Somali Pirate's

Somalis in Finland.....any comments ? A long-term solution to the Somali piracy problem must look at Somalia as distinct political districts and deal with each accordingly. Somaliland, the formerly British, northernmost chunk of Somalia, holds elections, has a functioning government and has no pirate bases in its territory. It should be engaged with free-trade areas. Southern Somalia should be contained, probably by force. While the "capital" of Somalia, Mogadishu, is there, as well as the transitional capital at Baidoa, the area itself is a chaotic mess of extremists and warlords. If the international community got directly involved, as the Ethiopians and AU have, it would probably exacerbate the situation. For now, the AU, Ethiopians, pirates and the international naval force can restrict the extremists and warlords to the south. We should look at cutting deals with more moderate Islamic groups, such as the Islamic Courts Union, and engage them in the political process — splitting them off from the radicals such as the Shabab. Puntland is in the middle. The international community should work with the locals to create a new capital in Puntland and undertake serious nation building. This would mean millions in aid to create a viable infrastructure, establish a transitional government, and build and train an army, navy and police force. This would break the economic back of the pirates by creating a new employer. The pirates are businessmen, primarily, so they can be co-opted into a new government; the ones who don't can be dealt with accordingly. It isn't pretty, but history has shown that this is how most governments have been formed. Proceeding in this fashion, Somaliland and Puntland can then turn their focus to dealing with the extremists in southern Somalia. They would certainly have the support of the international community in that effort.