Yemen Takes Steps to Combat Piracy
In light of recent attacks, it was announced September 10, that Yemen will be launching a regional center to combat piracy. The center will provide assistance and support to ships and vessels that are attacked in the Gulf of Aden. The announcement was made by Khalid Al Wazir, Yemen’s Transport Minister.
The center will be a collaborative effort between Yemen and 20 other countries as well as the International Maritime Organization. The participating countries will sign a memorandum of understanding pledging cooperation to fight piracy. Yemen will also be taking a particularly active role by hosting a week-long regional meeting on the subject October 23-30, 2008.
Yemen has also teamed up with the United States in regards to the problem. On Sunday September 7, 2008, Yemen’s Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed met with Admiral Philip Greene, commander of the United States task force in the Horn of Africa. The meeting discussed ways to developed “bilateral military relations between the armies of the two countries, particularly in fighting terrorism and sea piracy.”
These steps to deal with the situation followed two very recent attacks in the Gulf of Aden. First, on August 19, a Malaysian tanker with 39 passengers on board was hijacked. Ten days later, a second Malaysian vessel with a crew of 41 was hijacked in the same waters while en route from Saudi Arabia to Singapore.
Yemen’s active stance in fighting piracy illustrates how the country is able to successfully collaborate with other nations-especially Western countries like the US. This case exemplifies how despite their differences in culture or ideology nations can at times successfully work together to create policy. Yemen’s stance on piracy illustrates how differences can be overcome to work for good and to prevent injustice.
Jenna Hootstein
