Talk:Piracy off the coast of Somalia/Archive 2

Archive 1

Archive 2

Section ships and units out of date

Information on the ships and units participating in counter-piracy operations is woefully out of date.

Either update or remove the section.

If the military ships of all major powers are still there, the section must definitely be kept. However, there is some secrecy involved so it's hard to obtain details regarding the specific ships in this international fleet. John Hyams (talk) 19:59, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

pirates or terrorists?

"There are discussions underway to begin an aggressive covert operation against these maritime terrorists."

We already have a name for them, PIRATES, so why do we need to call them "maritime terrorists"?? Rtdrury (talk) 04:34, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

If they are primarily motivated by money, they are pirates. If they are primarily motivated by politics, they are terrorists.

At first sight, they seem to be pirates. However, a number of sources have said that a significant initial motivation may have been illegal over-fishing by foreigners in Somali waters, and dumping of hazardous waste off the coast of Somalia by foreigners. These are political motivations - so it is plausible that that they are more properly described as terrorists.

However, the real reason some people in the West want to describe them as terrorists, is because it allows action against the pirates to be moved into the US War on Terrorism. Unfortunately this is likely to be counter-productive. It really is more useful when formulating policy, to understand the true nature of the Somali piracy problem.--Toddy1 (talk) 05:01, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

It is also original research, as the source that was said to support that phrase describes them simply as "pirates", not as "maritime terrorists". Middayexpress (talk) 18:54, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

It's really good to see the ubiquitous al-Qaeda nonsense has been removed from this articles main description. It's all too easy to dig this old chestnut out and I have noticed it used a lot on Wiki with absolutely no evidence. Some people post hopeless BBC links that offer no evidence at all other than stating terms such as "believed to have links to al-Qaeda" etc. etc. etc. Good work Mods! Unregistered 23:41, 11 April 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.75.148 (talk)

• To be honest, I'm kinda sick of editors who want to label every threat as "terrorists". The Somalian piracy issue is going on for quite some time and now that they captured a ship under American flag some start trying to label it as an Al Qaeda terrorist operation. And yes, I am a American born citizen to be clear about possible responses.--The Magnificent Clean-keeper (talk) 01:30, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

It's even more pathetic that Americans are now attempting to call these pirates "terrorists". We do not call the mafia "terrorists", nor do we call the Bloods/Crips "terrorists". What these pirates are doing has been enshrined in law for millenia and their illegality has as well. Grow the fuck up and return when your definition of "terrorist" dosn't include absolutely every single person who ever commits any sort of crime ever. Fucking moron. 58.170.147.235 (talk) 08:47, 13 April 2009 (UTC) Harlequin

Reminds me of the days we used to use the word "communists" in the same way. 76.95.40.6 (talk) 09:57, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

"After pirates kidnapped the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler in October, it was reported that Islamists, far from working with the pirates, were ready to launch an assault against them to seize the hostages. Imaams in ak=l-Shabaab territory have declared piracy unIslamic." as reported in the Times in December. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6964496.ece —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.37.153.13 (talk) 13:18, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Looking from a distance, and carefully refusing to choose sides, I regret the (obviously universal) tendency to generalisations. Surely some of these people's motives will be purely material, and such may well be termed pirates. Others will be inspired by (their own) ethics, alone, and these can be categorised as terrorists. Most likely the vast majority show some mix of both motivations - but it seems to me a conscious lie to describe the whole lot as 'the' Somalian pirates. Jan olieslagers (talk) 16:54, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Copyvios in the "effects and perceptions" section, possibly in surrounding sections.

I was going to rewrite some of this section (especially "Entire hamlets have in the process been transformed into veritable boomtowns, with local shop owners and other residents using their gains to purchase items such as generators -- allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury", which seemed to me to be moving away from an encyclopedic style), and when I went to the source found that it's actually a copyvio from abc news. A lot of the surrounding content also has a glossy prose style, so it should probably be looked into a bit further. Taking that sentence out for now. --SB_Johnny | ^talk 00:10, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

For the most part, the phrases in question don't appear to be a copyright violation but a close paraphrase. For example, the ABC source they were taken from doesn't use the word "hamlets" once in the article; it uses the "villages" synonym. The phrase "Entire hamlets have in the process been transformed in to veritable boomtowns", in fact, seems to have been adapted from the opening sub-heading "Somali pirates transform villages into boomtowns, pumping money into homes, businesses". That's not plagiarism, but paraphrasing. The second part of the phrase "with local shop owners and other residents using their gains to purchase items such as generators" for its part seems to have been taken from "Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators — allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia" on page 3 of the ABC article. The "allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury", however, is indeed a word-for-word copy of the ABC article, and therefore ought to be featured between quotation marks. Other than that, there seems to be no reason why the paragraph shouldn't be included. Middayexpress (talk) 00:43, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Where's the discussion concerning evasive tactics?

It is never made very clear what evasive tactics are used to combat this piracy. It is not easy to board a moving ship without cooperation from the ship's crew. Grappling hooks? Please, explain how they're successfully used. It's a little like storming castle walls surrounded by a moat, or climbing a cliff, the defenders have the advantage. However, a merchant navy crew cannot be expected or asked to engage in tactical combat.

• How about a professional armed team made available to be brought on board for the short voyage through Somali and Yemen waters and paid for by the shipping company, or others, authorized to shoot on sight at approaching pirate boats?
• How about hugging coastal waters of Yemen and claiming protection from their navy, or lending them a navy if they don't have one, and then giving piracy waters a wide berth?
• How about forming convoys in the Red Sea, or Southern Indian Ocean, with warship protection?
• How about treating the problem as politics rather than terrorism, and giving the country the same millions that they obviously need to achieve stability, on condition that they stop their adventures on the high seas?

All we seem to be getting is anecdotal human interest stories of heroism more suited to Hollywood movies, than a thoughtful discussion of the practical issues. JohnClarknew (talk) 18:05, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Part of what you've mentioned particularly about armed guards or training the crew and the problems with that has been discussed extensively recently, e.g. [1], [2] & [3] all of which could perhaps help the article. For your personal understanding I think this [4] illustrates a key point, the small number of deaths and other factors means that gunfights with pirates is actually a potentially worse outcome from the POV of the shipping companies then the current system of just paying the ransom Nil Einne (talk) 16:53, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Safe passage for a convoy guaranteed by a naval escort hasn't been addressed anywhere that I can see. On the other hand, I read that only 1 in 600 ships get to be challenged. Perhaps the ship owners pursue the pay them off, no guns, and roll dice as their answer. Cost of doing business. Raise rates. Problem solved. JohnClarknew (talk) 22:54, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

International rules are written by great powers. US or russian navies are legal forces under UN rules fighting piracy. And those "pirates" are no more than the product of all the trash droped by the world in the fishing waters of that people. But they arent treated as a navy defending its nation waters and its resources, but as terrorists and criminals. leandro de Buenos Aires

I believe that they are not pirates but heroes, because our neglected sea is pirated by Westerns, thought I dont like them(Pirates). They seem better than those west..."Your enemy's enemy is your friend"... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.29.88.96 (talk) 12:21, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Evasive tactics suggested and used by merchant vessels

Fire hoses rigged and pressurised. This can be problematical in that the modern merchant vessel may be up to 300 meters long. Giving a large area to be protected from boarding. Collusion from on board personel is NOT needed. The pirates use sofisticated methods including rope ladders atached to grapnels. Merchant vessels are normaly minimum staffed. A large 300,000 tonne tanker may only have 29 persons on board. There is no way these ships can be effectivly guarded by such small compliments.

It is a recognised tactic for the vessel to manouver, ie zig zag thus making it more difficult for the pirates to board. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.78.92.202 (talk) 02:02, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Deaths?

Just out of pure curiosity, are these Pirates in Somalia responsible for any deaths? The word 'death' does not appear in the article and the only connection with the word 'dead' is to a ... dead web link. This seems like an important aspect of the phenomenon and something the readers might be interested in.radek (talk) 09:34, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

According to [5] 3 hostages have been killed as of November 18th 2008. However this doesn't include the number of accidental deaths such as heart attacks etc which in most jurisdictions the pirates would share some degree of criminal responsibility for Nil Einne (talk) 17:13, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Have moved a paragraph on toxic waste dumping to the proper section and removed some original research

I have moved the paragraph on allegations of toxic waste dumping and illegal fishing to the proper section of the forum. Since it was redundant to the "Sovereignty and environmental protection" section which already discusses the issue and because the UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said that "intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment" these allegations make much more sense in the "Sovereignty and environmental protection" section. I have also removed some original research claiming that the UN assessment report said that the illness is caused by toxic waste since I have yet to see a reliable reference state for a fact that the UN assessment report said that. --GrandDrake (talk) 16:08, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

The UN report, and its claims, are explained on this page, a few topics above. It's important to address this issue because it's a central claim of pirate apologists. This edit properly cites UNEP, and this edit mistakenly reverts the citation. - Rgrant (talk) 10:30, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Middayexpress posted an explanation for why he removed it in the "Statements of fact based on opinion pieces and some original research" section. He says that it is a primary source and that he thinks that you need a secondary source for your edit. I wish you luck and I have been trying to work on NPOV and remove the original research that is in this article. Personally I do not understand why some people defend the Somali pirates who are criminals that cost the world billions of dollars and who have no problem hijacking shipments of UN food aid. --GrandDrake (talk) 18:11, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Let me quote for you the relevant policy on this issue:

"Wikipedia articles should rely mainly on published reliable secondary sources and, to a lesser extent, on tertiary sources. All interpretive claims, analyses, or synthetic claims about primary sources must be referenced to a secondary source, rather than original analysis of the primary-source material by Wikipedia editors."

