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EU May Help Somalia Establish Coast Guard To Combat Piracy
[Shabelle] The European Union...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... wants to help Somalia establish a coasties service to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa. The possibility of a Somali coasties was discussed during a a presser by Etienne de Poncins, head of the EU's regional maritime capacity-building mission, known as EUCAP Nestor. "There is no coasties in Somalia at all. There are the Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... maritime police forces, but no national coasties," de Poncins said. Options for a Somali coasties will be discussed later this year during a strategic review of the maritime training mission to the Horn of Africa and the western Indian Ocean. EUCAP Nestor's primary mission is to provide training and advice for legal systems, but it can also supply training equipment, de Poncins said. Its main focus is Somalia, which de Poncins described as "the most important because it has the longest coastline and because many pirates come from Somali." EUCAP Nestor's annual budget is 23 million (US $31 million), with "a few million euro available for equipment such as life jackets, night goggles, communications or health equipment, but not vessels," he said. There are three EU advisers in legal teams drafting legislation to counter piracy who are well placed to identify needs, he said, after which EU funding programs will be launched. The mission maintains close contact with the central federal government and the Somaliland and Puntland regional bodies. It has held a training seminar on anti-piracy legislation with prosecutors and judges in the capital of Puntland. Discussions are ongoing between the regional governments and central government about a Somali maritime strategy, which will also address the coasties issue. Currently, the oceans off the Horn of Africa are being patroled by EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta. According to information provided by the Operation Atalanta headquarters in London, 27 countries contribute about 1,200 personnel to the mission. Posted by: Fred 2013-10-10 |
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