Related article in Malaya: Ridiculous, seafarers’ group says of Aden Gulf ban
Tuwing may balitang may naha-hijack na namang barko ang mga pirata sa Somalia, ako ay kinakabahan dahil may mga kamag-anak ako sa probinsya na nasa barko.
Mahirap, kasi hindi naman palagi nilalabas ang pangalan. Sa awa naman ng Diyos, safe naman ang mga kamag-anak at kakilala ko ngunit ipinagdadasal ko rin ang mga humigit-kumulang 300 na Filipino seaman na nasa kamay ng mga pirata sa Somalia ngayon.
Mahirap sundan kung ilan na ang mga Filipino hostages ng mga pirata dahil pakawalan ang 20 ngayon, kukuha na naman sila ng panibagong barko sunod na araw. Sa dami ba naman ng Filipino na seaman, hindi maa-aring walang Pilipino na kasama.
Sa 800,000 na seafarers sa buong mundo, 40 porsiyento ay Pilipino. Doon lang nagpapakita ang galing ng Pilipino sa larangan na ito. Gusto raw ng maraming international shipping company ang mga Pilipino seamen dahil maliban sa masipag, masayahin, at marunong mag-English.
Hindi nakapagtataka na mgaling ang Pilipino bilang seaman dahil tayo ay coastal state. Ang Pilipinas ay nabubuo ng maraming isla (sobra 7,000) kaya ang pangkaraniwang biyahe mula isang isla papunta sa isa ay baroto o barko.
Maraming Maritime schools sa buong bansa at katulad ng pangkaraniwang nangyayari sa bansa, merong magagaling , meron din manloloko. Marami sa mga kabataang lalaki sa aming baryo ay gusto mag-seaman dahil sa dolyar na kanilang kikitain. Nakikita nila ang marangya na buhay ng mga kamag-anak na seaman- maganda ang bahay, kumpleto ang appliances – at siyempre gusto rin nila yun.
Kahit na dolyar ang kinikita, mahirap ang buhay ng seaman dahil, hindi lamang malayo ka sa iyong pamilya, nasa gitna ka ng dagat kalimitan. At nandiyan nga ang panganib na nakaabang sa kamay ng mga pirata.
Dahil mga international vessels ang sinasaksayan ng mga Pilipino na seaman, hindi maiwasan na dadaan sila sa bandang Africa kung saan may mga bansa doon na hindi yata umuubra ang gobyerno. Malaking sindikato ang high seas piracy sa Somalia at kamakailan nga ang nabiktima ay ang Amerikanong barko. Nabawi ng Amerika ang kapitan, si Capt. Richard Phillips, at napatay and tatlong pirata.
Inaasahan na titindi pa ang hijacking ng mga barko. Ano ngayon ang gagawin ng Pilipinas? Siyempre nanadiyan na naman ang order ni Gloria Arroyo na alam naman ng lahat na hindi masusunod. Para lang ba may masabi.
Inurderan daw ng Malacañang ang Department of Labor and Employment na huwag magpasakay ng Pilipino seamen sa mga barko na pumupunta sa bandang Somalia. Malaking kaipokrituhan. Di wala ng masakyan na barko ang Pilipino seaman nyan.
Ang pangkalahatang solusyon sana ay ayusin ang ekonomiya, tigilan na ang kurakutan, ibalik ang bilyon-bilyon na ninakaw nila mula sa kaban ng bayan at nang hindi na muna kinakailangan makipagsapalaran ang mga Pilipino sa mapanganib na lugar.
THE United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) yesterday derided Malacañang’s imposition last April 18 of a deployment ban on Filipino maritime workers crewing Aden Gulf-bound ships.
UFS president Nelson Ramirez said the ban is more of a “ridiculous” initiative than a solution to the seemingly unstoppable hijackings in the area by Somali pirates. The hijacking incidents have resulted in the abduction of scores of Filipino seafarers, several of whom have been ransomed by their vessels’ owners.