Since the edit I originally removed was of an editor literally interpreting firsthand for readers what the UNEP report (i.e. the primary source) stated and sourcing that interpretation directly to the UNEP report itself, that is obviously and very much a WP:PRIMARY vio. It's as simple as that. Middayexpress (talk) 02:53, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

thank you for responding. please note these further (not "as simple as that") qualifications on primary sources:

"The key point about a primary source is that it offers an insider's view to an event" [...] "Without a secondary source, a primary source may be used only to make descriptive claims, the accuracy of which is verifiable by a reasonable, educated person without specialist knowledge."

— from WP:PRIMARY

first, the UNEP report does not offer an "insider's view" on the earthquake. it is a global agency's report, collecting a huge amount of information, presenting as broad an overview as is possible. by that standard it acts as a secondary source. second, UNEP did not investigate the matter of toxic dumping, relying only on hearsay, as any "reasonable, educated person" can verify. it's a simple conclusion from UNEP qualifying the dumping claim using the simple prelude "reportedly...". - Rgrant (talk) 23:59, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

The edit that I removed specifically concerns the UN report. An editor therefore cannot interpret that content for readers and then link back to that same UN report as a source for that statement -- that is original research and a violation of WP:PRIMARY, as explained in my previous post. Here is the statement as it was before the edit in question, correctly sourced to the Times article -- a secondary source -- from which it was taken:

"...the waste has resulted in far higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areas around the northeastern towns of Hobbio and Benadir on the Indian Ocean coast -- diseases consistent with radiation sickness. UNEP continues that the current situation along the Somali coastline poses a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia but also in the eastern Africa sub-region."

Here is the original research some other editor replaced it with, attributing the changed portions directly to the UN report:

"the waste has resulted in far higher than normal cases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areas around the northeastern towns of Hobbio and Benadir on the Indian Ocean coast. One news article has noted these are diseases consistent with radiation sickness, but the UNEP report does not make such a claim. The UNEP report continues, citing salinity and sewage in local water sources, to conclude that the 2005 situation along the Somali coastline poses a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia but also in the eastern Africa sub-region."

The above is quite clearly OR because nowhere in the UN report does it state that "the UNEP report does not make such a claim" (it doesn't refer to itself in the third person), nor does the report or the Times article (i.e. the secondary source) talk about sewage and salinity with respect to Somalia. That is obviously some editor taking umbrage at the Times article suggesting that the waste dumping has caused radiation sickness (an assertion many other articles make, by the way) and consequently attempting to limit the impact of said disclosure by literally inventing information. The irony is that the UN report itself explicitly makes that link:

"The impact of the tsunami stirred up hazardous waste deposits on the beaches around North Hobyo (South Mudug) and Warsheik (North of Benadir). Contamination from the waste deposits has thus caused health and environmental problems to the surrounding local fishing communities including contamination of groundwater."

To wrap up, Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought:

"Wikipedia does not publish original research or original thought. This includes unpublished facts, arguments, speculation, and ideas; and any unpublished analysis or synthesis of published material that serves to advance a position. This means that Wikipedia is not the place to publish your own opinions, experiences, or arguments.

Citing sources and avoiding original research are inextricably linked. To demonstrate that you are not presenting original research, you must cite reliable sources that are directly related to the topic of the article, and that directly support the information as it is presented."

Middayexpress (talk) 03:59, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

I know you do not understand "understand why some people defend the Somali pirates". Have you thought that maybe this is a problem? Perhaps you should make an effort to do so?--Toddy1 (talk) 18:51, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

I have read the explanations that been given to defend the Somali pirates and personally I do not see merit in them. Even if the allegations about illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping are true that does not change the fact that these pirates are hijacking ships at gunpoint. They threaten the lives of innocent people, they cost the world billions of dollars (which harm many, many innocent people), and they see no problem with hijacking ships that are delivering UN food aid. How is it that anyone can look at the actions of these pirates and see something respectable? Also regardless of how you view the pirates adding original research does violate Wikipedia guidelines. --GrandDrake (talk) 21:44, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Your personal views are as always on wikipedia, completely irrelevant. The same as for people who feel the opposite. What is relevant is that if certain claims have been made in reliable sources particularly if coming from the pirates themselves about what the pirates are trying to do or what leads to their piracy then they should be in the article. Whether it's because these claims are purported to justify the piracy, or simply aide the reader's understanding of why it occurs doesn't matter. (It's quite possible people are interested in understanding the background and what contributes to a situation without agreeing it justifies something. Sadly the mentality that offering any background information which helps a reader's understanding of why something happens automatically means we're trying to justify what happens is common, I guess because some people like to see the world in black and white. But it's not something we should have on wikipeida.) You are however right that we should not be engaging in OR nor using primary sources to make claims. Of course if primary sources are used because they were mentioned in secondary sources that's a different matter (but I'm not aware if that is what's happening here). Definitely claims given significant coverage in al-Jazeera and other reliable secondary sources would likely meet the threshold for inclusion, even more so if they are coming from the pirates themselves.

P.S. It's worth remembering that the pirates are not some sort of monotonous group with a single aim and background. It's likely some things apply to some of the pirates, but not others. It's also not as if there is a pirates congress where each decision is carefully weighed and a consensus required before a ship is attacked. Also the pirates are primarily opportunistic. They often don't really know the cargo before attacking (the pirates who got that ship with tanks just got 'lucky'). (They do of course have the opportunity to abandon an invasion/release a ship without a ransom.) And piracy didn't develop overnight. It's likely certain conditions helped result in it developing and even if those reasons are no longer a significant factor, it doesn't mean they are an important part of the background. (In other words, even if it's true that few Somalian pirates nowadays a fishermen defending their turf, it doesn't mean it's not a key reason why piracy developed.) It's also worth remembering that the UN is not universally respected. I mean heck even in the US it takes a lot of flak. In countries it's supposed to be helping, particularly Muslim countries, it's often seen as at best ineffective and at worse a tool of the 'imperialistic' Americans/Europeans and a key part of the problem (particularly due to the Palestinian issue and other areas where it's seen as biased against Muslims/Islam). Again whether or not you agree with these views or feel they're accurate or fair doesn't change the fact that these views may be held. Nil Einne (talk) 17:04, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

In this article I have worked on NPOV, removed original research, and removed statements from opinion pieces stated as fact (one of which was even self published). As such my edits were made to make sure that this article followed Wikipedia guidelines. Also note that I have no problem with attributed quotes from Somali pirates but making statements of fact from what the Somali pirates have said does violate Wikipedia guidelines. --GrandDrake (talk) 23:20, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

I beg to differ. Some of your edits are rather POV. For instance, this edit, where you have removed context from a quote ascribed to the UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The Al Jazeera article that the quote was taken from specifically introduces the quotes as follows:

"Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping. "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said. "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs.""

He is talking about the futility of piracy in preventing waste dumping when he makes those assertions, as the first sentence above indicates. Yet, you have removed that very important opening phrase from the article. Why would you do this if your stated goal is NPOV? You have also mixed sources, incorrectly attributing the first direct quote in that paragraph above to another article featured in the Sunday Herald. And you have done this when you moved the last sentence in that Al Jazeera quote above to the very end of the edit to make it a sort of "last word", as it were, nevermind the fact that in doing so you are once again divorcing that phrase from its original context.

Before I forget, in the same edit, you have also removed the phrase "so-called "pirate gangs", when that is exactly how the Sunday Herald article describes the Somali Marines and the National Volunteer Coast Guard:

"So-called pirate gangs, like the National Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia and the Somali Marines, represent themselves not as criminals, but as defenders of native fishing rights."

Instead, you have replaced it with a direct quote that references a Nigerian pirate outfit (the 'Mend' -> 'Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta') that has absolutely nothing to do with this article. That too is not NPOV. Middayexpress (talk) 01:16, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

I think I have done a great deal of good for the Piracy in Somalia article by removing both original research and statements of fact from opinion pieces. I have removed such statements again, and again, and again, and again, and again. This is not my idea of fun but I am trying to make this article follow Wikipedia guidelines. Also I think the UN envoy meant exactly what he said and that "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment". The fact that he doesn't think piracy can stop toxic waste dumping doesn't change the fact that he also thinks they are not concerned with protecting their environment. Also note that the Wikipedia guidelines on reliable references does not allow opinion pieces for anything other than the attributed opinion of the author. --GrandDrake (talk) 18:36, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, you've already expressed how you think you're doing a great deal of good and how you believe that you're removing original research. But it stays just that: your opinion, and a highly debatable one at that, as my post & explanation above (difs alone don't cut it, I'm afraid) more than demonstrate. It is also, again, your opinion that it's okay to quote the UN directly without context, an opinion that's utterly underminded by the article's own introduction of the entire statement:

"Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping. "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said. "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs.""

Unless you wish to promote a certain viewpoint, kindly stop removing statements from their original context as you have repeatedly done. We understand that you "do not understand why some people defend the Somali pirates", as you have previously expressed on this talk page, but that's still no excuse for such edits. Middayexpress (talk) 05:37, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

It is Wikipedia guidelines that you are violating by adding original research when you imply that they are connected by using a ":" to connect the statement from the Al Jazeera article and the quotes that Ould-Abdallah made. The Al Jareeza article doesn't have a ":" connecting them and they are not in the same paragraph so please stop adding that to the article. Also could you explain why you removed the quote from Ould-Abdallah stating that no government endorsed the dumping of waste?

