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Somali parliament blocks piracy bill

Portuguese soldiers arrest Somali pirates in 2009. (Yonhap News)
Portuguese soldiers arrest Somali pirates in 2009. (Yonhap News)

   MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somali lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a bill criminalising piracy which was proposed by the justice minister to pave the way for a local tribunal.


   The bill finalised last week by the government is meant to beef up Somalia's legal arsenal in prosecuting and detaining pirates, who have so far been mainly tried abroad.


   "We ask lawmakers to endorse this bill against piracy which will help change conditions for many Somali youths who are serving prison terms outside the country," Justice and Religious Affairs Minister Abdullahi Abyan Nur said.


   Nur said the law would be a major step in combating piracy, which soared to record levels last year, with sea-jackers dodging an armada of foreign warships to capture dozens of vessels and make hundreds of seamen hostage.


   But severals lawmakers challenged the bill during a heated debate in the Somali capital and forced a revision of the document.


   "This text on the punishment of pirates is not compatible with Islam and therefore cannot be approved," Mohamed Mohamoud Heyd, a member of parliament, said.


   "It isn't necessary either at this point because the pirates are also fighting the foreign ships that are plundering our fish and other marine resources," he added.


   Several other MPs voiced the same opinion and the vice president of parliament adjourned the session by instructing a 15-member committee to amend the bill within five days.


   Suspected Somali pirates are currently on trial in Kenya and the Seychelles, which have both signed deals with foreign navies for the prosecution of piracy suspects, as well as in several Western countries.

소말리아 의회, 해적처벌법 저지

"해적이 소말리아에 좋은 일도 한다"

    (모가디슈<소말리아> AFP=연합뉴스) 소말리아 정부가 해적 단속.처벌을  강화하 는 법안을 의회에 제출했으나 일부 의원들이 18일 "이슬람과 배치된다"는 등의 이유 를 들어 반대함에 따라 법안이 수정되게 됐다.

    지난주 정부가 확정한 법안에 대해 압둘라히 아비얀 누르 법무장관은 "해적  행 위로 인해 외국에서 형을 살고 있는 많은 소말리아 청년들을 위한 여건 변화에 도움 이 될 것"이라며 법안의 처리를 의회에 요청했다.

    그러나 심의 과정에서 한 의원은 "이 해적처벌법은 이슬람과 배치되므로 승인할 수 없다"면서 "해적들은 우리의 어족과 기타 해양자원을 노략질하는 외국 선박들과 싸우는 면도 있으므로 현 시점에서 이 법은 불필요하다"고 주장했고 다른 여러 의원 도 이에 동조했다.

    이에 부의장은 15인 위원회에 법안의 수정안을 닷새 이내에 만들도록 지시하고 산회했다.

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