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The power of the pirates first commenced in Cilicia, having in truth but a precarious and obscure beginning, but gained life and boldness afterwards in the wars of Mithridates, where they hired themselves out, and took employment in the king's service. Afterwards, whilst the Romans were embroiled in their civil wars, being engaged against one another even before the very gates of Rome, the seas lay waste and unguarded, and by degrees enticed and drew them on not only to seize upon and spoil the merchants and ships upon the seas, but also to lay waste the islands and seaport towns. So that now there embarked with these pirates men of wealth and noble birth and superior abilities, as if it had been a natural occupation to gain distinction in. They had divers arsenals, or piratic harbors, as likewise watch towers and beacons, all along the sea-coast; and fleets were here received that were well manned with the finest mariners, and well served with the expertest pilots, and composed of swift sailing and light-built vessels adapted for their special purpose. Nor was it merely their being thus formidable that excited indignation; they were even more odious for their ostentation than they were feared for their force. Their ships had gilded masts at their stems; the sails woven of purple, and the oars plated with silver, as if their delight were to glory in their iniquity. There was nothing but music and dancing, banqueting and revels, all along the shore. Officers in command were taken prisoners, and cities put under contribution, to the reproach and dishonor of the Roman supremacy. There were of these corsairs above one thousand sail, and they had taken no less than four hundred cities, committing sacrilege upon the temples of the gods, and enriching themselves with the spoils of many never violated before …
And so the war was brought to an end. In less than three months piracy had been completely driven from the seas. Among the many ships surrendered to Pompey were ninety warships with brazen rams. There were more than 20,000 prisoners. As regards the prisoners, Pompey never even entertained the idea of putting them to death; on the other hand there were great numbers of them, they were poor and used to war; so that he did not think it would be wise to let them go and allow them to disperse or else to reorganize themselves again in bands. (§28)
well
expressing a security concern raised by the impending strategic withdrawal is not necessarily the same thing as opposing the withdrawal
& hargeisa & addis ababa & djibouti & washington all seem really tight just now
in executing or cooperating with the pullout
while sharing & reacting to each others concerns
& all the various news leaks & minor adjustments over the past few days
just smack of their bidding up a good hand of bridge
perhaps to the level needed for them all to suddenly see they agree about formally recognizing somaliland independence
& perhaps just this is the real brilliance behind the skillful diplomacy youve observed
for hargeisa knows the pentagon is already on board
but it is foggy bottom & the senate foreign relations committee that they are really bidding it up with here
also
the ethiopian withdrawal is not expected to be a complete pullout in any case
but will likely maintain indefinitely one or more strong points in western somalia too
from which to pounce back toward the coast if the islamists become more unified there
for it seems ethiopia is pulling back now mainly in response to the ongoing fragmentation of the islamists into various subgroups
both philosophically & regionally
as well as the isolation
& insulation from islamism
of both its somaliland & puntish allies
such that ethiopia no longer feels much of a direct somali threat
but rather mainly or only an economic & political liability it needs to cut
please see a few inserts below also
--- On Fri, 12/26/08, [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [INT-BOUNDARIES] more details emerge from the horn
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Friday, December 26, 2008, 2:10 PM
Thanks, Aletheia, once again, for more inside information on this fascinating topic in this and previous posts.
thanx
my pleasure tooThis is good news for the Somaliland government, by and large, and their diplomacy seems to be progressing skillfully. It is a question, though, whether the coming withdrawal of the Ethiopians will help or hurt them, and another question whether Hargeisa should be opposing an Ethiopian policy decision which has already been taken, which can only annoy their influential neighbor without corresponding benefit. All else being equal, which if course it's not, It should benefit Ethiopian interests to have the former British zone securely out of the control of the crazies. There is the risk of irredentist violence if the crazies try to take it back, but as there is pandemic violence there anyway, and there would be more violence anyway if anyone tried to seize the former British zone, that doesn't seem to be a risk to worry about.I note that the recent UN resolution allowing states to pursue anti-piracy measures on land in Somalia comes with the proviso that these be approved by the TFG.