As for the comment about defending Somali pirates that was in relation to the original research and statements of fact from opinion pieces that I have found in this article. I should not have made that comment since personal comments are not supposed to be made on an articles talk page but I would point out that you were making personal comments about me days before I made that comment including a personal comment regarding my honesty and two accusations about making edits that I didn't even make. Following Wikipedia guidelines I request that on the article talk page we stick only to the discussion of this article going forward. Could you please do that? --GrandDrake (talk) 00:35, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

So now you're going to use a colon as an excuse to again remove the context-establishing statement -- which, again, is taken directly from the Al Jazeera article -- that the UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has "stated that piracy will not prevent waste dumping"? This is what your censorship has come to, eh? You didn't honestly think that would work, now did you? Needless to say, the material has been restored.

Furthermore, those comments I made that you are alluding to are about your edits, not about whether or not the pirates or piracy is good or bad. Do you understand the difference? The difference is that I take exception to your edits, whereas you take actual sides on the piracy issue as your own comments reveal (and as other editors have remarked as well), thereby indicating a clear non-neutral point of view on your part:

"Neutral point of view is a fundamental Wikimedia principle and a cornerstone of Wikipedia. All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources. This is non-negotiable and expected of all articles, and of all article editors."

A person can't constantly claim 'NPOV' and then turn around and say "personally I do not understand why some people defend the Somali pirates who are criminals", as you've done. That's hardly neutral. Bottom line: Your disclosures actually undermine the quality of the article itself, not some other editor's "feelings". Middayexpress (talk) 02:25, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I would prefer an objective discussion on this issue and once again please avoid making personal comments in the article's talk page. Also I did not remove the phrase "piracy will not prevent waste dumping" and I simply removed the colon which is not in the orignal article. You are inserting that colon after that statement to imply a position not stated in the Al Jareeza article which is original research. Also you did not explain why you removed the quote from Ould-Abdallah stating that no government endorsed the dumping of waste. --GrandDrake (talk) 03:04, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Actually, I did not remove the Ould Abdallah quote (i.e. that "no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible"), as you have claimed in your latest edit. It was still very much there in my last edit. And no, adding a colon does not magically transform the phrase that the UN envoy Ould-Abdallah has "stated that piracy will not prevent waste dumping" into "original research". lol How many times must you be told that that phrase introduces Ould-Abdallah's quotes on piracy? It seems that you never know when enough is enough. So here again I'll quote directly from the Al Jazeera article in question just to show your claims up for the absurdities they are:

Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping.

"The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said.

"What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs."

Note that I've even retained the original formatting above. That is how Al Jazeera introduces all of its quotes throughout the article i.e. with a brief introductory phrase. In case you haven't read many articles before, this is common journalistic practice. Oh, and before i forget, pointing out your obvious bias by quoting you directly revealing said bias (e.g. "personally I do not understand why some people defend the Somali pirates who are criminals"), I'm afraid does not qualify as a personal attack. I'm merely pointing out your obviously tendentious editing, which is indeed very relevant to the overall quality of this article. An Obama hater, after all, can't exactly contribute in an NPOV fashion to the Barack Obama article. This is commonsense. Middayexpress (talk) 23:19, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I didn't notice that you had left in the Ould-Abdallah quote in your most recent edit and I apologize for saying that you had removed it. On the matter of original formatting though you are adding a colon to connect a statement from the article to two quotes from Ould-Abdallah and you have said that "He is talking about the futility of piracy in preventing waste dumping when he makes those assertions". I do not see anything in the article though that supports your statement and note that he said "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment".

Okay GrandDrake. Since you're going to insist on playing dumb, acting as if this has not already been explained to you and in detail, I shall literally copy and paste my earlier explanation of this situation, and now this time pay particular attention to the part in bold:

So here again I'll quote directly from the Al Jazeera article in question just to show your claims up for the absurdities they are:

Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping.

"The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said.

"What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs."

Note that I've even retained the original formatting above. That is how Al Jazeera introduces all of its quotes throughout the article i.e. with a brief introductory phrase. In case you haven't read many articles before, this is common journalistic practice. Middayexpress (talk) 02:17, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Also repeatedly making personal comments against someone is a violation of Wikipedia guidelines since you are not talking about my edits but instead about what I personally believe. I made a mistake posting my personal beliefs on the talk page 5 days ago but you are the one who is now violating Wikipedia guidelines. Also you say that it is common sense that someone who is against something can not make neutral edits on it but there is no Wikipedia guideline which says that. In fact [the Wikipedia guideline on NPOV] states that "All editors and all sources have biases (in other words, all editors and all sources have a point of view) — what matters is how we combine them to create a neutral article." As such please avoid making personal comments in the article's talk page. --GrandDrake (talk) 01:28, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes GrandDrake. WP:NPOV acknowledges that people have biases in the sense that they have opinions. However, what it also specifies is that one shouldn't let those biases get in the way of one's editing:

Neutral point of view is a fundamental Wikimedia principle and a cornerstone of Wikipedia. All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources. This is non-negotiable and expected of all articles, and of all article editors. For guidance on how to make an article conform to the neutral point of view, see the NPOV tutorial; for examples and explanations that illustrate key aspects of this policy, see Wikipedia:Neutral point of view/FAQ.

Unforunately, however, that is exactly what you have repeatedly done when you keep removing references that portray the pirates as anything but the common "criminals" you keep insisting they are (I don't see you relentlessly tampering with any other section of the article; just the lone one that tries to air the other side of the story). That is not NPOV. Middayexpress (talk) 02:17, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Personal comments are not relevant to the discussion. Please avoid making personal comments in the article's talk page and please read this Wikipedia guideline on civility. Also since you asked I would note that only yesterday I added a paragraph to the history section on an event that happened this month and that the last paragraph in the history section before my edit was from November of last year. --GrandDrake (talk) 03:29, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Those are not "personal comments". That's a discussion of your edits. And I never "asked" you anything; I told you that I don't see you relentlessly tampering with (i.e. removing/censoring information from) any other section of the article besides the Sovereignty and environmental protection section -- I wasn't talking about editing. It's beyond deliciously ironic that you should then produce a link which yet again predictably condemns the pirates as criminals as some sort of "proof" that you do other things besides tamper with the aforementioned section. Earth to GrandDrake: The Sovereignty and environmental protection section is the only section in the article that tries to air the other side of the story, as I have already clearly stated. And that's the very section you have been relentlessly targeting during this entire edit war. Middayexpress (talk) 04:14, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

You say it is a discussion of my edits but when you commented on my edit about what Hillary Clinton said on a recent pirate attack you didn't say anything about the edit itself. Instead the only thing you said about it was that "It's beyond deliciously ironic that you should then produce a link which yet again predictably condemns the pirates as criminals" which is a personal opinon that is not relevant to Wikipedia. Whether you think the Somali pirates are criminals or something else doesn't matter. What matters is what reliable references have said about piracy in Somalia. --GrandDrake (talk) 03:08, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Regarding the Sunday Herald article, thank you for bringing the fact that it's an opinion piece to my attention. The link I originally got it from did not indicate this, so I assumed it was factual. However, a subsequent Google search indeed indicates that it's an opinion piece. My bad. Middayexpress (talk) 03:59, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

"diseases consistent with radiation sickness" If there is radiation sicness there should be extremely high radiation levels easily detectable even in the neighbouring countries. This "consistent with" is just a piece of fearmongering.--128.214.182.110 (talk) 10:57, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Entry question

Is this accepted, especially using this wiki article to reference the following?

OEF‐MIO Support
(DD-108 Akebono)
(AOE-423 Tokiwa)ja:自衛隊インド洋派遣

Answer appreciated for clarification. Ominae (talk) 09:47, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Piracy in Somalia Edit War

I have posted the following notice on the Administrators' noticeboard/Geopolitical ethnic and religious conflicts

There is an edit war with the Piracy in Somalia page. I suggested to the two editors involved that their edits were taking on characteristics of an edit war, and asked them both to take a one week holiday from editing the article... however both insist on having the last word. Both insist that what they are doing is needed for NPOV, and one of them uses [OR] to justify removing anything that he disagrees with. Both are clearly well-intentioned people. It really needs some neutral people to become involved.--Toddy1 (talk) 05:19, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

The Piracy in Somalia article contained a great deal of original research and statements of fact from opinion pieces. I have removed such statements again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Let me give three of the more noticeable cases that used to be in the article. Most of the first paragraph in the history section of this article contained original research which did not have a single reference in it. An opinion piece which was also self published was added to the article as statements of fact. And information about a UNEP report which reported illnesses in Somali had original research added to it which stated that alleged nuclear and toxic waste dumping caused it even though there was no statement from UNEP in the reference which stated that.

Also excluding statements of fact from opinion pieces here is some of the original research I have removed:

"Since the Somali government collapsed in 1991, including the coast guard, there have been a lot of questions regarding the motivations and intentions of the so-called "pirates"."

"However, no efforts from the international community have been conducted on behalf of the people of Somalia to deter and punish multinational corporations for their violation of international law."

"In terms of territorial sovereignty, there has been a lack of questions regarding the illegal presence of these "victim tankers" off of the coast of Somalia"

"European ships began dumping millions of barrels of toxic waste into the ocean off the Somali coast."

