piracy operations are unemployed. 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. In this way, we can fight the phenomenon of piracy. We always say that the problem is not at sea; the pirates are the symptoms of a larger problem. The problem is the Somali civil war and the failure to find effective ways to deal with these issues. 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. The international community has spent millions of dollars to combat piracy. If they spend ten percent of what they spend at sea to help the Somali government, they will be able to put an end to these operations."

Arab and international cooperation to counter piracy
"We deal with all countries that have economic, geopolitical, or other interests in the region. We are ready to deal with these countries. But the Arab states have a greater interest than other countries, because Somalia is strategically located on the Gulf of Aden and also overlooks the Red Sea. We believe that the Arab countries consider stability in Somalia as an essential part of Arab security. Consequently, the Arab states must help the Somali government which is dedicated to dealing with these issues in order to achieve security from the Arab perspective. We focus our rapprochement toward the Arab countries that have influence on the Arab political decision-making. The Somali President participated in the latest Arab summit that was held in Doha. He conducted many talks with the Arab presidents, princes, and kings. We are trying our best to reach out to our Arab brothers. We always inform them of the problems Somalia faces. Also, we are trying to explain the Somali point of view in international and Arab forums. We do not want anybody to interfere in our internal affairs, whether a foreigner, a friend, or a brother. What we want is help from the international community as a whole. We do not differentiate between one country and another. Our first priority is assuring security in the Arab region, of which we consider ourselves a part. But we are ready to cooperate with anyone."

According to international research firms such as ACNielsen, Alhurra has a weekly reach of 26 million people. Alhurra is operated by The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., a non-profit corporation funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The BBG is a federal agency that supervises all U.S. nonmilitary international broadcasting. For more information about Alhurra go to www.alhurra.com.

Contact:
Chams Eddin
Communications Specialist
Middle East Broadcasting Networks
703-852-9036