Apologies esteemed reader! I varnished from your radar all these while.
It's been almost 6 weeks since the last post. Now that is what I term unacceptable! Elle est irrecevable! as the French (God bless their soul) would say.
A lot has been going on since our last post.
In the Maritime world we have had the Costa Concordia disaster! You can follow the link and get a fairly decent account of what transpired if you somehow managed to have slept through all the headlines on it.
As at yesterday 8 more bodies had been recovered bringing the dead and found tally to 25. It is believed that an estimated 32 of the about 4,252 passengers and crew aboard the Concordia as at the time of the tragedy lost their lives. This is one event whose repercussions would be felt in a long while. It is well deserving of the phrase used to describe it by the New York Times ""a drama that seemed to blend tragedy with elements of farce" .
The unfortunate incident easily serves as fodder for re-gigging the Laws on Enforcement of Maritime Safety Conventions and Directives by Owners, Carriers and Flag States; Seafarer's Conduct and Standards of Training; Evacuation Procedures in the event of a disaster and a whole host of other Maritime topics.
Some of these issues would form the focus of this Blog in later posts.
Below the marooned Concordia. Listed and definitely a shadow of the glory it once was.
Captain Francesco Shettino the Italian Captain of the ill-fated ship who infamously abandoned ship has received and continues to receive much flake for his conduct and role in the disaster. He faces multiple count charges of multiple manslaughter in connection with causing a shipwreck, failing to assist 300 passengers, failing to be the last to leave the wreck, failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster (on this score 7 other officers and managers of Costa Cruises are under investigation) and with abandoning incapacitated passengers.
Need we say subject to confirmation by a court of competent jurisdiction that his conduct was unacceptable?
If he is found guilty he stands the risk of spending close to 2,500 years in prison by the end of which time all of us including this Blog would have become footnotes in history.
Rescue efforts as at today are still ongoing in the Concordia.
Away from the gloom of the Concordia, to yet another unacceptable state of affairs-this time from the Horn of Africa.
For the benefit of Blog readers who are not geographically inclined this is the horn of Africa..../
At the very tip of the Horn lies Somalia! Yes the very hot bed of Piracy off the Gulf of Aden which happened to be partially the subject of our last post-Multilingualism or Rescue Codes as a Surreptitious Tool for Curbing Piracy.
The world seem to have woken up to at least take a serious stand on the underlying factors that fuel piracy in that region.
Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia is often referred to as a failed state and is one of the poorest states in the world.
Recently the UK appointed it's first Ambassador (Matt Baugh) to Somalia in 21 years and is poised to play a major role in the region. With the UK, the US and the UN providing the necessary initiative and leadership, a Conference on Somalia took place yesterday in London.
Key action plans from the conference includes a range of issues like shoring up efforts to build security backed by African Union peacekeepers, administering humanitarian aid and creating a stable government; the building of capacity for Somalia to take over responsibility for its own security and governance, including the eradication of piracy and terrorism; the importance of private sector in Somalia's long-term reconstruction and economic development, to establish a new fund, which a number of countries will back, to finance local stability; and the international community's resolve not to support an extension of the transitional government's mandate beyond August.
The US has said it will encourage the international community to impose further sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes on people inside and outside the TFG who seek to undermine Somalia's peace and security or to delay or even prevent the political transition and has called for greater efforts to cut "financial lifelines" to al Shabaab.
The rhetoric from the conference is as positive as they come. However questioned motives remain paramount in the minds of sceptics. I try not to be sceptical in these issues but my responsibility and even my competence as a Maritime & Aviation blogger should rightly be called into question if I don't highlight areas of grave concerns.
Somalia has been a sore thumb for close to two decades. Why is it now that the attention of the major powers are riveted to Somalia? Is it merely a coincidence that international action in Somalia is coming at a time of increased concern of Al Qaeda ties to the Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia?
My scepticism lies in the ability of the US to manage the international efforts to salve Somalia without unduly plunging Somalia further into violence. Already the US is planning and the Transitional Government in Somalia has welcomed air-strikes against the Al-Shabaab militants who have ties to Al Qaeda. Al Shabaab on the other hand is threatening reprisal attacks based on what they perceive as moves to undermine Somali Muslims.
Somalia has been a sore thumb for close to two decades. Why is it now that the attention of the major powers are riveted to Somalia? Is it merely a coincidence that international action in Somalia is coming at a time of increased concern of Al Qaeda ties to the Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia?
My scepticism lies in the ability of the US to manage the international efforts to salve Somalia without unduly plunging Somalia further into violence. Already the US is planning and the Transitional Government in Somalia has welcomed air-strikes against the Al-Shabaab militants who have ties to Al Qaeda. Al Shabaab on the other hand is threatening reprisal attacks based on what they perceive as moves to undermine Somali Muslims.
Somalia is clearly unacceptable in a number of ways. All decent people irrespective of race or religion abhor Terrorism, Piracy, Poverty, War & Disease. The Somali problem is multifaceted and only a multifaceted approach would suffice. The US should endeavour to carry out a holistic action plan as regards Somalia. Terrorism as grave as it is, is not the only issue. Equally crucial to world peace and security and economic well being are the issues of piracy, poverty and disease and together using the auspices of multilateral action the situation can be turned around. These problems could varnish. Disappear.
Unilateral action by anyone on Somalia in the guise of a multilateral mandate is simply unacceptable. Neither would an undue emphasis on a part of the problem be acceptable. Somalia is a multifaceted problem that requires a multilateral agenda driven by multilateral action. Recent lessons in the limited or pyrrhic success that an in-altruistic unilateral intervention embodies include Afghanistan and Iraq to a limited extent.
So that's it for this post.
I leave you with a song by K'Naan. Remember him? The guy that sang that beautiful 'Waving Flag' song that formed one of the musical themes of the first Soccer World Cup on African Soil in South Africa two years ago. This one is titled-yeah you guessed right-Somalia! And just in case you are wondering why he decided to sing a song for Somalia, he is Somali Canadian. See ya around!