As for the current issue with the other editor despite the fact that he has added several quotes from the Ould-Abdallah, UN envoy of Somalia, he has twice removed this quote about nuclear and toxic waste dumping without giving any explanation:

"I must stress however, that no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible,"

The other editor has also changed how some quotes are presented which I added to the Piracy in Somalia article. Here is what was said in the reference:

Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping.

"The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said.

"What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs."

Here is my edit:

that piracy will not prevent the dumping of waste, "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment,", and "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs.

Here is his edit:

that piracy will not prevent waste dumping: "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," and "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs.

Though adding a colon is a small change it does make an implication that was not stated in the article itself. The other editor has accused me of censorship which is a bit surprising since I am removing a colon not found in the original article, which I have explained, and he is removing a quote from the UN envoy for Somalia without giving any explanation. --GrandDrake (talk) 23:30, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Reading parties: Please refer to this section above for a detailed discussion of each and everyone of GrandDrake's points above. They are nothing new. He has literally repeated all of the same hollow charges he has raised over the past week or so, and which have already been addressed point by point. Middayexpress (talk) 23:37, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Most of the edits that I refer to in that post you did not make nor did you challenge me on so are you only referring to the edits you made? Also since you refer to "hollow charges" are you claiming that you did not add any original research or statements of fact from an opinion piece to this article in the last week? --GrandDrake (talk) 00:27, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

No, that is not what I am saying at all. I am saying that all of the points you have raised above have been addressed point by point in this earlier section of the talk page, including your many claims of so-called "original research". Kindly stop regurgitating the same dubious arguments of the past that started this edit war in the first place and that have already been dealt with. That is neither helpful nor productive. Middayexpress (talk) 01:51, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Just to make this clear when you say "all of the points you have raised" are you referring to the entire post or only to the part about the current discussion (starting with the sentence "As for the current issue with the other editor")? Also I didn't notice that you had left in the Ould-Abdallah quote with your most recent edit and I apologize for saying that you had removed it. --GrandDrake (talk) 03:45, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Can I ask that the disputants please use edit summaries? If you're going to hoard the top of my watchlist for your neverending argument, at least use edit summaries so I can follow the drama and get hints as to if I get to block everyone administrative intervention is necessary. - BanyanTree 04:22, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

We have been using edit summaries. And this is an edit war, not a revert war. It's also pretty much over with, it seems. But thanks for the advice anyway. Middayexpress (talk) 04:26, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Something tells me that the point of my post has been missed. In any case, you're welcome. - BanyanTree 04:35, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

I have tried my best to follow Wikipedia guidelines including explaining and posting links on Wikipedia guidelines and have made multiple requests for the other editor to stop posting personal comments (here, here, here, and here). Despite that the other editor has repeatedly made personal comments about me in recent edits and the recent exchanges between us can be found at the bottom of this section. --GrandDrake (talk) 05:17, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Videos About Somali Pirates

There is a plethora of video footage about Somali Pirates.

Somali Pirates strike again - News Footage [6]

Top 10 Things To Do When Somali Pirates Attack [7]

Somali Pirates Captured [8] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.138.254.21 (talk) 15:05, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Neutral article?

Talk about slavery, centuries of exploration, opression and forced civilization by Capitalism. Those people had not to lose they are poor and theyre only attacking as a response to extreme porverty. BTW a very one-sided article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.78.68.104 (talk) 16:27, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

The above comments were deleted at 03:13, 24 April 2009 by User:GrandDrake, on the grounds that Removed section not relevant to improving the article which contained racist statements. Whilst I disagree with the above comments, I do not think it appropriate to delete them. If people think that the article is unfair, it is permitted for them to complain about the POV in the article, in exactly the manner done by 201.78.68.104 at 16:27, 23 April 2009 (UTC).

Given the history of Somalia, the complete opposite of slavery, centuries of exploration, opression and forced civilization by Capitalism is the truth.

However just because User:GrandDrake and I disagree with a comment is not in my view a legitimate reason to delete it from the Talk:Piracy in Somalia page.--Toddy1 (talk) 05:46, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

The reason I deleted that edit was because it offered no relevant statements on how to improve the article and it contained racist statements. Based on Wikipedia talk page guidelines and Wikipedia civility guidelines I considered that to be grounds for deleting the edit. Could you explain based on Wikipedia guidelines why you believe that an edit containing racist statements should be allowed on the talk page? --GrandDrake (talk) 09:05, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

I think your deletion of 201.78.68.104's comments was in violation of Wikipedia talk page guidelines. The statement made by 201.78.68.104 did not breach Wikipedia talk page guidelines or Wikipedia civility guidelines. You know this. I know this.--Toddy1 (talk) 17:39, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

I will explain exactly why I consider that edit to be a violation of Wikipedia guidelines. The section header was a racist personal opinion, the first sentence said nothing specific on how to improve the article and only made vague statements of what the editor thought should be added to the article without any explanation for why, the second sentence was a personal opinion, and the third sentence was a racist personal opinion. Based on the Wikipedia guidelines I considered that grounds for deleting the edit since "Article talk pages should not be used by editors as platforms for their personal views", the edit was "not relevant to improving the article", and the edit refers to "groups such as social classes, nationalities, ethnic groups, religious groups, or others in a derogatory manner". --GrandDrake (talk) 21:58, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

The talk page post above strikes me as a mixed bag. The first part of it is a personal view, laced with ethnicity/race-directed comments that the IP clearly should not have made. The second part, by contrast, is about the article. The IP has indicated that s/he believes the article is biased and one-sided. Instead of deleting the IP's comments wholesale, this latter observation should at least be taken into consideration, and viewed as an opportunity to re-evaluate the overall balance and neutrality of the article; it should not be censored altogether, which I've noticed is something that appears to be a major problem on this article. If someone, for example, had deleted those first few comments various editors had made months back on this talk page drawing our attention to the fact that overfishing and toxic waste dumping has a lot to do with the piracy (as they ironically and repeatedly have in the article proper), then the article here too wouldn't be nearly as balanced or neutral. It's also a central part of WP:TALK to allow observations directly pertaining to the article to be aired. So if others still want to delete the IP's comments, I for one am not at all in objection since most of them really are offensive and off-topic (last I checked, for example, Somalis were never "enslaved"). To this end, I've renamed the heading to make it more neutral per Wikipedia:TALK#New_topics_and_headings_on_talk_pages. However, that last bit about the article being one-sided is quite clearly relevant and worth considering. Middayexpress (talk) 03:52, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Based on Wikipedia guidelines regarding personal opinions and racist statements found in Wikipedia talk page guidelines and Wikipedia civility guidelines I removed the racial group mentioned in the third sentence of the edit posted by 201.78.68.104. Saying that the article is one sided towards a certain racial group does not explain why he thinks that it only tells us that the editor has a personal opinion about that racial group. --GrandDrake (talk) 13:48, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Problem with article

I see 2 problems with this article.

Problem #1

This entire article is original research. People have taken the topic and shaped it like a term paper. Writing like a term paper is ok for school but the organization and slant is original research.

On the other hand, should Wikipedia just copy another encyclopedia?

What this article is doing is original research backed up by selective clipping of sentences for other references.

What is the solution to this difficult question?

Problem #2

Problem 2 is easier to solve. It's just a matter of facts. Not all pirates are former fisherman. Some are high tech people and some are arms experts. A reliable news source mentioned this. The techies have to know GPS and how to run some stuff in the captured ship. Nohars (talk) 03:45, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

It may be relevant that Nohars is a new user. According to Special:Contributions/Nohars his first edit was to create his talk page at 03:40 GMT, and then at 03:45 he made his second edit, which was to place this in the talk page. All seems very suspicious. The claim that an article with all the good references this article has is original research is not plausible. Does someone who is on their first edit to an article really all that au-fait with the original research policy?--Toddy1 (talk) 08:52, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Most suspicious indeed. Middayexpress (talk) 20:53, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

So what? Is User:Nohars wrong? Could the article be improved if User:Nohars were to provide reliable sources to back up his claim that not all the pirates are fishermen? Abductive (reasoning) 19:29, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Current event: Somali pirates capture German owned ship

The Comcast website has a story about a German owned, Maltese flagged ship taken by pirates off Somalia:

Piracy off Somalia--DThomsen8 (talk) 14:11, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

B-Wasy's?

Caption under the firt image on this page says: A collage of "B-Wasy's" Somali pirates [...]

I don't have a slightest clue what "B-Wasy's", and the internets don't seem to have a clue too. Can someone elaborate what that stands for? Thanks

--89.143.199.130 (talk) 11:43, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Long list of missions

Should every mission of a single ship in Combined Task Force 150 and Combined Task Force 151 be listed in the list in the subsection Piracy in Somalia#Military presence? Rubenescio (talk) 18:08, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Number of German Sailors Looks Weird

I was skimming through this article when I noticed that in the table showing the military presence of various countries in the area, Germany is only listed as having one ship (the F122 Karlsruhe) while it is listed as having 1400 sailors. For some reason that doesn't seem plausible, especially because that ship supposedly only usually has 202 crew. Caleb Jon (talk) 05:24, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Australian "commitment"?

