Skip to main content

Somali pirates

It's almost a month the news about Somali pirates appeared in various media in Indonesia. On March 16, 2011 an Indonesian vessel "Sinar Kudus" which was carrying nickel ore hijacked by Somali pirates in Arabian Sea in the voyage from Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi to Rotterdam. There were 20 hostages along with the vessel. The pirates demanded a ransom of US$ 3.5 million, but then fall to US$ 3 million.

Well, this is an urgent situation and also a dilemma. After one month it seems these piracy cases still not found its end point. Therefore, some observers in Indonesia proposes military force to rescue the hostages, especially Somalia's Ambassador to Indonesia Mohamud Olow Barow had provide an opportunity for the Indonesian government to use military force in freeing the hostage. But there is the family of one hostage were objected because they are feared the military operation would be very risky to the safety of the hostages. Perhaps the reason of live safety has made the Indonesian government to act very carefully (rather slow I think).

I think the diplomacy and negotiation efforts by PT Samudera Indonesia, Tbk (the company owner of the ship) for one month is sufficient. It is clear that the pirates demanded a ransom in money. I think there are only 2 options to makes this story ended quickly. First, give them money then the story will end. If you do not want to give them money then use the second option that is sending special forces to free the hostages. Treat them like freeing hostages from terrorists. Why not? even permission has been given by Somalia's Ambassador, right? so what are you waiting for ! Still hoping Somali government to help? Hmmm... it was hard because the Somali government itself was unstable due to prolonged civil war.

In the future the international cooperation to combat Somali pirates need to be strengthened again. Please you search on Google with keywords "Somali pirates", then you will find approximately 15,400,000 stories about them. Perhaps the kids fairy tales about pirate have to be withdrawn from circulation because pirates can become an idol in their imagination.

Labels:

Comments

  1. sawali tuhusetya16/4/11

    konon perompak somalia makin berani menjalankan aksinya di tengah laut. ini perlu menjadi perhatian besar semua negara dari berbagai kawasan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tikno16/4/11

    Setuju dengan Anda Pak Sawali.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yari NK16/4/11

    Negotiation and peaceful efforts must be attempted and using a special force unit should be the last resort. However if it fails, and if the pirates insists on demanding million dollar ransom then the last resort is chosen because if we yield to what they want, it will lead to other series of piracy in the future and the worst part is they would see that the Indonesian ships are sitting ducks and they think it would be easy for them to make lots of fortunes from pirating our ships. So it must be stopped, dispatch a special force unit to free all the hostages like other countries do!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Multibrand16/4/11

    Hi Tikno,

    I read a running text on one of our TVs saying that our government agreed to pay the ransom, but they have prepared a military option.

    Actually the US, EU and other countries have placed their naval force in the region but still they failed to eliminate those Somali pirates.
    Don't you think it is strange?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tikno17/4/11

    @ Yari NK,
    Although I agree that negotiation and peaceful effort must be attempted first, but... sorry if I says peaceful negotiation without ransom is close to the mission impossible.

    @ Multibrand,
    Glad to hear this good news.
    Strange? Maybe. Perhaps they're feel not in the same level if have to fight pirates.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rummuser18/4/11

    Indian ships and sailors have been hijacked by Somali pirates and we now have over a hundred pirates in our jails. The war lords have now taken ransom money and refused to release sailors till India releases all the pirates. Indians want the Indian armed forces to enter Somalia and destroy the warlords and their infrastructure. The government has to be more circumspect and go by UN approval. A lot is being planned for in the background and we can see some action very soon by international cooperation.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tikno19/4/11

    Rummuser,

    I had once read at somewhere, that there is an interesting side story about a group of Somali pirates. Their booty or ransom were distributed to the poor villagers where they came from. However that is not something that can be justified.

    Another strange is like Multibrand's comment above.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous25/4/11

    Tikno,

    Around exactly the same month last year, 10 Somali pirates were captured by Dutch marines. They were trying to hijack a Dutch flagged ship. One year later and after the second trial, these pirates plan to apply for asylum. They are convinced that they would not get fair treatment once they are sent back to Somalia.

    It is true what Multibrand and Rusmussen said. Nowadays marine fregats of several EU countries are patrolling at the Gulf of Aden on regular basis, but the piracy stays. It has unfortunately become a big business for poor Somali young men.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tikno25/4/11

    Chezlorraine,
    For me, why should give asylum to criminals. Send them back to their country whatever the reason.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

NOTE: comment moderation is activated due to a lot of spam comments. Comments containing racial hatred, personal attacks, or advertising are strictly prohibited.

POPULAR POSTS LAST 7 DAYS:

Triple Filter Test

In ancient Greece, Socrates was known to have great knowledge and was very honorable. One day, a woman met him and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your best friend?" "Wait a moment," Socrates answered; "Before you tell me anything, I will give you a simple test called the Triple Filter Test." The first filter is TRUTHFULNESS: "Are you sure that what you are going to tell me is true?". "No, actually, I JUST HEARD ISSUES about it," the woman replied. "Good," said Socrates. "So you're not sure it's true? Ok, now I'll give you the second filter." The second filter is GOODNESS: "Is what you are going to say about my friend something good?" "No, quite the opposite..." answered the woman. So, Socrates continues, "you will tell something bad about him, but you are not sure whether it is true. Well, you still have one more chance; there is still one more filter, namely the third...
16 comments
Read more

LGBT and Human Rights

The existence of LGBT people in society is a fact. Legally, some countries legalize their status, while the majority of others still do not. What influences someone to become LGBT? There's a whole range of hypotheses, from the viewpoint of genetic, psychological, psychosocial, and personal experience. It is too long to write here, so please read it on the internet. The logical question is, who doesn't want to have a normal family (father, mother and biological children)? Sometimes I can understand that people who experience same-sex sexual desire are not their logical choice. LGBT people demand their rights using human rights arguments. Meanwhile, the majority use arguments that apply in society. Indeed, this is a complex phenomenon, like between liberals and conservatives. So, what is my view on this phenomenon? Well, I was born and raised in eastern culture, a religious society. But I tend to think moderately. Personal freedom of LGBT people in society to live and earn a livi...
10 comments
Read more

Musing Of The Pornography Law

On Thursday, October 30th 2008, People's Representative Council of The Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia / DPR RI) has been legalize the draft of anti-pornography law. The definition of pornography in that law are (original text in Indonesian): BAB I, Pasal 1 (1): Pornografi adalah materi seksualitas yang dibuat oleh manusia dalam bentuk gambar, sketsa, ilustrasi, foto, tulisan, suara, bunyi, gambar bergerak, animasi, kartun, syair, percakapan, gerak tubuh, atau bentuk pesan komunikasi lain melalui berbagai bentuk media komunikasi dan/atau pertunjukan di muka umum, yang dapat membangkitkan hasrat seksual dan/atau melanggar nilai-nilai kesusilaan dalam masyarakat. BAB I, Pasal 1 (2): Jasa pornografi adalah segala jenis layanan pornografi yang disediakan oleh orang perseorangan atau korporasi melalui pertunjukan langsung, televisi kabel, televisi teresterial, radio, telepon, internet, dan komunikasi elektronik lainnya serta surat kabar, ma...
46 comments
Read more