Pirates demand £4m ransom as hostage drama turns political

Published on Saturday 31 October 2009 18:46

SOMALI pirates holding a retired British couple have justified their demand for more than £4 million in ransom by claiming boats from other countries are plundering Somalia's fish-rich waters.

Last night the British government said that in line with current policy on the issue no ransom would be paid.

Ahmed Gadaf, spokesman for the captors, insisted the group holding the couple hostage off Somalia's coast was made up of "voluntary guards", not pirates.

"Western forces continue to loot our natural resources. They continue to harass local fishermen and destroy their fishing nets, so we want them to taste the consequence," Gadaf said by satellite phone from the coastal town of Haradhere.

The British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, are safe and will not be harmed, Gadaf said, and will be released on payment.

The Chandlers, en route to Tanzania in their yacht, the Lynn Rival, sent a distress signal on 23 October.

Their empty yacht was found by a Royal Navy patrol on Thursday.

The couple have been in sporadic contact since their capture. In phone calls to television stations the couple have passed messages to relatives reassuring them that they are being looked after.

The statement from the pirates indicates a determination to politicise the situation and move the focus away from criminal activity.

Illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia stirs strong passions in the country.

In London, the prime minister of Somalia's transitional government, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, said that many pirates are former fishermen "responding to the loss and disappearance of their livelihoods".

"I shall not name names, but suffice to say many countries are fishing illegally in Somali waters," he added.

"We estimate that the value of the fish being taken from our waters is perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars.

"It is wholly unacceptable for these countries, many of whom claim they want to help Somalia, to turn a blind eye to this theft."

Rachel Chandler told her brother in a telephone call broadcast by ITV News on Friday that the pirates were "hospitable people".

Both the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence declined to comment on whether any potential rescue was under consideration.

Pirate attacks have increased in recent weeks after the recent end of the monsoon season.