From what I've read of the 17 May incident involving two Australian warships, I don't think that their actions count as an "Australian committment" to the Somalia piracy problem as described in this article, and probably shouldn't be included here. The ships (HMA Ships Sydney and Ballarat) were deployed on an around-the-world voyage and were literally "just passing through" when two merchant vessels in the area were attacked. The RAN ships responded to the distress calls, chased off the pirates, took measures to ensure the merchant vessels were safe, then moved on.

Thoughts on the matter? -- saberwyn 08:06, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree - the ships were just passing through the area en-route from India to the Mediterranean and are continuing on their voyage. I've just removed this from the article. Nick-D (talk) 08:56, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, seems a fair call. Australian naval units in the Middle East are deployed under CTF 152, not 151 (which is tasked with anti-piracy operations). Anotherclown (talk) 09:02, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

New Zealand

While we're on the subject of Australia's "commitment", why is New Zealand's navy listed as a contributor? There are no references to their "commitment", and considering their navy is smaller than Australia's and they are further away from the Gulf of Aden, it is unlikely they would contribute naval forces to combat Somali piracy.--Just James ^T/C 07:40, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Also, if Australia and New Zealand are not using naval forces to combat Somali piracy, why are these countries highlighted green in the figure within the "Anti-piracy measures" section?--Just James ^T/C 07:40, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

No idea. I've just removed NZ as they don't have either of their two frigates anywhere near the region and the map as it was incorrect. Nick-D (talk) 09:44, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

I've just added the map here for safekeeping Nick-D (talk) 09:46, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Australia, again

I found this link on the Australian Defence Department website: [9]--Just James ^T/C 13:32, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Pirates attack Navy Helicopter?

>Hi, I was wondering, could we put somthing in about the pirates attacking the US Navy helicopter? Here are some links: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/08/27/somalia.us.pirates/, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_piracy_us_helicopter, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32578628/ns/world_news-africa/?ocid=MSNToolbar130 Wackogamer123 (talk) 18:12, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

Military presence table

On this table India Iran and Pakistan are shown as members of the Shangai Cooperation Organization. Does someone know how to correct it?

Nevermind i found how to do it

 this is cool im so using this for my school report  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.56.210.199 (talk) 19:58, 1 November 2009 (UTC) 

Regarding the "Alliance" column in the table I would like to rise some points:

• to list Pakistan and India as part of common military alliance (SCO) is a big stretch - they are only observers to a this Russia and China led forum. SCO is by no means an "alliance" for common military actions - Russia, China, Iran, India and Pakistan send their vessels on their own, in coordination only trough the UN, not trough SCO.
• on the contrary, listing EU members contribution to the EUFOR mission Operation Atalanta as under "NATO" is wrong - they should be listed as EU or ESDP or CFSP or dualy as NATO/EU or NATO/ESDP or NATO/CFSP where applicable. Alinor (talk) 11:13, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Piracy in Somalia

I was looking at the first sentence for that section:
"The military response to pirate attacks has brought about a rare show of unity by countries that are either openly hostile to each other, or at least wary of cooperation, military or otherwise."
I am not sure what the original author was trying to say but it looks like a bit POINTy, (and/or weasel words), to me.
What navies are "openly hostile...or at least wary of cooperation" to each others?
Is this sentence needed at all? FFMG (talk) 07:48, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Move or Delete Section

The section "Sovereignty and environmental protection" really has nothing to do with Piracy. Recommend moving it or deleting it. The fact that environmental problems have developed on the coast is not a result of piracy. It's the result of the governmental breakdown, of which piracy is another product.--S. Rich 22:49, 16 April 2010 (UTC)--S. Rich 04:56, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Offensive CIA article?

The IP user who deleted a recent update on current events said the CIA article was offensive. Did s/he mean it was personally offensive or that it was talking about offensive action against the pirates? In any event, I have restored it, but changed the introductory sentence of the paragraph. Reason -- the article itself did not mention any possible, planned, or discussed offensive actions against the pirates. Rather, it referred to vigorous actions against pirates 200 years ago and bemoaned the fact that such actions were not being taken today. Still, the fact that such statements are now published indicates that planning may be in the works. But with nothing more, a supposition that more action is planned is not a basis for saying that more action is actually being planned.--S. Rich 04:21, 21 April 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Srich32977 (talk • contribs)

Chinese Committment

The estimate of 800 sailors (includidng marines) seems a little low when you look at the ship types and how much crew they have. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.33.138.221 (talk) 22:23, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

Intro Section

The article summary at the top is really quite long and, IMO, needs to be compressed, referring to below for more details. The very first paragraph is mostly devoted to piracy as it relates to food aid. This seems to put a strong spin on the story and, IMO, removes all semblance of neutrality from the very start. As this is a controversial topic, I think we need to be extra careful to avoid things like this. Khono (talk) 08:33, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Government cooperation with pirates

Here is a recent article about how some government officials are apparently cooperating with pirates to counter Islamists, and how other pirates are joining with Islamists. In general, it talks on how the pirate groups are gaining an increased para-military presence on land. All, I think, valid stuff for this article. TastyCakes (talk) 15:20, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

Original research/WP:SYN in nuclear waste section

This article has a section, including a questionable editorial image, that implies that nuclear waste is somehow responsible for piracy. The article cites sources that there is dumped waste, but there are currently no sources cited linking this to piracy. A source needs to be added making this link, otherwise the inclusion of this material on the page and the picture/caption are synthesis and should be removed. Oren0 (talk) 17:13, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

The link between toxic waste dumping and piracy is fairly well-established, and there are actually several sources in that same general section that explicitly make that connection (e.g. 1, 2). The material on the European Green Party, etc. gives background info as to how that toxic waste got there in the first place. Middayexpress (talk) 21:35, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Oren0, the image is clearly inappropriate synthesis for an encyclopedia entry. Not sure about the text though, there do seem to be sources with various Somalis using illegal dumping as an excuse for piracy. TastyCakes (talk) 16:15, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

Per WP:OI, "Original images created by a Wikipedian are not considered original research, so long as they do not illustrate or introduce unpublished ideas or arguments, the core reason behind the NOR policy." As indicated, the link between toxic waste dumping and piracy is fairly well-established (e.g. 1, 2, 3), so the image isn't original research. I agree, though, that various pirates have cited the toxic waste dumping as a reason/excuse for their activities. Middayexpress (talk) 00:46, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

In your #2 quote above, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah said that the cause of the waste-dumping and/or fishing problems is the lack of "moral ground" amongst the people. Clearly, the cause of piracy is not the hypothetical "toxic dumping", but it is the lack of morality in the people of the area. Lets try to keep the cause & effect arguments under control, please! Santamoly (talk) 20:42, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Ould Abdallah does not state that waste-dumping caused the piracy nor has anyone suggested that he has, so that's irrelevant; he is mentioned to show that waste dumping is indeed going on. It's the other links supplied above and elsewhere in the article that establish the link between the two. Here's another from the environmental organization Ecoterra International that regularly monitors the piracy situation ("Somalia is also a textbook case for maritime security, since it has suffered from the dumping of toxic waste as well as illegal fishing, which leaves fewer fish for local fisherman, who then turn to piracy."). Also refer to this discussion where the link between waste dumping and piracy was also confirmed and the matter above settled. Middayexpress (talk) 21:21, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Unless you've just recently arrived at Wikipedia, you should know that nothing in WP is "settled", except perhaps in your own mind. Either way, you should know better than to quote transparently bogus conclusions such as ""Somalia is also a textbook case for maritime security, since it has suffered from the dumping of toxic waste as well as illegal fishing, which leaves fewer fish for local fisherman, who then turn to piracy" on this experienced group of editors! Statements like that just give us a giant headache. Santamoly (talk) 05:05, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Headache or not, the assertion is coming from a reliable source; Ecoterra International, an environmental organization that regularly monitors the piracy situation. It's also hardly the only source that cites the link between toxic waste dumping and piracy (c.f. [10], [11]). According to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, locals began resorting "to armed gangs in an attempt to stop the foreign vessels. Over time, these gangs have evolved into hijacking commercial vessels for ransom as an alternative source of income" ([12]). As for the image itself, I'm afraid the matter is indeed settled. To break the stalemate, one of the usernames above posted on RS/N asking if the image is inappropriate; s/he was told that it isn't ([13]). And an administrator from the board subsequently added a source to the article further establishing the link between the two ([14]). Middayexpress (talk) 21:07, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Nothing special, just can I help in any way?

IMHO this is a superb article, which is representative of the best of Wiki. It taught me many things I had not considered. I write here because I know nowhere else to write. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.5.37.79 (talk) 23:24, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Neutrality?

I am glad to see that this article embraces the complex issues that surround Somali piracy. However, in my first few reads of the article, my general impression is of an apologist piece. I think we may be giving undue weight/spin to the "piracy as reaction to dumping/fishing" camp. Yes, I'm certain this is part of the equation. But it seems to be the primary explanation given, with several statistics (70% support, etc) used throughout the piece. Just as it's not as simple as "Somalis are all a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates", it's not as simple as "Somalis are all great people who are only engaging in piracy because we've FORCED them to, and only for good purposes" either. The latter is the general feel one derives from the article. I think an overall review of the balance for the article is needed. I'm not a specialist on Somalia, so I will decline to do so, but we really need to present this in a more encyclopedic manner. Right now it reads like a defense of piracy, with only a few token remarks to suggest otherwise. I'm not sure that is correctly reflecting the due weight of the various viewpoints.Jbower47 (talk) 17:06, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

• The best thing to do would be to find secondary sources on the topic of the "complex issues that surround Somali piracy" and integrate them into the article. Abductive (reasoning) 19:31, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Here are a couple secondary sources which counter the apologetics slant. Maybe not enough for a new section, but perhaps at the end of para 2 in the intro we could add a line like this: However, as piracy has become substantially more lucrative in recent years, some reports are suggesting that financial gain is now the primarily motive for Somali pirates. [15] [16] Given the contentious nature of this article I thought I'd leave this on the talk page for a bit before adding it to the article. i.m.canadian (talk) 19:11, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

MV Ariana

Under summary of recent events there is a paragraph which gives a brief summary of the events that happened on the MV Ariana. It says that one woman was raped and suffered a miscarraige because of that, and that a 12 year old girl was raped.

