International Navies Anti-Piracy watch

[nandu]

Anti-piracy efforts treat symptom, not disease: navy chiefs

ABU DHABI — Navies can intercept Somali pirate skiffs and foil hijackings but fighting waves of attacks at sea will not solve the problem, which is rooted in instability on land in Somalia, naval leaders said.

Anti-piracy efforts "will not actually resolve the base problem of why piracy is occurring ... That solution lies in the stabilisation" of Somalia, Commodore Bob Tarrant, director of Britain's Royal Navy staff, told AFP at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Abu Dhabi.

"The symptoms (piracy) we're seeing now off Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden, are clearly an outcome of what's going on on the ground" there, said Australia's navy chief, Vice Admiral Russell Crane.

"As sailors, we're really just treating the symptoms," not the root of the problem.

Nonetheless, naval efforts against Somali pirates, which were stepped up between late 2008 and early 2009 in response to a spike in attacks along one of the world's busiest shipping routes, must be continued, IONS participants said.

"At this stage, there's no other option" to combating pirates at sea, Tarrant said.

Imagine "a situation where it wasn't done, where piracy was allowed to run riot and be rampant," he said.

"You can imagine what that would do to the markets in certain commodities and the price of (shipping) insurance, and to people's confidence in their own governments."

Crane agreed, saying the "symptom has to be treated -- you can't just turn your back and ignore it. You've got to deal with it."

Various anti-piracy task forces have been operating off the Horn of Africa for more than a year now, but attacks are continuing.

Somali pirates attempted 217 attacks over the course of 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors maritime crime.

There were another 35 attempts between January and March this year, IMB said, a decline of 27 from the same period last year.

IMB director Pottengal Mukundan has said he fears there will be even more hijackings this year than in the past, noting that pirates are now operating over a wider area than they have before.

In the end, though, Crane said "I have every confidence that, given the united global reaction to (piracy), and the number of countries that have put ships in there, that in the not-too-distant future, we'll have (it) under control."

Navies engaged in anti-piracy efforts face other difficulties, in addition to combating an ultimately land-based problem at sea.

"There's a vast area to patrol," Tarrant said. "The pirates are an audacious bunch, and we've seen pirate attacks taking place as much as one thousand miles (1,600 kilometres) from the coast of Somalia."

"Despite all these navies, and I think there are some 28 nations working together in this effort, you cannot possibly patrol and protect all the time."

There are a plethora of naval forces -- including the US-led Combined Maritime Forces, an EU force, one from NATO, and independent deployments from Russia, China, India, Iran, and other nations -- operating against the pirates.

The various forces coordinate with each other, but do not operate under a unified command structure. This means they are not as effective as they might be, two admirals said.

"I think we could do it a lot better if we came together as a single group of international navies," said Crane.

With a unified command structure, "maybe one-third of the ships could achieve a similar effort, if they were unified and coordinated," said retired admiral Arun Prakash, who served as India's chief of naval staff.

It is also difficult to try to convict captured pirates in court.

"Right now, ships are patrolling, and even if they capture the pirates, it is very difficult to take them all the way back" to the ships' home country, Prakash said.

And "when they reach home, you've got to produce witnesses, you've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they're guilty. All of that is a very difficult exercise," he added.

The alternative -- trying them in countries near Somalia -- can also pose problems.

"If you hand them over to some other state, it is possible that there may be human rights violations," Prakash said.

"Most of the neighbouring states which are affected by piracy off the coast of Somalia still have different laws on the subject of piracy," said Paul Wambua, a Kenyan specialist in maritime law.

That makes it "very difficult to have a common approach in punishing pirates who are arrested at sea," Wambua said at IONS.

Prakash suggested that the UN form "an international court ... locally in one of the countries" to try pirates.

Somalia has been bereft of a stable government and torn by civil war since the 1991 overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre.

Somali piracy figured prominently in discussions at IONS, which brought together representatives of 32 navies that operate in the Indian Ocean.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jk8JeTNHcH1N_4ZcMf5Oa66eUKVg

 

[nandu]

Russian warship to escort 5 merchant vessels in Gulf of Aden

Russia's Marshal Shaposhikov destroyer will escort a convoy of five commercial ships through pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The convoy will consist of five vessels and the Russian warship will ensure their safe passage," a spokesman for the Defense Ministry said.

