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| Security: Somalia pirates in the Indian Ocean |
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Posted on Wednesday, April 15 @ 07:47:28 GMT by Tropic
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Seychellois president James Michel cut short his official visit to Japan in order to be present in his home country at this crucial moment.
In a speech, he described piracy as a form of terrorism and pointed out that if no sufficient measures are taken to put an end to this plague, tourism will suffer terribly from its effects, same as fishery and commerce.
Last weekend, as the president left for Japan, vessel Indian Ocean Explorer with seven Seychellois crew members was taken hostage by Somalia pirates. Shortly thereafter, a catamaran manned by three Seychellois fell into their hands as well.
Marine security measures and piracy in the region were some of the topics discussed between the Seychellois president and his Japanese hosts.
According to the president, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed to engage the Japanese fleet already stationed in the Northern part of the Indian Ocean to extend their surveillance zone into the South and thus into the endangered region. The Seychellois waters will thus benefit from a heightened security level.
The government will furthermore explore any possible way to ensure the wellbeing of the hostages, their liberation and safe return to their families.
Describing piracy as a form of terrorism, James Michel added that if measures are not taken to end this plague, tourism will suffer terribly from its effects; same as fishery and commerce.
“This type of incident will keep commercial boats and cruise ships from entering into our waters, transport of cargo such as food and other basic needs of our population will therefore be risky; and as boats will have to resort to safe routes and detours in order to deliver the goods, insurance and other costs will skyrocket and with all this, the cost of living in the Seychelles. So by the end of the day, all factors combined will have a negative impact onto our economy” President James Michel declared.
He also assured the population that all was under control and that there was no reasonto panic. According to him, the fact that military had been stationed on certain of the outer islands was no cause to believe that the pirates would in fact attack those islands, but merely one of the security and prevention measures taken with regards to the importance of tourism on the islands.
“As there are hotels and other tourist facilities on those islands, a military presence is necessary for as long as the menace of piracy exists in the concerned areas”, declared James Michel.
He added that order had been passed to the Seychellois troops to use any means deemed necessary to counteract the attack of pirates encountered and that his government was not to be sitting there with arms crossed, waiting to see those pirates endangering peace and tranquillity or negatively affecting the economy and resources of the archipelago.
He also said that negotiations have been taken up for the liberation of the Seychellois hostages and that the commanding officer on board the Indian Ocean Explorer had assured him that the crew was well and had not suffered from bad treatment or abuse.
Only minutes after this interview at the airport of Mahé, President Michel was taken to the Marine Research and Rescue Centre which is based at the headquarters of the local coast guard. There, he was informed about the measures taken for the patrolling of territorial waters and the activities of the pirates in the concerned region.
He later said that based on what he had been briefed about, everything was under control and the national patrol boat Andromache on its way to make sure that the territorial waters of the Seychelles as well as its exclusive eco-zone remained under protection.
James Michel then took advantage of the occasion to once again stress the importance for the Seychelles of despatching the Marine forces into the endangered area.
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