As of April 19, however, 108 Filipino seamen were still in the hands of Somali pirates.
“No shipowner in his right mind would even think of disembarking Filipino seafarers before his commercial vessel enters the Gulf of Aden. Simply put, it is a ridiculous proposal,” Ramirez said. “Just to prove that (government has) done something, they would impose the ban. Well, their solution is not a solution but rather creates chaos and confusion.”
http://www.malaya.com.ph/apr21/metro1.htm
Joel Estabio, 48, chief steward of an oil tanker told Inquirer that the pirates are the least of his concern.
“I’ll take the risk rather than see my family die in hunger. If something happens to me aboard any tanker, my wife and children would get somethin from my insurance and from my employer. Here they get nothing,” he said.
It’s economics 101. If western shippers continue to pay millions of dollars to people who kidnap their ships then there will be an ever increasing number of kidnapped ships. We are all paying the ransom in the form of increased shipping costs and thus increased costs of the goods that we buy.
Marami ang mga marino na nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa crisis,kung may ban sa gulp of Aden mas dadami ang stand-by sa Luneta.Seamen are are risk takers.They are prepared to die at sea rather on land ,helpless.This pirates thing is nothing to them compared to the Iraq-Iran war where most of them made alot money.I say, the ban will never work.
Sana,kung walang kurakutan sa mga namamahala,makakapagpadala tayo doon ng state of the art navy ships para hindi naman tayo nakakahiya sa ibang nandoon.
Itong gobyerno ni Arroyo ay hangang sa micropono lang.Papano nila maprotektahan ang mga Filipino seaman na ma-hijack ng Somali pirates kung ang mga Abu Sayaf ay hindi nila mahuli dahil hindi makahabol ang Philippine Navy sa kanila sa karagatan ng Jolo at Basilan.Nakasakay lang sila sa baloto at balsa ay natatakasan pa rin sila.
Magmamakaawa lang si Arroyo kay Obama para protektahan ng US Navy at US Coast Guard ang mga barko na sinasakyan ng Filipino seaman.
Actually, it’s the government under which the vessels fly their flags that should be responsible for the protection of the vessels, and by extension, the protection of the personnel, both nationals or foreign.
The tendency is for the said governments to put the welfare of their citizens first before the foreign workers. But this is where RP govt should come in!
Our corrupt, inept, clueless, useless and moronic govt should pressure both the vessel owners and the country under which the vessel sail to exert every effort to retrieve our Filipino seamen as well!
The German Navy did that to MV Courrier, a German vessel skippered by Filipino captain Willie Sulong last March, when Courrier was attacked by Somali pirates!
The entire crew was Filipino but the vessel was flying a German flag, hence the German Navy came to the assistance of the vessel and its crew, provided protection and battled with Somali pirates until the cargo ship was able to make its escape.
Testimony of Filipino captain of German vessel attacked by Somali pirates required at Kenya trial
RP Govt must not leave any stone unturned to recover our seamen safely. Unless memebers of this corrupt and clueless govt show teeth, and I mean show teeth to demand (yes, TO DEMAND!) that foreign vessel owners and their govts do something radical, drastic, immediate for the release of our seamen, why should the world care?
The sad thing is that this ugly dwarf female pig in Manila has absolutely no credibility abroad, so anything she says or does in the direction of those seamen is worth the toilet paper she uses!
TO GLORIA: BRING BACK THE SEAMEN HOME YOU DUMB, CLUELESS MIDGET BROAD!
NATO despatched a small fleet to the Gulf of Eden a few months ago to protect merchant vessels. Some nations of the EU had already sent their respective frigates for protection and succor.
Matter of fact, A French yacht was pirated by Somali pirates
A special French commando was dispatched posthaste by no less than President Nicolas Sarkozy to the Somali waters, killed the pirates and promptly rescued their French captives alive. (The Americans most certainly used the same French methodology.)