The Russian Pacific Fleet task force comprising the Marshal Shaposhnikov, the MB-37 salvage tug and the Pechenga tanker arrived in the Gulf of Aden on March 29 to join the anti-piracy mission in the region.

Navy commandos from the Marshal Shaposhnikov freed the Russian Moscow University tanker during a 22-minute operation on May 6. Ten attackers were detained and one was killed. None of the crew members was injured.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov made a port call in Djibouti on Monday where it replenished food and water supplies.

The Russian Navy will use the Djibouti port, located in the Horn of Africa, as its temporary base for anti-piracy operations in the region.

The current task force is the fourth group of warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet engaged in the anti-piracy mission off Somalia, with the previous three task forces led by the Admiral Vinogradov, Admiral Panteleyev and the Admiral Tributs destroyers. The Northern and Baltic fleets have also sent task forces to the region.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100518/159064781.html

 

[nandu]

Navy crew destroys pirate boats

A Royal Navy crew has destroyed two suspected pirate boats off the east coast of Africa.

The crew of warship HMS Chatham's Lynx helicopter spotted a larger vessel towing two smaller attack boats 150 miles off the coast of Tanzania, in the Somali Basin, on Friday.

A Royal Marine team, travelling in fast-boats, stormed the larger craft and found 10 Somalis and a large amount of fuel on board.

The suspected pirates were seen throwing items, including weapons, into the sea.

The two smaller attack boats were fitted with powerful engines and contained a considerable amount of fuel, the Royal Navy said.

The marines separated the smaller boats from the larger craft, before HMS Chatham and the Lynx helicopter used their combined firepower to blow up the smaller boats.

The 10 Somalis were left with only enough fuel in the larger vessel to return to Somalia.

Commander Simon Huntington, commanding officer of HMS Chatham, said: "I am extremely pleased that we have again successfully disrupted a suspected pirate attack group operating in the Somali Basin and prevented them from mounting attacks against merchant shipping."

The Lynx helicopter was taking part in a coordinated search with a EU Naval Force Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), operating out of the Seychelles, when it spotted the suspected pirates.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ht_LYWtYp7hVv12ppdFahyc-TnEw

 

[nandu]

Piracy Declines

June 4, 2010: The international anti-piracy patrol off Somalia caused a major drop in worldwide piracy attacks this year. For the first three months of this year, there were 67 piracy incidents (reported to the insurance companies), compared to 102 for the same period last year. This year, 52 percent of the piracy incidents were off Somalia. Most of the other attacks were near the Malacca Straits and surrounding countries (Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia), and off Nigeria. Most of these other attacks were basically robberies, with the pirates robbing the crew of valuables, and carrying off any portable valuables (usually electronic) they can carry in their small boats.

More worrisome is a growing trend off Nigeria, where members of the crew (usually the captain and other officers) are kidnapped and taken to nearby coastal areas controlled by criminal gangs. Only Somalia provides safe havens for pirates to park hijacked ships. But in Nigeria, there are lawless coastal areas, where kidnap victims can be held.

More attacks, either against uninsured ships (smaller coastal boats, usually), or considered to minor to bother with, are not reported. But the big ones (involving very expensive ships and cargoes) almost always are. And this is the sort of stuff the Somali pirates are after.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htseamo/articles/20100604.aspx

 

[nandu]

Russian destroyer joins UN anti-piracy mission off Somalia

Russia's Admiral Levchenko destroyer arrived in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday to resume a UN anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, a Defense Ministry statement said.

The previous task force was led by the Udaloy-class guided-missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, which took part in freeing the Russian Moscow University tanker hijacked on May 6 by Somali pirates.

"The Admiral Levchenko has arrived in the Gulf of Aden. The task force also includes the Olekma tanker and the tugboat SB-36 [of Russia's Black Sea Fleet]," the statement said.

The Russian Navy has maintained a presence off the Horn of Africa with warships operating on a rotation basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100703/159673438.html

 

[nandu]

Russian Navy expands anti-piracy mission in Gulf of Aden

The Russian Navy has extended the convoy route in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden to 380 kilometers, the Pacific Fleet commander said on Friday.

Adm. Konstantin Sidenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the decision was made following the hijacking of the Moscow University tanker in May.

