7 Somali pirates freed on technicality after NATO pursuit

sorry than Canada (and that's no insult Canadians... it's reality.).

If anyone is more Politically Correct and useless as Canada in dealing with international crime it's the United Nations. United in pouting is about the extent of their power.

presto345: Canada is America junior. :-) All kidding aside, if technicalities are going to be the excuse, then maybe the U.N. Security Council should pass a resolution on dealing with his mess.

If the world's Navies can't protect vessels from the likes of Paul Watson then I guess this is a blank cheque for these Somalis to be able to commit crimes on the high seas without retribution. The world really needs to get with the program and allow our Navies to do what they are for: protecting Maritime traffic routes. In days of old they were much more stronger to do the jobs they were intended to do. Today Political Correctness rules. That is why the world gets into the trouble as we have to treat each other with kid gloves. Stop this and maybe we will have more security. Singapore knows how to enforce laws maybe we should study their system and apply it accordingly.

If you don't have the ability to bring these people to justice then you have no business capturing them.

Their mission is not to capture pirates but protect high interest ships crossing through that part the world. I hope the don't change the law, as long as the do not interfere/harm Canadian interests, there is no need to fill our prisons/pay for foriegn criminals that didn't commit crimes against Canada.

SuperLib: Canada needs to be able to detain suspects.

Believe me, I agree. I hope it gets legally sorted, soon, but not so soon that its done sloppily.

Notice that no one died.

Notice that no one's life was threatened.

Anyway, I stand by my point. Canada needs to be able to detain suspects. It's just common sense.

Here’s an answer though I am not sure about the technicalities. Ships sail under flags of convenience & these can be had from any micky mouse country, why then can’t the UN issue a flag of convenience? They do already issue white UN passports. This way any ship attacked anywhere by any one can be protected by any other UN member state.

What technicality? They committed no crime against Canadians. That is what I was saying the other day when I cited the problem of flaying flags of convenience.

Canada has a decent Navy but this is putting a band aid on a bleeding artery.

A few good points there, likeitis. You should be proud of your navy.

If that's what Canada is forced to do, then Canada should sit on the sidelines until they get the agreements worked out.

Don't you get it? Necessity is the mother of invention, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It took long enough for anyone to do anything at all about the pirates. There was finally action because of the need and the outcry. Sitting the sidelines generates no need and no squeak. Free enough pirates like this and belly-ache about that specific point for a while and maybe something will be done about. Sit the sidelines and nothing will happen.

Besides, we need all the help we can get on this one.

It's absurd and insane to ask their sailors to go up against AK-47s and RPGs only to let these people loose again.

The Canadian Navy is well armed, armoured and trained. There is still a danger, but the pirates ran for good reason. Notice that no one died.

For once, I think the UN has shown the way:

In 1995, for example, the water supply for Mogadishu, the capital, was shut off by the United Nations humanitarian agencies until a hostage who worked for another aid organization was released. On the first day of the shutoff, the women who collected water from public distribution points yelled at the kidnappers; on the second day they stoned them; on the third day they shot at them; on the fourth day, the hostage was released.

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19long-1.html&OQ=_rQ3D3Q26refQ3Dopinion&OP=7ed73546Q2FLvoSLWM9Q5EHMMiPLPbbBLbQ51LlBLM6Q20VQ20MVLlB0MVZQ23lRxi20

The international community in dealing with piracy is totally impotent. In this case the Canadians simply do not want to deal with the aftermath of capturing pirates. They hide themselves behind fuzzy laws. What do they do in NATO anyway?

..Which is why you always aim before asking someone to drop their gun.

When you tell armed pirates to throw their weapons into the sea or you shoot, that's called disarming them. Many times they end up getting shot because they don't, actually. It usually depends on how outnumbered the gunmen are. When the Navy Seals were in Granada, they asked nicely over and over to drop the guns but had to shoot every time. Those gunmen were cockier than these pirates, but according to accounts the gunfights were over in seconds.

