Puntland Pirates Free Yemeni Ship, Why not Saudi Tanker?

"No ransom paid, but after negotiations, the pirates got off the ship. The Yemeni ship released," Ali Abdi Aware, state minister of the northern province of Puntland, told Reuters.

The Chief-tribes and officials of "Puntland" negotiated with pirates, to release the Yemeni ship. This is very successful operation to save the lives of crew and relation between Yemen and Somalia. But this form of negotiation will lead to further questions.

We know, pirates are all from "Puntland" and the process of negotiation is between elders and their sons (Father-Son Business). Hence, this approves that "Puntland" elders, chief tribes and administration are very influential on the pirates. The pirates are former Police Turned Pirates. French Police announced that five of the arrested Somali pirates, who hijacked French Ship, were close relatives of Former "Puntland" Leader and current President of Transitional Government of Somalia (TGS) Abdullah Yusuf. These five pirates are serving lifer in Paris.

As I highlighted in my earlier articles, the leaders of "Puntland" take lion´s share in the ransom money. Yusuf, founder and former leader of "Puntland", is part of the piracy business. He is leading the negotiation along with other "Puntland" elders to release the Yemeni Ship, after President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen described Somalis as THANKSLESS people. Yemen is hosting thousands of Somali refuges and receives large number of immigrant everyday.

This proves the influence of "Puntland" on the pirates, and international community should pressure the illegitimate administration of "Puntland" to stop their sons from disturbing the international water. If "Puntland" and TGS President Abdullah Yusuf release the Yemeni ship then they should release all others too, using their influence on the "sons turned pirates".

Yemeni Ambassador to Somalia Ahmed Omer Hamid visited "Puntland" along with TGS President Yusuf to release the ship. The Yemeni government threatened to take strong action against Somalis inside Yemen, which led the "Puntland" officials to instruct the release of the ship.

This, clearly, unveils the involvement of "Puntland" and TGS officials in the piracy business, as long as they convinced the pirates to release the hijacked Yemeni ship. The international community should put much pressure on TGS and "Puntland" to stop the illegal activities in the Gulf of Aden.

By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi

Email: az.almutairi@yahoo.com