"There is an international, so-called green, three-point corridor where we escort [commercial] vessels. After that incident we extended the route, moving further from the coast and now the convoy route is 200 nautical miles, or nearly 380 kilometers," he said.

He also said naval infantry teams board Russian as well as foreign vessels with Russian crews when they pass through the Gulf of Aden to protect them against pirate attacks.

He stressed that Russia and China are the only two countries at present that escort civilian vessels in the Horn of Africa.

"All other members of the international anti-piracy coalition operate in designated areas and respond on an as-needed basis," the admiral said. "In other words, our tactics are the safest for the convoy vessels."

He said convoys are on average comprised of 10-20 vessels.

"Whoever comes along, we don't turn them away, but ours are the most sought-after convoys," he said.

A task force led by the RFNS DDG Admiral Levchenko, an Udaloy-class guided-missile destroyer, arrived in the Gulf of Aden on July 3 to resume the UN anti-piracy mission near Somalia. It also includes the Olekma tanker and the SB-36 tugboat of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The previous task force was led by the RFNS DDG Marshal Shaposhnikov that took part in releasing the Moscow University tanker hijacked on May 6.

The Russian Navy has maintained a presence off the Horn of Africa with warships operating on a rotation basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100709/159751334.html

 

[nandu]

Piracy Attacks Decline on Navies' Somalia Offensive

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Piracy attacks worldwide declined 18 percent in the first half of the year as a more offensive naval presence around Somalia lowered the number of incidents.

Attacks globally fell to 196 from 240 in the same period last year, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said in a report today. Incidents in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and around Somalia fell to 98 from 144.

"The actions of the navies in the Gulf of Aden have been instrumental in bringing down attacks there," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said in a statement. Incidents also fell in the first quarter.

The European Union's naval mission has adopted a "more offensive approach" to Somali assailants, hunting them down at sea before they can attack, the force's commander, Rear Admiral Jan Thornqvist of the Swedish Navy, said in June. About 20 percent of world trade passes through the Gulf of Aden, a transit point for ships navigating Egypt's Suez Canal when sailing between Asia and Europe, according to the EU.

The EU's Atalanta operation, the first naval mission ever created by the 27-nation bloc, started operating in December 2008. Thornqvist said in June he has six ships and four patrol aircraft under his command, with more ships due to arrive in August.

Combined with a North Atlantic Treaty Organization fleet, a U.S.-led fleet, as well as individual warships from countries such as Russia, China, India, Japan and Malaysia, there are about 30 warships engaged in anti-piracy missions off the Horn of Africa.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071500807.html

 

[nandu]

Chinese navy continues to monitor waters in Gulf of Aden

The 6th fleet of the Chinese navy is expected to take over from the 5th fleet, which has been on a mission to monitor the waters off the Somali coast for more than three months.

The two fleets met off the west coast of Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, and they are expected to exchange information before the handover ceremony.

Their mission aims to safeguard commercial shipping vessels passing through pirate-infested waters in the region.

China's sixth Navy fleet is staffed by more than 1,000 military personnel, including navy special forces troops, the amphibious landing ship Kunlunshan, the destroyer Lanzhou, as well as the supply ship Weishanhu and four helicopters.

The sixth fleet conducted a drill using live ammunition in open waters in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month.

http://military.globaltimes.cn/china/2010-07/552156.html

 

[nandu]

Cross Posting

Two Faces of High-Seas Crime

By Lieutenant Commander Akash Chaturvedi, Indian Navy

Maritime piracy and maritime terrorism must be tackled with a unified effort.

Piracy off Somalia and the Horn of Africa is again the focus of attention due to a steep increase in the frequency of attacks that have grown more violent and aggressive. These attacks have shifted to the high seas, even beyond the established naval patrol corridor in the Gulf of Aden. In 2009, piracy in this region has gone up by 126 percent.1 This increase has occurred despite a host of measures, including the passage of four resolutions by the United Nations in 2008, the deployment of multinational naval forces by more than a dozen countries, improvements in reporting systems of merchantmen, and establishing of a safety corridor for transit of merchant ships.2

And in a trouble spot such as Somalia, where terrorism and piracy flourish concomitantly, the symbiosis between the two is cause for concern. The world today faces a dual threat of global terrorism and maritime piracy, and yet, surprisingly, these are still being dealt with as separate and distinct problems. A 9/11-style attack at sea cannot be ruled out if terrorism and piracy are not addressed together in this region. Piracy not only poses a threat to global commerce and human safety at sea, but also encourages the use of sea routes for the spread of terrorism. Because piracy can be used as a complementary form of terrorism, the international community needs to attack both issues in a unified effort at their roots in Somalia and extend the global war on terrorism to this region.
Piracy, Terrorism: Same Coin, Different Sides?

