December 28,
2008: On December 25th, a German frigate off the coast of Somalia, sent its
helicopter to interrupt a pirate attack on an Egyptian merchant ship. One
member of the Egyptian crew had already been wounded by gunfire, but the German
helicopter stopped the attack. German sailors then captured and disarmed six of
the pirates. The pirates were then set free. This is because German law only
allows the prosecution of pirates who are attacking Germans (or German
property.) The Egyptian ship was carrying a cargo of wheat from Ukraine to
South Korea.
Since World
War II, national and international laws for dealing with pirates (which used to
mean trying and executing the pirates on the spot) have been discarded. But
nothing took the place of those procedures, because it was believed that piracy
was no longer a problem.
Germany is
not the only country having problems with prosecuting pirates. Since all this
happening in international waters, there is a problem with finding a country
that will accept, and prosecute, the pirates. Kenya has agreed to accept, and
prosecute, pirates arrested off the coast of Somalia. The pirates will be tried
under Kenyan law, but foreign countries will provide money to help pay for the
proceedings.
Some nations
working the anti-piracy patrol, have signed deals with Kenya, which sends
pirates captured off the Somali coast, to Kenyan courts for prosecution. These
deals provide cash to help defer the costs of prosecution and incarceration,
which would otherwise be a burden for a poor nation like Kenya.
Meanwhile,
Chinese warships have just arrived off the Somali coast, and a Russian warship
already there has not caught any pirates yet. Everyone is watching what will
happen to pirates caught by Russian or Chinese warships. These two nations are
known to be very ruthless when it comes to law and order issues. Most other
nations are more politically correct. The Chinese are rather more blunt. Most
of the criminals executed worldwide each year, are killed in China.
