Media Release : Friday, 29 December 2006

http://www.spur.asn.au/SPUR_20061229_Jordan_Ship.htm

LTTE Pirates Operating from Mullativu should be punished for their Crimes The International Community must not whitewash this heinous Act

The Society for Peace Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR), an 11-year-old human rights organisation operating from Melbourne, Australia condemn the Tamil Tiger Terrorist's blatant attack on international shipping and urge the Government of Sri Lanka to provide the necessary security to ships sailing in Sri Lanka's waters. According to international maritime law detailed in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (1982), the sovereign Government of Sri Lanka is responsible for securing a safe operating environment for international shipping lines operating within Sri Lanka's maritime boundary as well as in international waters abutting it. Whatever the spin the Tamil Tiger Terrorists put on the story, the fact remains that armed LTTE carders boarded a ship belonging to a Jordanian shipping line sailing in Sri Lanka's waters, decommissioned and removed all communicating facilities, threatened and abducted the ship's crew and pilfered the cargo.

If this does not constitute maritime piracy, SPUR is at loss as to what defines piracy. The international community including Norway and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) must condemn this action and unconditionally support Sri Lanka's initiatives to liberate the ship and its cargo with immediate effect. The facts of the story are as follows:

1. The Jordanian ship, the Farha III, was carrying 14,000 tons of Indian rice bound for South Africa

2. When the ship, which was 13 kilometres away from the shore, developed engine trouble the captain dropped anchor, informed Sri Lanka's port authority of their predicament and engineers began working on the engines trying their best to mend the fault.

3. The responsible authorities in Sri Lanka had immediately dispatched the tug boat 'Maha Oya' to tow the ship either to Colombo or to Galle for repairs.

4. In the meantime, armed LTTE terrorists went aboard, rounded up the crew, warned the captain that he will be executed if he did not obey their command and lifted the anchor and allowed the ship to drift close to Mullativu to ensure it runs aground

5. The terrified captain was unable or unwilling to activate the distress signal due to fear of death. However, he had the courage to push the silent piracy alarm button. The records show that the message had been received by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre, Falmouth in the United Kingdom.

6. The crew were first taken to Mullativu, interrogated and released to the ICRC and have now reached Colombo safely.

The captain of the ship R. Abdulla has confirmed at a press conference in Colombo that:

1. The ship was forcefully boarded by LTTE terrorists firing guns and at no time did he invite anyone to board his ship

2. That all the communication equipment including radar, Doppler instrumentation, walkie-talkies, lap tops and other computers were dismantled and removed from the ship

3. The crew members were pushed around and that three of them have sustained injuries

4. The crew was threatened continuously and robbed of all personal effects including their clothes

This act, which mocks international maritime law, is a blatant violation of the ceasefire. This is not the first time that the Tamil Tiger Terrorists are accused of high sea piracy. A quick scan of sea tiger activities highlight that the LTTE was responsible for a number of dastardly acts including the hijacking of Irish Mona (August 1995), Princess Wave (August 1996), Athena (May 1997), Misen (July 1997), Morong Bong (July 1997), Cordiality (Sept 1997) and Princess Kash (August 1998). M V Cordiality, was captured by the LTTE and its five Chinese crew were mercilessly executed by the Tamil Tiger Terrorists near the port of Trincomalee in 2004.

Usually, the identity of the pirates is unknown and hence taking effective actions against them difficult. In this case there is absolutely no doubt as to who the perpetrators are. There is no dispute that the Tamil Tiger Terrorists are the perpetrators of this high sea piracy.

The Government of Sri Lanka has the right to execute any initiative (including force) to rescue the ship and return its cargo to the rightful owners. The international community including the co-chairs of the Peace Process must issue a severe warning to the Tiger Terrorists against the use of any force to thwart actions initiated by Sri Lanka's Government.

If the International community, co-chairs, the SLMM and Norway desist from taking any action, they run the risk of loosing credibility amongst the Sri Lankan populous as it will be seen as callous indifference to maritime piracy and terrorism by nations parroting negotiations with Tamil Tiger terrorists. It is also worthy to watch the so far mute Indian Government, who has since of recent shown worrying signs of being servile to the LTTE terrorists. Unfortunately, governing politicians in India who proudly call themselves democrats seem to have succumbed to the guile of Tamilnadu and Sri Lankan Tamil politicians having connections with LTTE terrorists, conveniently forgetting and trading the supreme sacrifice made by their late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for selfish political expediency.

SPUR urges all these external actors to respect democracy, reject international terrorism including high sea piracy and unconditionally support Sri Lanka's Government in their endeavours to discharge its international obligation under Article 100-107 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea of which it's a proud signatory.

Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya

President (SPUR Victoria)

Society for Peace, Unity & Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR)
Reg No. A 003 07777 M
P.O. Box 4066
Mulgrave, Victoria, VIC 3170
Australia

http://www.spur.asn.au/SPUR_20061229_Jordan_Ship.htm

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