right
thats what i meant when i said theyve made the chief pirate the game warden
for their
shooting fish in a barrel
game or law
suspected islamists & company they could always just drone out of existence without any wardens warrants
but pirates & their intimates not so
as this new law explicitly affords pirates & their friends certain special protections islamists dont have
thats whats so stupidly funny about it
even before the tfg goes out of business
probably tomorrow night
for only then will turtle bay have to wake up & rescind the law
or find themselves in a hotel california of their own device too
As the TFG is only a shell, and about to be overwhelmed, this could mean that the legality of state anti-piracy efforts depends on the approval of a few guys in a Nairobi hotel room. Even if the TFG were a real government, this proviso would likely cripple military efforts against the pirates, not to mention the potential for corruption if their meaningless permission is sought. With the TFG about to go out of business, it is even sillier. This is a good example of the UN making things worse as well as better at the same time, leading to a zero gain.
er
what exactly are you saying the united nations made betterIt is encouraging, piracy-wise, that the Chinese have sent a small flotilla to the Gulf of Aden with instructions to protect their shipping and act against the pirates. That they may encounter and cooperate with Japanese warships there on a similar mission may lead to constructive results for Asia as well. One hopes the Chinese navy will take an aggressive approach, as the Indian navy has. Compare this shameful but unfortunately typical European response:GERMANS RELEASE CAPTURED SOMALI PIRATES
The German Navy says it has released six pirates that it apprehended as they tried to hijack a ship off the coast of Somalia.
The German Navy spokesperson based in Djibouti said all six Somali pirates who attacked the Egyptian vessel were captured by sailors of German Navy frigate Karlsruhe, which was operating in the Gulf of Aden.
He said the Somali attackers were disarmed by German sailors but then released immediately.
He said the decision not to detain or arrest them was taken by the German government in Berlin.
This comes just days after the UN Security Council passed a resolution giving member states extra powers to deal with pirates on the high seas, including the power of detention and arrest.
BBC
haha
well but no need for new aggression
just because violence is already pandemic there
or otherwise
nor any need of shame or blame really
this isnt exactly a morality play you know
the pirates cover the tfg & or perhaps vice versa
& the tfg smashes islamists with the help of ethiopia
but islamists even when fragmented cut pirates
in fact any actual government seems to be the only thing that really cuts pirates
so thats just paper scissors rock i think
& i also think what is really needed is for everyone to just relax here as much as possible
just as is needed everywhere & always
& perhaps to just stop & laugh a moment at what a cosmic joke all this actually is
all together now
yes i know
i know
people are dying
but as you suggest david
we are already doing that anyway
& indeed laughing causes far less dying than does blaming
nor is a laughing buddha say any less compassionate for it
etc
& while we are at it heres another funny one from left field
http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10815&news_iv_ctrl=1261
Party for Socialism and Liberation: Imperialists look to dominate Somalia
Piracy smokescreen used to step up military action
At the behest of the United States, the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Dec. 16 to authorize nations to pursue Somali pirates onto land, an action which had previously been prohibited. The resolution comes at a critical juncture for Somalia, and in the shadow of Washington’s politico-military strategy in the African continent.
The pirates were originally groups of fisherman who, due to the stateless nature of Somalia, turned to piracy to combat illegal fishing vessels from around the world. They soon found their new trade much more lucrative.
Somalia occupies a geostrategic
position near major shipping lanes
in the Middle East.The resolution also called for a regional office to coordinate the actions of a number of nations that currently have naval forces deployed in the waters off Somalia. Most notably, Radio Netherlands reported Dec. 20 that China has announced it too was sending ships to patrol Somali waters, joining countries like the United States, Russia, India, and international organizations like NATO. China has pursued a foreign policy of investing in the economic growth of the developing world. While this has been to China’s benefit, the terms offered are more equitable than those offered by the former colonial powers. China’s participation in the sea patrols is part of its effort to protect its growing stake in Africa.
The raised profile of piracy is a result of military action taken by all governments with a major stake in worldwide commodity shipping . The resolution states that Somalia’s pseudo-government must grant permission in order to carry out attacks, something both Somaliland and Puntland, a region of Somalia with its own autonomous government, had been pressing for.
