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Pirate Watch 2004 Continues
Saudi and Bahraini fishermen are disturbed over an incident on Friday in which pirates threw five Indian fishermen into the sea and seized their dhow."Yar! We be Arabian Pirates!" They have called upon the GCC Coast Guard to be more vigilant in the Gulf and protect GCC fishermen. Waheed Al-Dossary, a spokesman for the Bahraini Fishermenâs Association, said that GCC countries should jointly patrol the Gulf in order to protect fishermen. Donât want to get those pretty patrol boats dirty. Besides, thereâs a good chance the pirates might win. Local fishermen say that the Gulf has been comparatively safe until recently. Ali Al-Marzouk, owner of five dhows, says that police patrols in the Gulf had grown lax because there were so few problems. Or because they donât want to find anything. Saudi authorities are in contact with their Bahraini counterparts regarding the repatriation of the five Indian fishermen who were rescued. According to hospital sources, four of the fishermen have been discharged while the fifth is still listed as in critical but stable condition. The sources said that the fishermen were sleeping in the dhow when unidentified men with machine guns boarded the dhow. The men threw the fishermen into the sea and took the dhow. Anyone interested in what the gunnies wanted the dhow for? Didnât think so, thatâs why there arnât any patrols. A Saudi dhow in the area rescued the fishermen. The owner of the dhow, Ahmad Yaqoub, believes the pirates were Iranians. Iranian drug smuggling pirates, perhaps? Posted by: Steve 2004-02-10 |
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