Terrorism at sea needs to be accepted and addressed as a problem intertwined with piracy. Contrary to the belief that pirates operate with the sole objective of financial gain, many of today's pirates, like terrorists, have an ideological mindset and a broad political agenda.3 Meanwhile, many terrorist organizations have sought to develop maritime capabilities so they can exploit the sea to further spread terrorism. Terrorist groups known to operate at sea using pirates' techniques are:

* the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam-Sri Lankan separatists also known as the Tamil Tigers
* the Palestine Liberation Organization
* the Free Aceh movement-Sumatran separatists
* the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro Liberation Front-related Filipino militant Islamic groups
* Jemaah Islamiyah-Southeast Asian militant Islamic group
* al Qaeda
* Hezbollah.4

Similarities exist between piracy and terrorism, namely their methods of deployment and targeting, with both groups threatening life and economic activities at sea or in ports. According to Stephanie Hanson, who writes on African issues for the Council on Foreign Relations, there are two key areas in which piracy and terrorism overlap. The first is legal, wherein both groups, being non-state actors, divorce themselves from their nation-states and form extraterritorial enclaves. They conduct acts of homicide and destruction against civilians for private ends. The second area of overlap is financial, with pirates known to fund Islamic terrorist organizations in Somalia and Indonesia.5

Obviously, there are differences as well. In their purest forms, piracy and terrorism have divergent motives and (because their motives differ) each pursuit has a different attitude toward publicity. Piracy is mostly undertaken for financial reasons, terrorism for political or religious reasons; whereas pirates prefer to avoid publicity and use violence as a last resort, maritime terrorists typically aim for maximum publicity and violence.6

But the world they mutually inhabit fosters a blurring of the lines. The sources of piracy and terrorism are getting more entangled. Especially within Somalia, links exist between pirates and terrorist groups; in addition to being a bustling pirates' nest, Somalia is one of the three main theaters for al Qaeda's mujahideen, along with Iraq and Afghanistan, according to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.7 Modern-day pirate waters—the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea—have become lucrative realms for exploitation by terrorist organizations as well. Using pirate tactics, they seek to extend their jihad to sea.8

Today's pirates are trained fighters, violent and aggressive, taking to the high seas in mother ships and speedboats. Their use of satellite phones, GPS, AK-47s, anti-tank missiles, and rocket-propelled grenades hints at shared training with terrorists. With bank accounts frozen as part of the anti-terror crackdown, major terrorist groups are feeling the financial crunch and learning to rely on alternate funding sources: They're either engaging in acts of piracy themselves or outsourcing hijacking jobs to pirates.9 In addition to fund-raising, the rogues' alliance extends to gun-running as well. The Somalian Islamist insurgency group al Shabaab is now working with pirates and local warlords to smuggle arms and ammunition.10 In the face of massive international efforts arrayed against them, pirates and terrorists have joined hands.

With 80 percent of the world's trade cargo and 60 percent of the world's oil and gas traversing the oceanic highways, it is little wonder that terrorists regard the sea as "the next strategic step towards ruling the world . . . a strategic point to expel the enemy from the most important pillars of its battle."11 Al Qaeda has undergone maritime-terrorism training with Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers, and al Qaeda strategist Al-Suri writes about carrying out attacks in the Straits of Hormuz and at Bar el-Mandeb by scuttling ships at choke points.12 In addition, al Qaeda has been closely monitoring the success of the Somali pirates and showing appreciation of the pirates' achievements on al Qaeda Web sites.
Somali Terror Triangle

Somalia is the unfortunate center of a "terror triangle," a three-part recipe consisting of a failed state, piracy, and terrorism. As a failed and ungoverned state since 1991, Somalia poses a threat to international security with a host of associated problems. Lawlessness in Somalia has affected the entire region and created problems such as arms flow and other black markets, an environmental threat with toxic waste dumping along the coastline, illegal immigrants, illegal fishing, and, of course, piracy. Piracy off the Horn of Africa accounts for 48 percent of the total number of attacks reported in 2009.