Without a central government since 1991, Somalia has been embroiled in internal conflict between numerous militias and religious groups. In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union, a grouping of Islamic organizations, seized nearly full control of the country from the Transitional Federal Government, a U.S. puppet regime run by various warlords. Since late 2006, the Ethiopian government has occupied Somalia with U.S.-backing, seeking to prop up the TFG regime. This too has been ineffective, and forces from the ICU and the Islamic movement Al-Shahab have seized control of the country, with the TFG only holding on to Mogadishu and Baidoa, the de-facto capital. Originally allied with the ICU, Al-Shahab has since broken with them.
Recognizing the futility of their occupation, the Ethiopian government decided in early December that they would pull out of Somalia by the end of the year, leaving only an African Union force. Agence France Press quoted a foreign ministry press release from Dec. 20 as saying; "It should, of course, be underlined again that the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops will be carried out without fail by the end of December."
The U.S. and other imperialist governments have a long history of carrying out destabilization campaigns to undermine independence and non-compliant governments all over the world. The instability in Somalia is in no small way a consequence of this history. The chaos in Somalia has enabled imperialism to gain a greater foothold in the region. Now the instability and the related issue of piracy has become an obstacle to the plans of Western imperialism in general and Washington in particular.
While political stability in Somalia would facilitate the end of piracy, the only government that had a shot at stability—the ICU—was undermined by U.S. intervention. Stability will not satisfy Washington if a compliant regime is not in place.
Charges of terrorism are the alleged reason the U.S. opposes the ICU. Terrorism is only a smokescreen. The U.S. government wants a stable, yet pro-Western, government in Somalia. The country occupies a key position along major international shipping lanes and sits very close to the critical Middle East region. Piracy is still a relatively minor disruption in the bigger geostrategic picture; nevertheless, the U.S. government and its allies are not too fond of having the resources they so diligently loot and plunder from other countries taken by "pirates."
As these great power games play out, the people of Somalia will continue to suffer from immense economic hardship, the ravages of war and the negation of their self-determination. Progressive and revolutionary forces in the United States and around the world should oppose all imperialist interference in Somalia, whether in the form of puppet governments, or extra-territorial interference in Somalia’s land and sea space.
end inserts
with apologies for all this disorder
a
David PhillipsSan Francisco-----Original Message-----
From: International boundaries discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of aletheia kallos
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 7:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: more details emerge from the horn
from
http://www.xogtamaanta.com/page5.html
Somaliland president returns home after unclear visit
(xogtamaanta-Hargeisa) The Somaliland President, Mr. Dahir Riyale Kahin and his delegation has returend to Hargeisa after six days of visit to Djibouti and Addis Ababa . The president Riyaale’s visit was surrounded by secrecy and it was not announced before the depature of the delegaion for Djibouti .
photo: President Riyaale receives welcome on his return
with heavy armed bodyguards surrounding
Accoriding to a closed source to the delegation, president Riyaale whilst in Ethiopian’s capitol and Djibouti city, he has met with Djibouti president, Ismail Geelle and the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, and the US Ambassadors to Ethiopia and Senator Russ Feingold from the United States, as well as the US Ambassadors in Kenya and Djibouti.
Both Ethiopain and US counter parts discussed with president Riyaale with current issues in the Horn of Africa- including the raise of Somali Islamists gaining power in Somalia and the departure of the Ethiopain troops from Somalia in early January 2009 and ways Somaliland can help for Ethiopian troops to withdraw from Somalia .
“All Ethiopian heavy military equipment will departure from Moqadishu port through Somaliland’s sea port town, Berbera, where they will be taken by lorries on land from there to eastern Ethiopia and this was the top agenda of president Riyaale’s discussion with the Ethiopian prime minister.” Source were quoted.
President Riyale, however, has not disclosed exactly what he discussed with the Ethiopain prime minister and the Americans, but he only said he was invited to be heard again where Somaliland stands on its future with Somalia.
