Posted on 01/10/2013 1:57:51 PM PST by NormsRevenge
A man named by the UN as a pirate kingpin has said he is renouncing crime, a community leader in Somalia has confirmed to the BBC.
Mohamed Abdi Hassan, nicknamed "Afweyneh" meaning Big Mouth in Somali, told reporters after eight years in the business, he had agreed to stop.
He made the announcement in Adado, a town in central Somalia where pirate hostages have often been held.
Successful pirate attacks off the Somali coast fell sharply last year.
Analysts say this is because of the increased use of private security guards on ships and better co-ordination between naval patrols in the area.
After being in piracy for eight years, I have decided to renounce and quit
Mohamed Abdi Hassan Pirate leader known as "Afweyneh"
Adado's administration chief said other top pirates had also agreed to disarm.
"We persuaded them to disarm and hand over whatever they have - boats and weapons," Mohamed Adan, the leader of the Adado administration, told the BBC Somali service.
"They realised that they cannot function as before with impunity and profits are no longer good," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Times are hard all over.. I hear AQ and al jazeera are hiring.
29 November 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20549056
Somali piracy: A broken business model?
By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent
The business model that has underpinned maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia for the past few years has effectively been broken, according to the Operation Commander of the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) in the region, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts.
He told the BBC that a number of factors had led to Somali pirates being “contained and restrained”, and that a combined naval forces raid on one of their land bases back in May had had a profound effect in discouraging pirates from putting to sea.
But he warned that progress against piracy was fragile and still reversible.
The statistics show a dramatic reduction in pirate attacks off Somalia.
In 2011, according to EU Navfor Somalia, there were 151 verified attacks on sizable ships, with 25 vessels being successfully pirated.
So far this year, the number of attacks has shrunk to 31, with just five ships captured, the last one in May.
...
The solution seems to have been the opposite of “gun control.” Evidently many ships are (dare we say it) fighting back by hiring (oh no!) ARMED GUARDS!
He could move to Minnesota and collect government money.
Proportions look the same - 1 out of six attacks succeeds.
Maybe he has enough money?
Declare Somalia a “No Boat” zone for the next 40 years (two generations).
Well shiver me timbers!
Where have I heard that term before?
Where have I heard that term before?
Now that they have turned in their weapons and boats, there’s no reason not to send in the Marines to kill the whole bunch, is there?
Last night the Military channel replayed a show about Navy SEALS and what they did during the Maersk Alabama hijacking. I love the ending!
Funny how changing ships from gun free zones to having armed guards destroyed a pirate industry that many nations navy’s could not contain.
A perfect example how the Police are only minutes away when seconds count.
Why is it that my first thought on seeing this story is that a certain number of American EBT cards are part of the equation.
Schools and merchant ships are the exact opposite though. Schools are on land, ships at sea. Schools are full of children who are there to learn, ships full of adults applying what they know. Most important: schools are bastions of political correctness, ships subject to the immediate effects of reality. Schools will not admit that announcing that any armed criminal will be the only armed person present is less effective than announcing that any armed criminal will be the least well-armed person present.
I don’t know about moving to Minnesota to collect government
money but his resume should qualify him for appointment as
Maritime Tzar in the Obama administration.
Or part of Uncle Joe's blue ribbon commission.
Armed security takes all the fun out of hijacking. It’s just not FAIR!
I suspect the boys that decided to seize Chinese and Russian ships are not exactly the most popular people at the mosque.
It’s one thing to seize a Dutch ship, where their definition of life in prison is 17 months at a country club, but it’s an ENTIRELY different manner to mess with real countries.
Now they have to worry about dealing with Russians and Chinese on every ship.
“Declare Somalia a No Boat zone for the next 40 years (two generations).”
Good point. They could have simply put up buoys that say “Piracy-Free Ship Zone” and been done with the problem. Would have saved the countries huge amounts of money, while also making them feel really good about themselves.
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