13

Somalia's terrorist element, meanwhile, includes such radical movements as the Union of Islamic Courts, al Ittihad al Islamiyya, and al Shabaab, which share parallel jihadist ideologies, have links with al Qaeda, and are known to provide assistance to transnational Islamic terrorists. Having lost reliable bases elsewhere due to the global war on terror, al Qaeda has used Somalia not only as a transit or entry port for a safe haven, but also as a base from which to spread terrorism.14

The implications for international security are serious, particularly in the maritime context. Somalia offers an ideal opportunity for al Qaeda and related terrorist groups to pool resources with pirates. As these existing links become stronger, al Qaeda, using pirates' expertise and training, could increasingly extend terrorism to the sea, generate money, and strengthen into a pirate-warlord confederacy. Somalia-based extremists coordinating their schemes with Somalia-based pirates pose the greatest maritime terror challenge in the near future.
An Emerging, Unified Definition

While the debate about the relative similarities and differences between piracy and terrorism is ongoing, a comprehensive definition is needed for the areas in which they indeed do overlap-in short, a definition of maritime terrorism: Any act of piracy or terrorism undertaken in territorial waters or high seas for personal, financial or political motive against military or civilian targets by non-state actors. It also includes acts of piracy conducted with the motive of passing the monetary benefits to support terrorist organizations.

Operating within a maritime-terrorism context would improve both counter-terrorism and counter-piracy actions by preventing any breach of sovereignty, ensuring concerted efforts, and providing more clear-cut legal parameters.

The implications of resolving maritime terrorism and piracy off the coast of Somalia and throughout the world involves a multi-directional approach that begins with addressing the problems on land. Such an approach entails monitoring and surveillance of Somalia as part of the global war on terrorism, with emphasis on beaches, ports, and cross-border smuggling points.15 It may even require landing an international-coalition military force ashore in those regions that foster piracy. Parallel initiatives already being undertaken by international naval forces need to continue along with these land efforts to eradicate piracy. The aim must be to ensure that the piracy-terrorism link is not strengthened, and that it does not become a platform for terrorists in the immediate future.

Post-9/11, the international community has been faced with many new challenges, prominent among them being failed states, terrorism, and piracy. Though the efforts are on to curb these problems, they have not been synchronized. It should be understood that piracy and terrorism are no longer two different problems and need to be addressed together by accepting this merger and legally defining it as maritime terrorism. So far, despite increased efforts, the international community has not been successful in controlling or eradicating either menace. Left unchecked, pirates and terrorists increasingly will pool their resources and terror groups will hire local pirates for financial gain and to buttress their jihad's maritime element.16 Whatever the motivation for this merger-ideology, poverty, criminality, or all of the above-the nexus of piracy and terrorism will be dangerous for both the world economy and security.

When addressing the alarming rise in piracy off Somalia, we must not overlook the emerging alliance between piracy and terrorism. To win the battles against piracy and terrorism, they need to be perceived as one battle; they need to be resolved with a unified effort, extending the global war on terrorism to include a war on maritime terrorism, with Somalia as its focal point, to prevent another 9/11-this time at sea.

http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/story.asp?STORY_ID=2436

 

[Patriot]

HMS Montrose to participate in counter-piracy operations

DEVONPORT (BNS): The Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose will join a NATO-led task group at the Horn of Africa and the Somali Basin for participating in counter-piracy operations.

The Type 23 frigate will also be employed in general maritime security operations, all the while remaining ready for any other crisis response tasking that may be required at any time.

A team of Royal Marines will also take part in the mission, which has experience in counter-piracy capabilities, including the ship's Lynx helicopter and rigid inflatable boats.

The Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose. Photo: UK MoD.

The ship and its crew will get refit and intensive training for the deployment, ensuring and challenging operational sea training.

"With the refit and extensive training, the ship's company has spent most of this year preparing for this deployment. Every member of my team is looking forward to the chance to make a difference in the region," HMS Montrose Commanding Officer, Commander Jonathan Lett, said in an official news release.