But know what? Two more French vessels had a run-in with Somali pirates. Sure, the French paid ransom on one occassion. After ransom was paid, the French commando and their snipers ran after the Somali pirates, took down a few bandits to make sure they would never spend a euro of the loot, and promptly put the other other Somali pirates in shackles. And guess what? Ever since those three incidents, Somali pirates now refuse to attack vessels flying the French flag.
The latest Newsweek even carried a story about it.
As I’ve said, technically, the Philippines does not need to send its own ships to protect these foreign veseels carrying Filipino crews but it is imperative that they liaise with the vessel owners and their foreign govts to ensure that the welfare of the Filipino personnel aboard those ships is ensured. And I repeat, RP govt must DEMAND (but easier said than done — this midget is frankly not qualified to make any demand, she herself is seen as a problem by most foreign govts!)
Ellen,
I’ve just read the article on the proposed ban.
“But Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo insisted that the ban is “logical” and a “better alternative” to ensure the safety of Filipino seafarers.
“She said implementing rules and regulations of the ban are now being prepared by the Departments of Labor and Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and will be made public soon.”
I think this is a bit going over the top, an overreaction. In order to make a ban effective, the govt has to put a job creation plan to replace the lost jobs or some kind of scheme that would make it less difficult for those seamen who are about to lose their jobs/or will lose their jobs (because of the ban) to survive.
Many western powers along with Asian powers, eg., Japan, China, India, etc., have realised the magnitude of the Somali piracy problem and are doing something about the problem. The UN, NATO are already involved (and then the midget imposes a ban!!! Anak ng puta!)
True, Somali pirates have existed over centuries and won’t be easy to stop this crime on high seas just yet but, at the same time, things are being put in place to limit or to seriously curb the problem.
So, what Lorelie’s mistress/mster should do is to coordinate with the western powers and Asian powers (Philippines being a speck of dust in the powers equation must engage brain instead of mouth). Lorelie’s mistress/master must put her ugly feet down and make demands (if she can!!!) to try to ensure that Filipino sea personnel crewing for these foreign vessels receive ample security measures. This is the time for her to make taray and show off her ugly teeth…
Shit! C’mon, these Filipino seamen are the life and blood of many of these merchant vessels in the first place (and needless to say, the life and blood of hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines relying on their money transfers)so those foreign vessel owners will and should be made to understand.
If this ugly female midget pig who styles herself president is a just a little less clueless, she could actually do something more positive than enforce a freaking ban.
Trouble with this moron of a female midget is that she’s so intellectually lazy that she wouldn’t even give a second thought about finding a better solution to a problem — so intellectually lazy is she that she just beats a hasty frigging retreat (or bribes her way) everytime there is a problem!
(Actually, the true problem is that her non-credibility vis a vis the world makes it difficult for the Philippines to make demands on vessel owners and the govts under which the foreign vessels fly!)
Just incredibly inept this woman is!
Re: “Ang pangkalahatang solusyon sana ay ayusin ang ekonomiya, tigilan na ang kurakutan, ibalik ang bilyon-bilyon na ninakaw nila mula sa kaban ng bayan at nang hindi na muna kinakailangan makipagsapalaran ang mga Pilipino sa mapanganib na lugar.”
Ellen, this will never happen while that clueless midget who is intellectually lazy is in power! Pigs may fly!
isang gimmick na naman ni Gloria para pagkwartahan…tataas ang bayad sa recruiting agencies at there will a lot of opportunities sa panluluko and corruption…sa hirap ng buhay ngayon lalo na sa atin…hindi ba siyang puedeng kidnapin at itapon sa mga pirates? baka sakali matakot ang mga pirates sa kanyang mukha at tumakbo sa takot…
Hanapbuhay na ng mga Somalia ang pamimirata,makapatay man ng tatlo sa kanila ay tatlong sampu ang kapalit.Inutil ang gobyerno nila para sugpuin ang lucrative business dahil ang mga pirata ang nagpapatakbo ng economics ng bansa nila.Kapag mainit na at paldo ang nakubra sa ransom ay palamig muna sila ng ice buko,sago at gulaman.
