A rich and common past, a promising future

"Italy is eager to establish the truth of the Enrica Lexie incident."

Piracy is a common enemy. It is a menace we need to fight in close cooperation and with the strongest determination, if we want sailors to continue to navigate the seas safely. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : A rich and common past, a promising future: As peoples who live by the sea, both Indians and Italians strongly feel the loss of two fishermen who went out to sea that day, just as any other day, to do their job and support their families.

India and Italy have a rich common past. But the future is before us, open to new avenues for cooperation, in a world that is fast becoming more integrated and interconnected. We can work together for a better life for future generations. 

The author, Giulio Terzi is Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy.

Fighting piracy on dry land

"Naval action isn't going to end piracy. For a durable solution, governments need to find ways to bring order to one of the world's most dangerous regions."

Failed by governments, merchant seamen have increasingly turned to using force to protect themselves. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Fighting piracy on dry land. Somalia's pirate cartels have their roots in a failed state: the country has had no real government since 1991. Its economy is in ruins. Its coastal community felt the impacts of the collapse of the Somali state. Foreign trawlers began to prey on its fishing grounds with impunity, destroying a traditional source of livelihood. The flooding of the region with weapons led many young men to turn to the pirate cartels.

Experts say the pirate cartels now function much like modern businesses. A stock exchange to fund future attacks; banks to route ransom payments; firms to conduct negotiations and air-drop cash!

The massed guns of the world's navies have done relatively little to deter global piracy. The solution to high-seas piracy lies on dry land. Rebuilding Somalia's coastal villages, and bring order to the region, could provide a means to deny the cartels their sources of cadre and support — if governments can find the will and means to work in one of the world's most dangerous regions.