Despite $2 billion in security measures, pirate attacks are at record levels.
A Somali coastguard returns from a patrol off the coast of Somalia's breakaway Republic of Somaliland on April 30, 2011. As piracy has flourished and turned increasingly violent, an unprecedented 17 countries are prosecuting pirates yet Somali jails have borne most of the burden.
WASHINGTON — It has been a record year for pirate hijackings off the coast of Somalia, with nearly 100 recorded in the first quarter of 2011 and average ransom payments of more than $5 million.
Despite pouring an estimated $1.3 to $2 billion annually into an enormously complex naval counter-piracy operation, pirate attacks are at an all-time high. The Indian Ocean is plagued with piracy as far as the Seychelles Islands. That's because we apply superficial fixes without ever addressing the root causes: Somalia's chronic insecurity and state collapse.
The real solution to the piracy lies not in the waters of the Indian Ocean, but onshore in Somalia. The answer is in re-imposing state authority in the now lawless parts of Somalia, which have become a fertile breeding ground for piracy and terrorism and a persistent threat to regional and international stability. This will require the political will of local authorities to clamp down on pirate gangs. They can be persuaded to do so with the right incentives and pressure from the international community.
It is important to remember that pirates operate from only some parts of the Somali coast, and they need the cooperation of local leaders and communities. Without their support, pirate gangs would not be able to re-equip and re-supply for their raids or take the captured ships and hostages back to Somalia for the months-long ransom negotiations.
In other areas, local authorities and communities refuse to countenance this activity. For example, the Somaliland territory suppresses pirate gangs because they want to be recognized as an independent country. In 2006, the then dominant Islamic Courts Union banned — and largely ended — piracy because it is illegal under Islamic law. Somaliland has been rewarded with a large share of Somalia’s international development assistance.
Other local leaders could also suppress piracy if it was in their interest, but they either benefit directly from ransom payments or are unwilling to pay the political price for confronting the clans who do. Normally, the international community could work with the national government to provide the right carrots and sticks to those leaders. But in Somalia, the inept Transitional Federal Government (TFG), is struggling to control the capital, Mogadishu, let alone impose its authority on the rest of the country.
Nearly two years since it was sworn in, the transitional government has become increasingly corrupt and hobbled by President Sheikh Sharif’s weak leadership. So far, every effort to make the administration modestly functional has failed. Yet, it would be unfair to lay all the blame for the continued catastrophe of the transitional government and Sharif. At the core of Somalia’s governance crisis is a deeply-flawed central state model that simply doesn’t work for the country at this time.
Despite $2 billion in security measures, pirate attacks are at record levels.
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| A Somali coastguard returns from a patrol off the coast of Somalia's breakaway Republic of Somaliland on April 30, 2011. As piracy has flourished and turned increasingly violent, an unprecedented 17 countries are prosecuting pirates yet Somali jails have borne most of the burden. |
WASHINGTON — It has been a record year for pirate hijackings off the coast of Somalia, with nearly 100 recorded in the first quarter of 2011 and average ransom payments of more than $5 million.
Despite pouring an estimated $1.3 to $2 billion annually into an enormously complex naval counter-piracy operation, pirate attacks are at an all-time high. The Indian Ocean is plagued with piracy as far as the Seychelles Islands. That's because we apply superficial fixes without ever addressing the root causes: Somalia's chronic insecurity and state collapse.
The real solution to the piracy lies not in the waters of the Indian Ocean, but onshore in Somalia.
The answer is in re-imposing state authority in the now lawless parts of Somalia, which have become a fertile breeding ground for piracy and terrorism and a persistent threat to regional and international stability. This will require the political will of local authorities to clamp down on pirate gangs. They can be persuaded to do so with the right incentives and pressure from the international community.
It is important to remember that pirates operate from only some parts of the Somali coast, and they need the cooperation of local leaders and communities. Without their support, pirate gangs would not be able to re-equip and re-supply for their raids or take the captured ships and hostages back to Somalia for the months-long ransom negotiations.
In other areas, local authorities and communities refuse to countenance this activity. For example, the Somaliland territory suppresses pirate gangs because they want to be recognized as an independent country. In 2006, the then dominant Islamic Courts Union banned — and largely ended — piracy because it is illegal under Islamic law. Somaliland has been rewarded with a large share of Somalia’s international development assistance.
Other local leaders could also suppress piracy if it was in their interest, but they either benefit directly from ransom payments or are unwilling to pay the political price for confronting the clans who do. Normally, the international community could work with the national government to provide the right carrots and sticks to those leaders. But in Somalia, the inept Transitional Federal Government (TFG), is struggling to control the capital, Mogadishu, let alone impose its authority on the rest of the country.
Nearly two years since it was sworn in, the transitional government has become increasingly corrupt and hobbled by President Sheikh Sharif’s weak leadership. So far, every effort to make the administration modestly functional has failed. Yet, it would be unfair to lay all the blame for the continued catastrophe of the transitional government and Sharif. At the core of Somalia’s governance crisis is a deeply-flawed central state model that simply doesn’t work for the country at this time.
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