This was based upon news that spanish crew that was taken captive gave upon their release. However it appears that they were lying.

http://news.kievukraine.info/2009_12_01_archive.html (Ctrl+F [Find] then mv ariana and you'll get to the article.)

http://www.marine-marketing.gr/newsclip.php?file=200950.txt (Ctrl+F MV Ariana again for the info it seems they are all based on the same article.)

According to these articles she suffered the miscarraige because she was beaten by a member of her own crew.

The 12 year old was a fabrication of the spanish crew to incite the media.

http://www.forocoches.com/foro/showthread.php?t=1505368&page=1 (Spanish) In this forum near the bottom a guy mentions that someone for the Ariana said that the rumors about rape and such were just rumors and no rape had happened.

The only sources that mention the rape are spanish sources. The article in the bbc about the mv ariana does not mention the rape and I believe (purely my opinion though) that if there was an actual rape they would be the first to report about it.

I am unfortunately not ukranian so I cannot read about the stories in the Ukraine about the MV Ariana.

The reason I am wondering about this is because till this point in the article I could still see both sides of the situation in piracy in Somalia, but any mention of rape attracts a considerable amount of hate from me and probably most other people. When reading the rest of the article you can understand to some extent why they turn to the high seas for a living, but that mention of rape instantly puts me on the anti-pirate camp. If this part is not true it will cast the pirate in a little more favourable light (I still don't agree with what they do however).

I am just wondering if anyone can prove me right or wrong. Scynd (talk) 01:20, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

I removed the content that relied on the Spanish source. The sited page seemed unreliable to me. I did not do this because I believe the pirates deserve any sympathy.  –droll [chat] 01:59, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

You mean that kidnapping and murder isn't enough to put you in the anti-pirate camp? i.m.canadian (talk) 18:25, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Waste dumping

New user Autobeat (talk · contribs) has twice removed material from the Waste dumping section. To prevent this new editor getting blocked, I've semi-protected the article for six hours in order to force discussion here. Autobeat, I suggest that you raise any objections to material in the waste dumping section here for discussion. Mjroots (talk) 07:02, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Image removed

I've just removed File:Nwandp.png and its caption from the article. According to its Wikicommons record, the image was developed by a Wikipedia editor "for an article about the dumping of nuclear waste into the waters off of Somalia, forcing many to resort to pirating.". As such, the image has no particular importance and its use seems to be a form of OR. Nick-D (talk) 02:26, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Good catch; but hang on to the image, it might become relevant if the pirates ever start using nuclear-powered dhows. i.m.canadian (talk) 13:04, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

I've restored the image. Per WP:OI, "Original images created by a Wikipedian are not considered original research, so long as they do not illustrate or introduce unpublished ideas or arguments, the core reason behind the NOR policy." It was also already discussed in the past, put before admins on NOR/N, and deemed usable (c.f. [17]). Middayexpress (talk) 18:23, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Those discussions don't seem to have endorsed the use of the image at all - only one editor other than yourself thought that it was OK and several others don't. As such, I've removed it. FYI, the other editor who endorsed the use of the image (Ludwigs2 (talk · contribs)) isn't an admin. Nick-D (talk) 06:41, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

International action against dumping or illegal fishing?

This doesn't seem to be discussed in the article... Has any action ever been taken by the international forces against those caught illegally dumping or fishing? Has there action been concerted action? If not, has anyone ever proposed that such plans be part of the efforts to fight piracy? Nil Einne (talk) 15:03, 30 May 2011 (UTC) Both these allegations are frought with difficulty. Although the UN produced a report about supposed infections caught from radiation released from dumped dumped waste, its source of information appears unreliable. The diseases described could be attributed to many things. They apparently became evident after the Summatran tsunami hit the Somalian coast and produced many deaths-I believe about 300 but all of these deaths were from the immediate effect of the waves. My understanding is that dumped waste is low in radiation and that the negative effects of this radiation would not show up for many ,many years. No country has been named as doing the illegal dumping as far as I can see.Dumping used to be done(eg by Japan) in deep ocean trenches and the Somalian coast does not have these.You cant take action against people/nations who are not known to actually exist!Lets for arguements sake say it was Iran-what action can you take anyway? As for illegal fishing -it has not even been established if there was illegal fishing. Remember Somalia only exists as a series of quasi independent rebel city states that are nearly constantly at odds with one another. Infomation I have seen is that some of these rebel states issued licenses to foreign fishermen to catch fish simply to earn money. Other rebel Somali states objected-possibly they did not know that the fishing had been "legitimsed" by the issue of these quack licences. Who is at fault then? This is what happens when a country desolves into turmoil!Its generally acknowleged that the piracy has nothing to do with protecting fishing rights or stopping dumping(if it ever happened in the first place!)Its just gangs of clan based criminal taking advantage of a situation. Proof of this is that while in 2007 most of the pirated ships were close to the Somalian coast,they then moved to attack ships mainly off the Yemeni coast in 2008 and to a lesser extent in 2009,gradually moving further out into the Arabian sea until by 2010 about 35% of the attacks were closer to India than to Somalia.

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Jails in Somalia

One of the main reasons why the number of pirates does not decrease despite more convictions is that there are very few jails to hold the convicted pirates and these are very overcrowded with often 3 times the intended number of inmates.Very few pirate leaders stay in jail long as the power of the clans is in many cases greater than the power of the state.The clans also have alot more money and more political clout. The laws is applied very unevenly.Most Somalians are more influenced by Sharia and clan law/culture than state law. Clans who pay officials can have inmates released after a suitable time. This suits the officials who can then convict more younger low grade pirates. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.152.198.167 (talk) 22:40, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Naval training

Various naval authorities are saying that the war on pirates is excellent training for inexperienced crews in a wonderful environment-warm, calm seas, and with maximum international cooperation.It also helps navies justify the expenditure of many millions(billions?) of dollars.The focus of naval operations off the Yemeni coast has forced the pirates to go further affield using(mainly) captured fishing trawlers as mother ships.The operations are not that dangerous as few hostages,pirates or naval personal have been died. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.152.198.167 (talk) 22:51, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Real reasons for piracy

IT is becomming increasingly obvious that the piracy has little or nothing to do with alleged illegal fishing or alleged dumping of dangerous waste(if it ever did).Although a UN report said there may have been dumping of dangerous waste ,when a detailed investigation was caried out 8 months later they found nothing to confirm the initial report. Fishing trawlers are seldom, if ever targeted now because the owners simply abandon them if captured.Only large commercial ships are pirated as more ransom can be earned.Oil tankers dont catch fish or dump toxic waste. Pirated are more sophistocated as they have had previous training as "coast guard" operators by mainly western security companies.They move their bases to where ever the govt is weak or can be cowed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.152.198.167 (talk) 23:02, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

What are the links with Yemen?

Pirates are still taking ships from the Yemeni coast.It seems that they are disguising themselves as local fishermen by stealing or hijacking Yemeni fishing boats.There are also many reports of large scale people smuggling from Somalia to Yemen.The navies do not stop this trade.This gives pirates 2 "legal" excuses to loiter in the shipping lanes.Naval ships search fishing boats and find Ak-47s but still let the "fishermen" go.Are pirates operating from Yemen as well? The coast is much closer than the Somali coast for getting supplies.

Factual Error re Royal Navy (of UK)

I am new to wikipedia and don't understand the procedure for editing, hence I have put this here rather than change the article.

In the list of participating nations/forces/warships I would like to point out the name "British Royal Navy" is misleading. There is no such force. The name of the navy of the United Kingdom is "Royal Navy" (see your own article on it for verification, just click the name in the table as it links to it). Unlike for example USA that has a "US Navy", the Brits do not put their country name into the name of their Navy. There is no such force as "British Royal Navy" nor is there a "UK Royal Navy" and putting that there implies that there is.