Walang pinagkaiba iyan sa mga Abu Sayaff sa Basilan at Jolo,kapag wala ng datung hanap ka sila ng puting foriegner na mapuputi ang balat at matangos ang ilong,wala silang pakialam kung gumagawa ng mabuti ang kikidnapin nila basta’t mukhang dollar.Bakit hindi masugpo ang mga bandidong ito? Ang sagot ko diyan tulad ng mga pirata sa Somalia sila ang nagpapatakbo ng economya sa Basilan at Jolo kapag mangubra na sila.
Sa Gapo ng panahon ng Amercano,kapag walang nakadaong na barko,pinagtitiyagaan na lang ng mga hostis ang jeepney driver biyahing Sta.Rita–Gate at mga empleado sa exchange na mahilig mag black market ng blue seal,mabuti na iyung mamiso kesa wala,sabi ng hostis na nangungupahan sa amin. Wala ring pinagkaiba ang mga Abu Sayaff sa mga hostis sa Gapo,Kapag walang foreigner,pwedi na si Ces Drilon kahit mamiso ay milyon din iyun sa kanila pambili ng tiket sa kabaret.
NATO naval ships foil prate attack on Norwegian tanker but a Belgian ship, Pompeii, was not as lucky as it fell into pirate hands.
The report said, “The captain of the 1,850-ton vessel is Dutch, and the rest of the crew comprises two Belgians, three Filipinos, and four Croatians.”
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-wopira2012674021apr19,0,6927353.story
Like you Ellen and many others I too have relatives who are seafarers. They hold various post in ships playing that dangerous sea lane fronting Somalia. So like you we worry too for them. We also pray that they have always a safe voyage. So far not one has fell victim to pirates. So a ban called by GMA and her administration is truly out of order. A fair warning or caveat would be enough but to ban them of their source of livelihood is unjust. As a matter of fact the government itself gains from the employment of Filipino seafarers. Our BOP gets shored-up by the U.S. dollars they earn. And this is what is important for the GMA (mis)administration. So I firmly doubt that they are serious in this banning of Filipino seafarers in the sea lanes of Gulf of Aden. Like most who say this is only a propaganda of GMA’s (mealy)mouthpieces, I believe so too.
nothing works in pinas specially ban. it only creates corruption. example is the ban on au pair to europe/norway. the ban had been 10 years now i think, but still the number of au pairs coming directly from pinas has increased in the last years. they just pay an extra 10 to 15 thousand pesos in the airports..when it comes to the somalian pirates, i agree with adb that it is the problem of the ship owners and the countries they are flagging for. in norwegian ships where there are now a lot of pinoys, the ship owners thru the govt. will provide sharpshooters to take on the pirates whereas before they have only water canons to defend the ships.
Banning Filipinos from being employed in vessels passing thru pirate-infested waters is utterly ridiculous. That part of Africa is an international sea lane at wala nang iba pang madadaanan pa na makatitipid ang mga barko sa krudo at supplies dahil madadagdagan ang kanilang araw na binabiyahe. Kung gusto ni Gloria ay gumawa siya ng animo Panama Canal kung saanman gamit ang mga perang kinurakot niya upang gawing short cut at sa gayon makaiwas sa mga tulad niyang pirata.
Ellen,
Yep! Poor Belgian vessel… Up to Belgium now to make sure that the vessel owners (flying Belgian flag of course) will do its side of the bargain.
The Philippines has to coordinate and pressure both owners and Belgian govt to do everything possible to obtain release of the personnel.
Unfortunately, Belgium has a small naval fleet and cannot realistically afford to send its fleet to secure its flag carriers in those pirate infested Somali waters.
Time for this ugly midget to engage brain and not grandstand for the sake of saying something completely inutile! She might as well get on her knees and dial that phone direct to heaven in the hope that St Peter will pick up the phone and assure her that angels will guard our next batch of seamen!
(Lorelie Fajardo — hope she’s reading this — should tell Gloria how completely inept her mistress/master is! Sorry Lorelie but unless proven otherwise, your mistress remains nothing but a clueless moron to me!)
Vin is absolutely right, this is a global problem — enforcing a ridiculous ban will not help solve the problem nor provide the about-to-lose-jobs Filipino seamen with needed livelihood.
GMA could at least send one of Her vaunted PN warships to help the International Navies patrol the gulf of Aden and the surrounding international sea lanes to prevent the Hijacking of merchant ships. We already sent our frigate HMCS Winnipeg and she is doing a great Job apprehending the Pirates and now on the Escort duty of the U.N. Food Mission ships, but the sailors can’t just do anything against the Pirates or Hang them on the starboard since they have no Jurisdiction over them and the smart Alecs refuse to fight every time but instead dump their weapons overboard when got beat on the game…But as long as Somalia Government is Weak as it is non-existent (GMA’s not quite there yet)the problem of Piracy is there to stay…get rid of few, many are waiting.
Vic,
Re: “GMA could at least send one of Her vaunted PN warships to help the International Navies patrol the gulf of Aden”
You mean, one of the bathtubs we have in RP or one of the clothes washing dishes (can’t remember what we call them in Pinas) they use all over the place?
yong nahuli na pirate ay dinala dito sa NYC and will be in court this afternoon…the mother of the guy sppealed to Pres. Obama to have her son released because he is just 16..but his recorded age is 18…who knows what his age is really..but it seems palusot….ang sabi naman ng Tatay niya who lives in Philadelphia, this was his son’s first job as a pirate…but according to the news…they don’t know how to address the issue of trial…because the last case on piracy tried here in NY was a century ago kaya mahirapan daw ang abogado.. Ma Ma Mia! Ang nanay niya ay sa Africa ata and also asked to be allowed to be with his son at the trial….Ano kaya ang sabihin ni Obama Mekeni..kabalen!
Sorry nagdoble..GMA to send Navy boats? mas mabilis pa ata ang kumpit!..kung ibawal niya ang pagtrabajo sa barko ano ang gagawin nila sa atin?..we took a Mediterranean cruise last Nov. and more than half of the crewmen were from the Phil. at mga Bisaya pa…thus may kaunting special service kami…ang hindi ko lang natanong sa kanila ay kung paano manalo sa black jack..kung sa bagay hanggang sa slot machine lang ako..
Update on Malacañang’s circus act:
Palace in contortions on Gulf of Aden ban
MALACAÑANG yesterday made like a contortionist in trying to get out of the line of fire from seamen’s groups which assailed an announced employment ban on Filipinos serving on vessels vulnerable to attacks by Somali pirates.
The Palace said yesterday it does not intend to ban ships crewed by Filipino seamen from passing through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, a directive earlier described by seafarers groups as impossible to enforce.
Neither does it intend to ban Filipinos from serving aboard vessels transiting the dangerous waters off the coast of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, a move which the same groups said is ridiculous.
Palace spokesman Cerge Remonde the “ban” ordered by President Arroyo last weekend only involves securing an agreement from ship owners and manning agencies that their vessels would not stray outside the maritime security zone which is patrolled by a multinational flotilla of warships.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/apr22/news7.htm
“Palace spokesman Cerge Remonde the “ban” ordered by President Arroyo last weekend only involves securing an agreement from ship owners and manning agencies that their vessels would not stray outside the maritime security zone which is patrolled by a multinational flotilla of warships.”
Hahahaha!
They probably were reading your blog Ellen and took note of what’s been written here! Hahahaha!
Lorelie must have shown your blog to her mistress! Hehe!