HMS Montrose is equipped with the latest weapons, sensors and communication systems, including the air defence Seawolf missile system, a 4.5 inch (114.3mm) gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Lynx helicopter and a crew of 174 officers onboard.






http://www.brahmand.com/news/HMS-Montrose-to-participate-in-counter-piracy-operations/4702/1/13.html

 

[Kunal Biswas]

"The Russian shot them at point-blank"

This is not the first accusation of Russian sailors in the massacre of the pirates.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/russia/2010/12/101224_pirates_shooting_investigation.shtml

Gud Job Russian Navy!

^^Some time back IN got one mother ship and few boats..

 

[SHASH2K2]

Looks like they were testing all weapon systems onboard the on Pirates ship .

 

[Godless-Kafir]

What god awful accuracy in that machine gun turret!!! It was spraying all over and i suppose it has no chance to hit an cruise missile with that accuracy!

Russian are raceist nazis anyway. They just need our money and we need their stuff, there ends our friendship.

 

[niharjhatn]

What god awful accuracy in that machine gun turret!!! It was spraying all over and i suppose it has no chance to hit an cruise missile with that accuracy!

Russian are raceist nazis anyway. They just need our money and we need their stuff, there ends our friendship.

I wouldn't go THAT far to call them 'racist Nazis'. There is definitely growing racism in the country, but this seems to be happening all over Europe (e.g. Netherlands, France, Germany).

Ultimately, all nations simply want to tap into the Indian market. The only guy who really made me feel that he was offering something more than just a business transaction was Obama in that Q+A session that he had - but even that was underpinned by business. But damn, Obama is a charismatic orator.

 

[Phenom]

^^
I believe the Racism in Russia is on a completely different level when compared to western Europe. Its far more prevalent, not just violent racsim, but more subtle racism like looking down on non-whites is very common in Russia.Some racist youth groups often get support from Kremlin, of course the Kremlin calls them nationalist but their views on other races are often disturbing to say the least.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

I wouldn't go THAT far to call them 'racist Nazis'. There is definitely growing racism in the country, but this seems to be happening all over Europe (e.g. Netherlands, France, Germany).

Ultimately, all nations simply want to tap into the Indian market. The only guy who really made me feel that he was offering something more than just a business transaction was Obama in that Q+A session that he had - but even that was underpinned by business. But damn, Obama is a charismatic orator.

Obama is just good for talking and very little doing! I was a supporter to but so far he has missed so many promises he has lost my respect. He is just another hope selling politician who does not deliver even 60%

 

[niharjhatn]

^^
I believe the Racism in Russia is on a completely different level when compared to western Europe. Its far more prevalent, not just violent racsim, but more subtle racism like looking down on non-whites is very common in Russia.Some racist youth groups often get support from Kremlin, of course the Kremlin calls them nationalist but their views on other races are often disturbing to say the least.

This subtle discrimination happens everywhere. If you've lived in Western countries, you experience it as workmen being difficult, people ignoring you, hooligans shouting obscenities from cars (yes I've had my fair share :happy_8

Perhaps the one nation where migrants can really be accepted is Canada - they're taking in even more migrants, and a cousin who lives there suggests that racism is almost non-existent.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

The move they made not because they are RACISTS

BUT!

What i noted abt Russians Specially from armed forces is they are very sensitive types..
U act well is good, If not, Trouble! lol..

They are very suspicious and don't follow rules much..
Unlike we in IA are very strict regarding basic military rules..



What happen here is Russian caught some regular pirate boat in day light, and the pirte crew must behaved not what Russian expected, therefore they send them away and gave them enough time to swim for their lives and after that fire Show started!

Lol..

 

[SHASH2K2]

I think they give same kind of treatment to fishermen fishing in their territory. Destroying their boats. Hope to see japan start doing it to chinese fishing patrol teams .

 

[niharjhatn]

Obama is just good for talking and very little doing! I was a supporter to but so far he has missed so many promises he has lost my respect. He is just another hope selling politician who does not deliver even 60%

The biggest problem Obama is facing is that he has lost his influence over the American people and politicians. He faces opposition on everything that he does - even regarding his religion!

I completely agree that he has not delivered on most of his promises, but it definitely is an improvement over Bush or McCain!:happy_2: