Tuesday - November 04, 2008

EU-sless idiots

via Kims

Pirates protected from EU task force by human rights

A new EU naval task force will be unable to take tough action against Somali pirates because it must respect their human rights, its commander has admitted.

The pirates of old at least knew where they stood if captured - they would be jailed and hung, or possibly made to walk the plank. But those policing the high seas today have no such potent sanctions to impose on 21st century buccanneers, as the human rights of the successors to Blackbeard and Captain Kidd are being put first.

The European Union’s first naval task force is due to arrive next month in the Gulf of Aden to combat the region’s unprecedented piracy scourge, which is being fuelled by the demand for cash and weapons in lawless Somalia. Ten EU countries, including Britain, have pledged support for the force - yet they may find it difficult even to make an arrest.

“In the old days, when the navy would catch a pirate, they would tie his hands and feet and throw him back in the sea,” said Captain Andres Breijo, the Spanish head of the new anti-piracy mission, in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph. “Now they have human rights.”

Somalia is a “failed state”, Capt Beijo added, and the West fears that if the pirates were handed over to the Somali authorities they would be tortured or executed. Instead, his task force will only be permitted to keep a protective watch over merchant ships in the pirate-infested waters, which punctuate one of the world’s most important trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal. Despite the presence of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Royal Navy vessels also in the vicinity, dozens of ships have been hijacked this year, including a Ukrainian vessel carrying battle tanks and World Food Programme vessels delivering humanitarian aid to the heavily armed pirates’ war-torn homeland. Capt Breijo was reflecting the frustration felt by Europe’s admiralty due to their restrictive rules of engagement. Modern European navies are now so mindful of the legal loopholes they face in tackling pirates that they often instruct commanders to simply let them go.

After deciding pirates would not be successfully prosecuted if brought back to Europe, the Danish navy set free a crew of ten in September, dropping them off on a Somali beach after holding them for six days. The Royal Navy admits, unofficially, that it is under similar instructions.

“What can you do?” said Capt Breijo.

Well, if it was up to me, the answer would be real easy ...

Posted by Drew458     on 11/04/2008 at 12:22 PM   
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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