(Sorry, again Lorelie,ooops, Lorelei… but this has got to be said: Your mistress or master is so intellectually lazy — so intellectually lazy is she that she can’t seem to think straight, she’s only capable of knee jer reactions to problems!)
Heheheh!
What’s gobsmackingly absurd and ridiculously inutile is for Malacanang to even believe — and infer!!!! — that they could have banned ships “crewed by Filipino seamen from passing through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden…”
To even infer such ludicrous idea – even for grandstanding purposes — is just unbelievably sick! Were they trying to insult the intelligence of Filipinos?
Why don’t you engage brain, Malacanang twerps, engage brain!
Ellen,
I have every reason to believe that Lorelei Fajardo is reading your blog assiduously… Someone I know (who used to be FOIC) sent me an email (enuff said!).
Ano kaya ang gagawin ni evil bitch kung hindi na kukuha ng mga marinong Pilipino ang mga shipping companies dahil sa pagbabawal na ito?
Hindi ba alam ng rehimeng arroyo na gagawin ng Ameroka ang lahat sa pamamagitan ng NATO at US 5th Fleet para masugpo ang mga pirata?
Iyan ang problema sa rehimen na ito, hindi pinagagana ang utak.
Boyner,
Re: “…gagawin ng Ameroka ang lahat sa pamamagitan ng NATO at US 5th Fleet para masugpo ang mga pirata?”
True, America will do everything in order to safeguard their interests but it is also important to note that all of EU nations and member nations of NATO are doing the same thing.
But if you don’t mind, just want to rectify a possible misconception that NATO is an American tool to do US bidding in matters that are of prime importance to the US. It’s actually a fallacy to believe it. America cannot do anything within NATO without 100% approval by members as all decisions. Decision is arrived at by concensus. If one nation says no, no matter how important something is, the US cannot enforce its will on NATO and cannot do anything about it.
However, I grant that the Somali piracy problem is a worldwide problem and so every nation that has naval capability is doing its bit — the US eveb if she has the mightiest fleet in the world cannot do the work alone, i.e., police the Gulf of Aden and the rest of international waters. US military is stretched thin (just like the many nations in Europe).
Besides, to operate on the premise that they will do “everything” will be very costly for the country and I do believe, America will be more careful about full scale military operations not only because of the economic climate she finds herself in but also because they are also facing a debacle: They are now examining their 2-war readiness strategy.
Addendum to “If one nation says no, no matter how important something is, the US cannot enforce its will on NATO and cannot do anything about it.”
Example: the Iraq invasion. When the US presented the question to NATO, no concensus was arrived at, US had to go around the world scouting for allies to invade Iraq with them.
Reason why America did not get NATO support? Simple: NATO doctrine is, “An attack on one (member nation) is an attack on all.” And since Iraq did not invade the US, it would have been a violation of the doctrine for NATO allies as full pledged NATO to invade Iraq in support of the US.
Banning is not the answer. Its like prohibiting our PUJ drivers to pass Espana but go along EDSA just to go to Quiapo from Fairview. Before Somalia reached the limelight, our Cape Engano waters was the hijacking ground according to BIMCO. It was dangerously parallel with the Singapore Strait. Insurance went skyhigh for ships passing through these places. All that is needed with the Somalia crossings is for our seamen passing there should earn war or piracy pay. Bonus when taken hostage sent directly to heir families to ease anxieties back home. Anyway, our crew wont be harmed in captivity. No accounts yet of hostility towards the crew. We should not aggravate the situaion with trying to save some Ryans. Let the shipowners and charterers shoulder these expenses and ransoms. Our navy going there? I doubt if we have one good ship that can get out of our boundaries.
The Arroyo administration is helpless to protect Pinoy seamen from Somali pirates. A weakling (military) and financially bankrupt government has no say in the international war on Somali pirates. Malacanang press statement is worthless. Pogi points only.