President Riyaale discribed his visit to Djbouti and Ethiopia as success for Somaliland ’s future. “ to tell you the truth, the World community has now come to the point where it realized there won’t be any solution to the crisis in Somalia, hence Somaliland will be the beneficial, but will not face any problem from the current sitituation there ‘somalia’,” said president Riyaale speaking to the media at Hargeisa airport on his return.
The presiden Riyaale’s visit to Addis Ababa and Djibouti both raised suspicions when Somaliland’s neighboring rival of Puntland, its president-Ade Muse was also invisted in Addis Ababa and uncofirmed sources said the Ethiopian prime minister was hosting a direct and secret meeting for the two presidents, a claim later both sides played down.
Somaliland’s opposition leaders have not yet comment on president Riyaale’s visit to Djibouti and Ethiopia and what he said about the discussion he had. Both leaders of UCID and Kulmiye parties are now in easthern regions of Somaliland for promoting voting registry taking place in the whole country for the expected elections in Somaliland in 2009.
Somaliland was separated from ther rest of Somalia in 1991 after it re-declared its independence it gained on June 26th 1960 from Britain as the first Somali territory became a country recognized by more than thirty countries, inlcuding Israel .
a bit more specifically tho
via
http://blacknewsjunkie.com/stories/77505/Somaliland_Leader_Concerned_About_Ethiopia_Withdrawal_Plan.html
Somalia: Somaliland Leader 'Concerned' About Ethiopia Withdrawal Plan
24 December 2008
The president of Somalia's separatist republic of Somaliland has expressed worry about the Ethiopian government's announced plans to withdraw its troops from southern Somalia, Radio Garowe reports.
Mr. Dahir Riyale, the Somaliland leader, met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
No official reports emerged following private talks between the two leaders, but informed sources said trade and security relations were discussed at length.
The Somaliland leader "expressed deep concern" regarding the planned withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, "especially since not enough African Union peacekeepers are present [in Mogadishu]," the source added.
It is the first time the Somaliland administration has directly addressed Ethiopia's withdrawal plans.
Ethiopian troops have been protecting the Somali interim government in Mogadishu since December 2006, when Ethiopia invaded southern Somalia to dislodge Mogadishu's Islamist rulers from power.
In recent months, Islamist militia have steadily regained most of the territory lost in the 2006 war and now surround Mogadishu and Baidoa, the government's last remaining strongholds.
Somaliland, in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally.
Historically, the region's leaders have largely distanced themselves from engaging in the political affairs of the southern regions, but have commented on new developments periodically.
also
confirmation of somaliland piracy arrest data etc from
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=9653&tirsan=3
chairman of Sahil Region court Dr Usman Ibrahim Dahir has announced that his court has sentenced five pirates who hail from Puntland regional state to 20 years in prison.
The pirates were arrested by Somaliland coastguards who were assisted by civilians on 13 December in Shalcow area, Xiise District, Sanaag Region
[northeastern Somaliland region, northwestern Somalia].
Dr Usman said it had been proven in court and that the five men had admitted to be pirates from Puntland and were planning to seize ships off the coast of Sanaag Region.
"The court had sentenced the five men to 20 years in prison as per articles 230, 234, 118 and 73 of the penal code. The court also ruled that four guns and a speedboat used by the pirates be transferred to Somaliland coastguards," said Dr Usman.
The five convicted pirates are: 1. Muhammad Mahmud Abdi 2. Abdi Umar Yasin 3. Abdi Ali Ilmi 4. Shu'aib Usman Yasin 5. Abdirashid Abdiqadir Ilmi.
This is not the first that the Sahil Regional court has convicted sea pirates. The court sentenced five pirates from Puntland who were operating on the Somali coast to 15 years, in September this year. Mareeg.com
the apparent location of the arrest & trial
shalcow aka shalao aka sharlao
tho clearly in far eastern somaliland
is still hard to pin down any better than that
but it might be the same as ceelaayo aka elayu
which is a port of maakhir in sanaag about 8 miles inside de jure somaliland
& so not much farther west of the uncertain maakhir puntland frontier
so as previously suggested
there is a probability at least of the restoration of effective control by hargeisa over the entire territory of somaliland
which if true would remove perhaps the greatest obstacle to its international recognition
at this critical juncture of otherwise total uncertainty
