VOA标准英语 Lack of Effective Somali Government Root of Piracy P

Piracy 1 off the coast of Somalia has become a multi-million dollar business as armed Somali gunmen attack all sorts of vessels 3 - from small pleasure crafts to giant oil supertankers - transiting 4 the region. The pirates are not interested in the cargo 5 or crew. They only want ransom 6 money that can reach several million dollars per vessel 2.
　
An aerial photo taken by the French navy on 15 Apr 2009 shows a pirate 'mother ship' east of Mombasa, Kenya

In an effort to combat piracy, naval 7 ships from the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India and others have been dispatched to the region - especially to the Gulf 8 of Aden. But analysts 10, such as J. Peter Pham with James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, say the pirates have changed their tactics.

"However, perversely 11, because of that increased international presence in the Gulf of Aden, the pirates have shifted their operations to the western part of the Indian Ocean,'" he said. "And that presents a problem, because the approximately two dozen ships from various navies of the world, including the United States, the European Union, Russia, China and others, cannot possibly cover the more than one million square miles of the area that the pirates have now shifted their operations onto," he said.

International navies can do little
　
Sailors stand on deck of the USS Bainbridge as it sails into Mombasa harbor, 16 Apr 2009

Many analysts say increasing the international naval presence in the region will do little to stem the piracy problem.

Experts say pirates operate from well-known bases on the Somali coast.

Peter Chalk, a maritime 12 security analyst 9 with the RAND Corporation, says the naval presence does not address the problem of the coastal 13 Somali communities.

"For the coastal communities, the pirates are the major economic influx 14 to their livelihood 15. Piracy is stimulating 16 local economies in many of these areas. A whole trade is emerging around the logistics to provide for ships when they are in port," he noted 17. "And it's rumored 18 that at least 20 percent of ransom payments are re-invested back into coastal communities. So the coastal communities themselves have no vested interest in turning in the pirates and have a great deal of interest in protecting them," he said.

The option of attacking pirate bases

Analysts such as Retired 19 U.S. Army Colonel Ralph Peters say it may be necessary to attack the pirate bases in Somalia.

"So what you could do is when you have identified a village or port town that is clearly supporting piracy, you go in and destroy every vessel in the harbor. That would help. It would get people's attention. Because if you are not willing to punish people severely 20 for crimes and are not willing to affect the livelihoods 21 of those who support the criminals, you are not going to get real results," he said.

J. Peter Pham says the pirate bases are well known.

"Ninety percent of the Somali piracy occurs out of two ports, [Eyl and Haraardheere]. We know where they are. We even know who the pirate leaders are because they use their fabulous 22 wealth to build huge and rather ostentatious mansions 23 that are there for everyone to see," he said.

But analyst Peter Chalk questions whether attacking Somali territory is the right answer.
　
A pirate taking a stroll on shore in Hobyo, Somalia (2008 file photo)

"What I hope does not happen is that we get a dramatic response - we start sending a military force, particularly on land - because the possibilities of civilian 24 casualties are enormous. In the end, this is simply a form of crime," he said. "It's a law enforcement problem and to have a military solution to a law enforcement problem, in my opinion, is not the way to go. And you are almost certainly going to create a situation far worse than the one that you are confronting at the moment," he added.

Somali good governance key to solution

Chalk says one way to address the problem is for the international community to provide the countries around Somalia - Kenya, Djibouti and Yemen - with coastal patrol boats to confront the pirates.

But virtually all analysts agree that to defeat piracy the international community must address the root of the problem: Somalia itself, which has been without an effective central government since 1991.

"Ultimately, there can never be a solution to the disorder 25 at sea without a resolution of the statelessness and lack of an effective government on Somali territory, on land. Because that is what gives the pirates an opportunity to essentially 26 have a safe haven 27 for their piracy," said analyst J. Peter Pham.

Pham and other analysts say that without an effective system of governance in Somalia, piracy will continue to flourish. But they say that for now, very few governments have shown much interest in addressing Somalia's problems.