Now I understand that people who do not know about the geopolitics or defence needs to be told that "Royal Navy" refers to Britain but can this be done in a manner that does not spread a factual inaccuracy? Perhaps put in a separate column into the table for country? This would also help if some country deployed forces from more than 1 service into the area. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.176.84.51 (talk) 15:22, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

The change has been made. Antarctic-adventurer (talk) 08:01, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Spanish ships in "Atalanta"

My english is too short for add this data, but i agree here... i hope somebody can add to article (ref in spanish language):

Santa María Class Frigate:

• Santa María (F-81): 2011-4-20 to 2011-9-21
• Victoria (F-82): 2009-1-23 to 2009-4-6 and 2010-3-26 to 2010-8-22
• Numancia (F-83): 2009-4-6 to 2009-8-24
• Navarra (F-85):2009-11-25 to 2010-4-22
• Canarias (F86): 2009-8-10 to 2009-12-8 and 2010-12-22 to 2011-5-19

Álvaro de Bazán Class Frigate:

• Méndez Núñez (F-104) : 2009-8 to 2009-12-6

Logistic Ships:

• Marqués de la Ensenada (A-11) 2009-3-23 to 2009-8-24
• Patiño (A-14): 2011-11-21 to current

Landing ships:

• Galicia (L-51)  : 2011-8-19 to 2011-12-21

Descubierta class Patrol Ships (ex-corvettes)

• Infanta Elena (P-76) (Ex-F-33): 2011-2-15 to 2011-6-3 and 2012-2-14 to current
• Infanta Cristina (P-77) (Ex-F-34): 2010-7-20 to 2010-12-18 and 2011-8-17 to 2011-12-5
• Vencedora (P-79) (Ex-F-36): 2010-3-6 to 2010-6-12

grettings Takashi Kurita ~ Hablame compañero 11:08, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

Hello Takashi, thank you for your comments. I can certainly go ahead and add the list of Spanish warships involved, but bear in mind that the list on this page only includes current vessels involved, and is not an exhaustive list of all vessels that have ever taken part. Can you indicate which Spanish ships are currently deployed there? Then I will make the changes. Best wishes, Antarctic-adventurer (talk) 08:04, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Was indicated.....

• Infanta Elena (P-76) (Ex-F-33): 2011-2-15 to 2011-6-3 and 2012-2-14 to current
• Patiño (A-14): 2011-11-21 to current

Takashi Kurita ~ Hablame compañero 15:49, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Global Costs

My additions regarding the global costs of piracy keep being reverted, so I am taking it here. First off, the number being just below/around $7 billion is widely accepted throughout very reputable media outlets, such as Reuters, The Guardian, The National, and Bloomberg. The criticism that it is grossly inflated is found on Somalia Report in March (see here). Another Somalia Report piece from a few weeks before says that last year's numbers were widely criticized (again, they don't elaborate on this and I can't find anything in the media) and say that they refined the number to 6.6-6.9 billion. This is in an Analysis section, which seems to be more of an opinion than a news report. I can't find any other sources other than these two outliers in Somalia report that criticize it (the 7-12) and it seems to be more of an unbacked opinion and directed at a different number than the one we are mentioning. While I'm on the topic, there is also a Geopolicity report (www.geopolicity.com/upload/content/pub_1305229189_regular.pdf) suggesting that the numbers could be up to between US$ 13-15 billion by 2015, which could be interesting to include if anyone knows anything about the source. Dreambeaver (talk) 00:55, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

The Geopolity paper is already mentioned. It also predicted a considerable increase in pirate ransom income and success (an upward trend) when both have actually steadily declined (a downward trend). Further, the Somalia Report piece that was linked to which criticizes the 'nearly $7 billion' figure is this investigative piece, not an op-ed. This other Somalia Report piece explains that the $7-$12 billion estimate from the OBP "was widely criticized for inaccuracy". It also goes into quite a bit of detail as to why the revised ~ $6.9 billion OBP figure and other similar global cost projections are essentially speculative. Middayexpress (talk) 06:28, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Right. The piece that I mentioned originally as an opinion piece was the analysis one, which is their equivalent (last one was a speech on the Dual-Track Policy). The other piece briefly mentions a cost, and give the same phrase that the "analysis" piece gave in regards to the 7-12. They said it was "widely criticized" but give no examples to any other criticism other than their own. Furthermore, I can find no other criticism in the media, which suggests that this is inaccurate. As we know, if there aren't any Reliable Sources backing something up, then it shouldn't be included, and that is what is important to remember in this situation. The fact that every mainstream media outlet has used this number should be more than enough. If the report is only going to get a sentence and has the most reputable of media sources backing it, then how would it be justifiable to include one source and say that. If it is widely criticized, there should be sources suggesting this. Dreambeaver (talk) 18:10, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

That's not an opinion piece. It's an investigative analysis, part of the periodically published Piracy Report. There's also no shortage of other sources likewise questioning the validity of the projected global costs (e.g. [18]). Middayexpress (talk) 09:59, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Op-ed: The "analysis" piece starts off with "Well, the Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) crew is at it again." That is clearly not intended to set the tone for a piece of non-biased reporting. This doesn't mean that the Somali Report's opinion is void, just that we need to understand where it is coming from.

Criticism: The first line of the conclusion is: "I will be surprised if any of mass-media bodies I sent this study to will publish it," which helps illustrate that this isn't a reliable source. It also doesn't help show how it is widely criticized after he has shown that he is an outlier. This is his bio from his page, and it is obvious that it doesn't qualify as a Reliable Source for a criticism of something. Dreambeaver (talk) 23:47, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

The fact that the author of the One Earth Future Foundation report (which, in any case, isn't cited in this wiki article) has, like most authorities on the issue, strong views, doesn't make him less of a professional merchant marine navigator. The Piracy Report is also not an op-ed; it's a periodically published investigative report. In any event, the material is attributed to it per WP:NEWSORG. Middayexpress (talk) 11:26, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

I do not fault him for having strong views, but it obviously does not qualify as a reliable source (especially for a criticism of something), or help to show how it has been "widely criticized". I am not saying that Somali Report isn't a RS either - I find myself reading through their articles a few times a week - but the tone of the Analysis pieces obviously shows that it is an opinion and not just a piece of reported information. A new "analysis" has been released, and it is copied from a blog. This outlier without backing up the sources that make it allegedly widely criticized cannot compare to the other sources that do use it, like the ones listed above (Guardian, Reuters, etc.). Dreambeaver (talk) 00:11, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

That link above is a republished post from a British Ambassador. It is also irrelevant, as it was not cited in this wiki article nor does it have anything to do with the Piracy Report in question. The One Earth Foundation paper wasn't cited either; so unless you're worried that it might be, there's no point in continuing to beat that particular dead horse. For the rest, refer again to WP:NEWSORG. Middayexpress (talk) 12:45, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

Again, I'm not saying that Somalia Report isn't a reliable news source, but I'm clarifying that the Analysis releases are opinion pieces. It is an Ambassador's blog, which is an opinion - the nature of the articles is relevant. It really isn't widely criticized like the Analysis piece said and they provide no examples...let alone ones from reliable media outlets. Dreambeaver (talk) 02:07, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

You have not provided any evidence to suggest that the global cost figures are not widely criticized. You've just linked to a few news articles that repeat those figures but which never actually address the extent of the criticism against the numbers. By contrast, the Piracy Report explicitly states that the $7-$12 billion estimate from the OBP "was widely criticized for inaccuracy". The difference between the post from the British Ambassador that's republished in the Piracy Report and the investigative piece that's also published in the Piracy Report is that the former is part of the PolicyWATCH series, whereas the latter is part of the separate StatWATCH series and is clearly labeled "Analysis". The Piracy Report labels its actual op-eds under the separate "Op-ed" heading (c.f. [19], [20]). Middayexpress (talk) 14:15, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

I am saying that if it were truly widely criticized, then there would be reliable examples readily available. I have yet to see another widely circulated media outlet agree with this. The fact that the mainstream media has come to a consensus about this makes it seem even less likely that it really is. this speech is under the Analysis heading, is it not? It is also under the PolicyWATCH series -- so they obviously aren't mutually exclusive. Just because it doesn't fall under their "Op-Ed" doesn't mean it's not an opinion piece. It just appears that the Analysis pieces are longer opinions. We are also talking about the 6.9 number and not the 7-12. Dreambeaver (talk) 02:09, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

I realize what you're saying, but it really makes no difference because you have not provided any actual evidence/statements to support your argument that the $7-$12 billion global cost figures are not widely criticized. You just linked to a few articles repeating the figures themselves and then suggested that there is consensus around the fact that the global cost figures are not widely criticized. By contrast, the Piracy Report states plainly that they are widely criticized. And by widely criticized, they mean by people in the indusry, not uninvolved jourannlists. That's coming from a reliable Although you indicated that you're not saying that the Report in question isn't a reliable news source, you are in fact making that argument since you are dismiss it as an op-ed when it clearly is not.

That link's a reprinted post from former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn. I also just realized that the basic premise of this discussion is faulty. The Piracy Report's assertion that the OBP's previous $7-$12 billion global cost figure is widely criticized is not even mentioned in the wiki article; so arguments alluding to it are off-topic. As for the Analysis itself, it's not an op-ed but rather an in-depth investigative piece (c.f. [21]). Middayexpress (talk) 14:47, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

OK no need to stray off-topic then. I do find the Somalia Report to be a respected and valuable news outlet and I'm glad to move forward. Dreambeaver (talk) 06:11, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Bulk of Operations ?