If that's what Canada is forced to do, then Canada should sit on the sidelines until they get the agreements worked out. It's absurd and insane to ask their sailors to go up against AK-47s and RPGs only to let these people loose again. It's like telling a police officer that he has to go into a bank that's being robbed but that if he successfully disarms the robbers his only recourse is to take the cuffs off and let them go.

You have no fears over Gitmo, you're just saying you do because you like the way it sounds.

sunny117, The 310 crew member hostages might be receiving harsher treatment with every defeat of the pirates.

If defeat is simply being thwarted from capturing ships and hostages, then we have to take that risk at least. We cannot just let them take more ships and hostages hoping that current hostages will continue to be treated better for it.

SuperLib:If you don't have the ability to bring these people to justice then you have no business capturing them.

You are impatient. If this happens enough times, then international agreements will be worked out so that those who capture such pirates can be turned over to appropriate authorities. You need to lean back and take a breath every once in a while dude. Rome was not built in a day. If, in the mean time, no more ships or hostages are taken, that is great.

I do not want any more Gitmos and trampling of laws. There is no rush.

The 310 crew member hostages might be receiving harsher treatment with every defeat of the pirates.

If the arrested pirates are given cake treatment and left to spread the goodwill message then perhaps the captured sailors might get to have a kind treatment from their captors.

This could be a temporary solution to escertain the well being of the captured 310 crew member hostages.

"These sailors are putting their lives at risk simply to disarm and then release these people so they can go back to shore and get more guns?"

Crazy, isn't it. Someone nutter was even advocating this as a solution on the earlier thread.

NATO forces disarmed and interrogated the bandits, then freed them because Canadian law did not allow their prosecution if they committed no crimes against Canadians or on Canadian soil.

You've got to be kidding me. Sorry, but Canada needs to excuse themselves from the fight if this is what's going to happen. These sailors are putting their lives at risk simply to disarm and then release these people so they can go back to shore and get more guns? If you don't have the ability to bring these people to justice then you have no business capturing them.

Yelnats, yeah it sounds like double talk. At least we could say they were encouraged to disarm themselves by the Canadians, and that means something.

I do not view this as such a set-back. Nor do I view this as some sort of encouragement for the pirates. I think the people who say such things are impatient, and want a 100 percent solution to this problem yesterday.

The pirates might be thinking to push their luck and try again. They might be thinking "Hurrah! we get off easy every time!" Sure. Its possible. But they might also be thinking "That was a close call. We got pursued for hours and I thought we were dead meat. Plus we lost our weapons, and its going to cost to replace them."

I think they also realize that the world is paying more attention, and this incident shows this. And gee, I am happy there were no deaths or even kidnappings!

The pirates are not indiscriminately killing people; not even taking slaves. We can afford to take our time and follow laws and morality, and I am glad to see the Canadians doing that while at the same preventing ships from getting hijacked, which is the paramount thing here. Enough repeats of this action and the pirates will have to find new jobs. They cannot fail all the time and survive even if they are let go.

So I say good job to Canada, and keep up the good work.

I thought they disarmed themselves by throwing their weapons into the sea? So how could the Canadians disarm them?

" On Sunday, the Somali government called for the death penalty for pirates. "

....in that way assuring that European countries will have to invite any capture pirates into Europe and support them on welfare as asylum seekers, because EU countries are not allowed to deport anyone to a country which has the death penalty.

Isn´t Western Political Correctness grand.

Couldn't we shoot them in the head on a technicality?

What in the world are these people thinking? All they had to do is turn them over to someone who is willing to prosecute the terrorists. Turn them loose, and they will be back again when they are having a better day.

Lock up pirates for years without charges? Sounds good to me. Let em rot in jail. Like the hostages they take.

Canadian law did not allow their prosecution if they committed no crimes against Canadians or on Canadian soil.

As frustrating as this is for everyone, it's still a good idea. Better than having another Guantanamo and locking up people for years without charge, which is no doubt, what the US will do with any of these nasty pirates that it captures.