Marami tayong seamen,wala naman tayong maraming barkong panglabas,Some are flying Philippine flag pero pag-aari ng banyaga.Alila pa rin ang labas natin.Whereas,in this area,we can compete globally.We are far better than the Greeks, that I know!
Mayroon tayong pagawaan ng barko,hindi naman sa atin.Nasa atin ang mina ng bakal para gumawa ng kahit anong gugustuhin natin .Mas gusto pa ng corrupt na namumuno ang easy money.Togpats lang.GGRRR
The banning of deploying of Filipino seafarers is one issue. Already, everyone thinks it is absurbed and impossible.
But the inconsistency of the government people’s mouths is another. They keep on insisting there’s a ban.
What ban? POEA is stil processing contracts. If there’s a ban, that should have been stopped.
Then, last Monday afternoon, 20 April, there was a tripartite meeting held at the AMOUSUP hall attended by government officials (Present were: Labor Secy Roque, Admin Manalili of POEA, Usec Padilla of DOLE, a certain Ms Agnes Cervantes representing Usec Sonny Cornejos of DFA, and other officials of these organizations), representatives of the seafarers unions, manning agency organizations, ship owners…
All government officials present there said: THERE IS NO BAN!
Then we hear the likes of DFA’s Cornejos and Malaya, and Malacanang’s Fajardo saying “there’s a ban.”
Ano ba talaga?
But we in the industry believe that there’s really no ban because contracts are continually being processed, and that meeting last Monday afternoon is more credible.
So, everyone… just relax. Forgive the people who says there is a ban. They don’t know what they’re saying.
Believe it or not, the awful truth is that all jobs in Pinoyland are underpaid, bureaucrats included, starting with the highest official of the land, the President. The ludicrous situation would, of course, force the incumbent to steal to feed the family, cheat to keep the job, and lie to conceal the truth. And with so many freebies for the taking, restraint is out of the question, and “moderating greed” is a ridiculous call. Conscience is a matter to be negotiated with Divine Providence in the afterlife.
The Press Secretary, the presidential hawker, and his underling pettifoggers, are no exception. For what little pittance they get, they still must perform their duty as loudmouths. In the process, some wild and fanciful ideas, no matter how ludicrous, are bruited. The ban on employment in Iraq is an example, the deployment ban on Filipino seamen crewing Aden Gulf-bound ships is the latest, and the public can expect more of such assaults to their intelligence.
To obtain glimpses of reality, we have to look elsewhere.
John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service, NAVY.mil reports:
The U.S. military’s rescue of a kidnapped American ship captain was “textbook,” but the issue of piracy is likely to worsen in the absence of a systemic solution, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said April 13. “It was textbook,” Gates said of the operation. They were patient. They got the right people and the right equipment in place, and then did what they do.”
Gates, speaking at the Marine Corps War College, said two groups of military operators were involved in the rescue — one based in the region and one based in the United States — with each requiring separate authority from President Barack Obama. “And the approval was given virtually immediately in both cases,” Gates said.
Despite the operational precision of the rescue, however, the question of how to deal with the broader issue of piracy still looms large, with 111 incidents reported last year on the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. “Is there a way to deal with this in a systemic way that reduces the risk and brings the international community together in a productive way to deal with the problem?” Gates said the historical case of Southeast Asia’s solution to its piracy problem does not generally apply to the current Somali-based issue. In Southeast Asia and the Straits of Malacca, central governments played a role in stemming piracy. “So it is a serious international problem, and it’s probably going to get worse.”
“There is no purely military solution to it,” he said. “And as long as you’ve got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there’s really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.”
Gates noted the four pirates involved in kidnapping the Maersk-Alabama captain were 17 to 19 years old, and he cited the dangerous combination of untrained youth and arms. “Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,”
Gates did not bring up military options on land that might be a reminder of the Marines fiasco fleeing Somalia, depicted in the movie Black Hawk Down.