The article describes CTF 150, CTF 151 and EU-NAVFOR-ATALANTA as the three task forces that comprise the "bulk of counter-piracy operations". This is misleading given the strong presence and numerous operations of Chinese, Indian and Russian forces in the area. For example, between 2010 and early 2011 the Indian navy alone had 15+ reported operations (including the controversial sinking of a Thai trawler which had been converted to a mothership by the pirates) in which around 30 pirates were killed, 140 captured (and taken to India for prosecution) and around 80 hostages rescued. So could we revise that statement? Chocolate Horlicks (talk) 08:52, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't object to clarification here. I don't know if "bulk" technically means amount of operations, ships involved, or budget. Dreambeaver (talk) 01:59, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

Benefits

A single purpose account added material placing undue weight on purported local spending by the pirates, info that is already mentioned and which largely applies to the earlier years of the piracy phenomenon. Most of the latter material also references a 2012 paper by one Anja Shortland, a report on the alleged economic effects of piracy on the local economy that has been discredited for its reliance on old data, speculation, false claims and figures, basic factual errors (such as the actual location of towns), in addition to a dubious methodology. The main thrust of the paper is that the evidently significant infrastructure development in the major urban centers of the northeastern Puntland region (observed through satellite imagery) was and is largely due to pirate investment, whereas previously, such benefits were only noted in the small hamlets where the pirates typically hailed from and were actually based in. In reality, piracy has been essentially routed out of Puntland since the election of a new regional administration in 2009, which launched a comprehensive anti-piracy campaign, passed the first official Anti-Piracy bill, and in particular established the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF). Since about 2010, the pirates have mainly launched attacks from the Galmudug region to the south, and with decreasing success. Most of the infrastructure development in Puntland has actually come from a combination of government development programs, internal investment by local residents returning to their home regions following the civil war in the south, and especially remittances sent by the large Somali diaspora. The latter contributions are estimated at around $1.3-$2 billion a year, dwarfing many times over the pirate ransom proceeds of just a few million, which are also difficult to track in terms of actual spending (c.f. [22], [23], [24]). Middayexpress (talk) 10:44, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Good call. In addition to all of that, it also reads like some sort of marketing ad or short story -- not encyclopedic. I'll try to assist with looking out. Dreambeaver (talk) 05:55, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Private initiatives & Bryden

A username has added copy-vio'd material on a controversial 2012 paper prepared by Matt Bryden, formerly with the UN Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea. With regard to the private maritime security companies operating in the Indian Ocean, the passage alleges that "unless a mechanism for international regulation, monitoring and inspection these facilities is established, there is a genuine risk that they will eventually become a threat to regional peace and security, rather than being part of the solution." However, this paper and pretty much all of them that have been released by Bryden and his associates, have been criticized for being heavily biased by both media and public officials (e.g. [25], [26]). An article published by Dissident Nation shortly after the release of the paper characterized it as misleading, biased and politically-motivated [27]. It cited Bryden's reported use of questionable sources, including defunct websites and Islamist sources, as problematic. It also described Bryden as an open supporter of the secessionist government in the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia. This connection it suggests is the ultimate motivation behind his reported attempts to shut down anti-piracy initiatives that may help the Somali authorities further curb pirate attacks [28]. To this end, the article highlights Bryden's opposition to the Puntland Maritime Police Force, which it describes as an "anti-piracy program [that] was so successful that Fox News host and former US military man Oliver North traveled to Puntland to survey the forces some consider to be Somalia’s only answer to piracy" (Lt. Col. North's take on the force can be seen here [29]; he indeed seems quite impressed). The article was published in July, so it missed the following month's news that Matt Bryden had been relieved of his duties with/fired from the commitee after the UN had received detailed complaints about his work. Apparently, "Security Council members from three countries gave Inner City Press exclusive and negative reviews of Bryden's performance" ([30], [31]). Middayexpress (talk) 12:46, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Recent Events

On August 19th, 2012, Somali pirates attacked a prison in Central Somalia. They came in firing with fully automatic weapons. It was said to be believed that 2 pirates were injured during the battle. The reason behind the attacks were to attempt to break out some of there pirate accomplices. It is said that due to the monsoons, the pirates have resorted to other violence and means to make money. This shows that pirates are not only in it for the money, but are more of a criminal gang as well. With escalating violence, I feel that piracy is not at the downslope, and there is only more to come. (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 2012)

On September 2nd, 2012, Somali pirates killed a Syrian hostage and injured another. They had been holding a ship hostage for more than 2 years now and finally killed a hostage to prove that they would kill if they did not get there money. They pirate commander said that this was to prove a point. The death signifies the first ever time that a pirate has killed a hostage due to an unpaid ransom. This shows an escalation in the pirates violence. Many believe that piracy is dying out, when in fact it is the opposite. The numbers might be fading, but the violence is escalating. (Los Angeles Times, 2012)

On September 7th, 2012, Somali Pirates shot at an Italian Naval Helicopter. The helicopter, which was on a anti piracy flight, approached a suspected pirate ship when the pirates open fired on the helicopter. One of the pilots was hit in the neck with shrapnel from the glass of the wind-shield. The Italian Navy states that they did not return fire because they were unsure if there were hostages on board, and did not want to risk it. This shows how the pirates do not respect any sort of authority. They must be pretty crazy to fire on a military helicopter. It shows that violence is escalating tremendously in Somalia. (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 2012)

References

• Los Angeles Times. (2012). "Pirates kill Syrian hostage". LA Times.
• BBC Worldwide Monitoring. (2012). "Puntland forces said repel Somali pirate attack on prison". BBC Worldwide Monitoring.
• BBC Worldwide Monitoring. (2012). "Somali pirates open fire on Italian Navy helicopter, slightly injure pilot". BBC Worldwide Monitoring.

Babraham (talk) 23:24, 2 October 2012 (UTC)Blake A Dinahoop (talk) 04:28, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Recruiting of Child Soldiers

The Wikipedia article lacks a section that talks about the recruiting process and the role children play within the conflict of piracy in Somalia. Children play a large role because most of the members of the militant group are and start off as young children. The following articles should be included in the citation because it elaborates on the process of recruiting children of Somalia to fight and engage in piracy. They are a large part in the structure of these militant groups.

A Somalia; �Armed Groups Recruit Children for Piracy, Sexual Assault. (2010, November). Africa News. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T15675558217&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=26&resultsUrlKey=29_T15675556621&cisb=22_T15675558219&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8320&docNo=28

The article explains that armed groups like Al-Shabab continues to look to children for the recruitment for the group. They look to them to fight and participate in piracy acts. It states that in some areas, Pirate leaders asks parents to give them a child, forcing them to hide their children to avoid recruitment. Militia-controlled regions uses the radio and schools to recruit. The adults who recruit them send them to the frontline and exploit the fact that these children does not fully grasp the idea of death, creating a perfect soldier. The young children are the ones that go out and do the act while the older soldiers stay back and take the role of business men. Such information is vital because it shows the structure of power within this armed group. The adult pirates are on top of the pyramid, while the children are the ones forced to be on the bottom.

Tancos, K. (2012, February) More child soldiers in Somalia fighting. CNN.Com. Retreived from http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T15708137444&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T15708136547&cisb=22_T15708137446&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=266325&docNo=3

In the above article, it states that there has been an aberrant amount of child abductions in Somalia within the past 2 years. Even though it is not a new trend to use child soldiers, recent information states that the violence to recruit young children by force have increased. Al Shabab's efforts to abduct children have expanded from homes to classrooms and playing fields. Entire classrooms would be abducted from schools and taken to training camps where they spent up to three months learning how to use weapons. There they are subject to abuse and death. After training they are sent to the frontline to shield the adult soldiers. These children on the average are within the ages of 14-17 years old, but some can be even younger. This information should be added because it shows how most of these pirates start off as. They are recruited as children and they grow up to be adults, still living the same life style. These adults have the ability to conduct such violence and engage in such crimes because they have been trained even before they develop a basic concept of what is right and wrong.

BBC Worldwide Monitoring (2012, June). AL-Shabab said recruiting minors in central Somalia regions. BBC Monitoring Africa- Political. Retreived from http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T15676328804&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T15676328808&cisb=22_T15676328807&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&selRCNodeID=16&nodeStateId=101en_US,1&docsInCategory=44&csi=10962&docNo=3

There has been a rise in the recruitment of children under the age of 12 by the Al-Shabab militia, according to the article. They are doing so by any means and ways possible. They are forcibly recruiting small children who are not even old enough to do basic household chores. They are sent to Quran schools that have teachers appointed by Al-Shahab, to study solely about Jihad, and then force them to practice with guns. The importance of this article is that it gives the reason as to why there has been an increase in the recruitment of young children. The increase is due to the scarcity of soldiers and the war they are soon to face against the many fronts that have emerged against them. Some of the fronts include the Ethiopian troops and the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (ASWJ). They refuse to give up their rule thus forcing them to recruit.

Shashashadoobie (talk) 09:52, 3 October 2012 (UTC)Shashashadoobie 10/03/12

Those are references to the Al-Shabaab Islamist group's forcible recruitment of youth to fight on its behalf, not the actual pirates. The pirates are typically either former fishermen or militiamen and usually in their 20s age-wise. "Al-Shabaab" itself means "the youth" or "the boys", and recruiting youngsters has long been part of its modus operandi. Middayexpress (talk) 13:30, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Piracy heyday over

The heyday of piracy in the Indian Ocean is apparently over.

http://www.centives.net/S/2012/has-piracy-come-to-an-end/

• In 2010 pirates captured 47 ships. In 2011 pirates tried commandeering 176 ships but only managed to take control of 25, indicating that anti-piracy efforts were succeeding. So far this year only five ships have been lost to pirates.
• This is partly the result of the efforts of the navies from Europe, America, China, India and Russia. No ship with armed guards on board has ever been hijacked by pirates and the use of them is spreading.
• Former pirates who were living large in expensive villas have had to return to tiny apartments, in a desperate attempt to hide from their creditors.
• Those who would finance pirate expeditions in Somalia are no longer interested in doing so; the rate of failure is too high.
• The decline in piracy is evident in Somalia’s economy. A cup of tea which used to cost as much as 50 cents has now fallen to just five cents. Middayexpress (talk) 17:41, 3 October 2012 (UTC)