Excellent input Fenix!
Re: ““There is no purely military solution to it,” he said. “And as long as you’ve got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there’s really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.”
I’ve always adhered to the doctrine that there’s no purely military solution to the problem involving terrorism beyond the borders of religious fanaticism. I believe in General Templar’s (The Tiger of Malaya) approach to the Malaya insurgency, “winning hearts and minds…”
We will find that terrorism — at sea, in the mountains, in the hinterlands, in the jungles, in the cities, etc., will be difficult to combat for as long as there is a horendous discrepancy between the rich and the poor…
In a response to a commenter in Why NATO will find it difficult to lead the global war against terrorism, I said…
“…overty does not cause terrorism per se. In fact it is wonderful how often the poorest amongst us are the most generous and best mannered.
However, it is a sad fact that terrorism does base itself in the poorest countries and hides in the poorest communiites. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we all here agree that terrorism has to be rich to afford the terror, that many terrorist activists come from a rich or middle class background, eg., IRA, Real-IRA, OBL, etc.
However, without the poverty stricken regions of the world and the seething mass of poor people who are intensively self-defensive about anything to do with us rich G20 nations the terrorist organisations would find hiding and training, much more difficult.
This is no fallacy: It is still the appalling poverty in the world that causes resentment and builds pressure even amongst our own sons and daughters to find a fairer way.
We cannot isolate terrorism in the poor world. We cannot say it is not a problem of the rich.
We can say it hides most easily in the poor regions world and whether we like it or not, it is a problem for the rich.“
AdB, you must have noticed a couple of remarkable features in the Somali piracy saga – the absence of terrorist acts and the presence of trust you can bank on. Hostages are not mistreated (no water boarding), eat meals cooked by their own chefs, and released unharmed together with their vessel upon payment of ransom. Compare these empirical facts with the Sulu kidnappers behavior.
Spot on Fenix! That’s a very good point… If we were to compare the two behavioural patterns, we could conclued that the Somali pirates were acting for economic reasons while the Sulu kidnappers are themselves hostage to a religious fanaticism that’s the most difficult to combat.
Just the same, I believe that if those poorest of the poor communities found in the southern region of the Philippines had a more progressive, i.e., better economic living standards, the Abu Sayyaff kidnappers might find it more difficult to find solace or hide in the traditional Moslem population.
Look at Malaysia… there’s little hunger in Malaysia so the confrontations between the Muslim and the non-Muslim communities (49% and 51% respctively more or less) is less violent than elsewhere.
Somalia is a failed republic. Other countries find it useless to deal with the Somalian government in regard to piracy in the high seas they had to take action by themselves.
These situations make ripe the need to install strongman US/NATO puppets.
Those 2 French commando that we had last week as our security escorts were part of the team that released the Yacht Le Ponnant from the pirates. They were saying those pirates are nothing but scared people as well so stressed because they do not know about the ship. Well if our government will only decide to talk to ship owners and send our troops to escort every ship with filipino crew onboard have we got anything to fear. Baka naman takot sila gumasto. Let the ship owners cover the expenses, its cheaper than paying ransom.Its so easy to do, just hire them as crew for christ’s sake. Hirap kasi sa mga nakaupo sa gobyerno natin puro mayayaman di nila alam kung ano ang tutuong buhay ng mga taong nagsisikap makapagpadala lang ng dollar sa pilipinas. Akala ko me bago ng Party List may kasali bang groupo ng mga seaman doon.
Baka wala na sigurong natirang matinong tao sa Pilipinas para umopo sa gobyerno siguro nag abroad na lahat.
Malay mo baka tayo ang maging next na Somalia. Di malayo mangyari yan.Dahil sa kahirapan dahil walang nagagawa ang gobyerno kundi magpapogi, di malayong mang hijack na rin ang mga pinoy.
Nico, your first person account is posted in VERA Files. I’ll link it here. Please send me your photo. Thanks.