It’s been brought to my attention today that Somalian pirates are in the news again. In the Netherlands.
“Five Somalis are appearing in court in Rotterdam today charged with piracy. They are accused of attempting to capture a South African yacht and using automatic weapons and rocket launchers against a French naval vessel which came to its aid.
They were eventually overpowered by the crew of the HNLMS Amsterdam, the Dutch navy‘s rapid combat support ship. The captain of the South African yacht was rescued but two others on board are still missing, presumed kidnapped.
The five suspects have admitted to setting sail in rubber boats to attack shipping off the coast of Somalia. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is due to submit its sentencing demand today.” (http://www.expatica.com)
Now regular readers of my literary missives will recall I have a personal, vested interest in the activities of these nautical buccaneers. For those whose visits to these pages are of a more intermittent nature, you may like to check out Somalia, Pirates and Ransom Money : solving the famine problem to get up to speed.
The Dutch take the piracy problem seriously as a sea-faring nation who continue to have business interests world-wide and who are players on the global political stage.
One thing about the Dutch, they do play their part internationally; perhaps without the fanfare and grandiose gestures of other nations, but when things are starting to rumble around the globe you’ll find the Dutch in there somewhere. Not in huge numbers, the Dutch Army has 35,000 full and part time soldiers and the Dutch Navy 10,000, but they’ll be there and are pretty darn good at helping administer global justice to those who break international law.
It’s one of the great things about the Dutch, they are a fair-minded and tolerant people. They do love their paperwork and rules and regulations, which can drive you up the wall when you live amongst them, but they make ideal candidates in an international arena.
Where other nations would end up chasing their tails in the administrative processes, the Dutch relish the challenge of getting stuck in and getting results. They are not impressed by the drama and histrionics of dictators or war criminals, so a few Somali pirates are a walk in the park by comparison.
It was with great delight I read todays report; it gives me a sense of things being a little bit better in the world.
Now if you’re interested in what the Dutch have to do to bring pirates to justice, you may be interested in watching this short clip of Dutch forces storming a Somali pirate ship. It is in Dutch, but you’ll have no problem following the action.
It quite warmed my heart.
Royal Netherlands Naval jack
wordgeyser 
Here here! So glad the Dutch (and others) are willing to pitch in and help out wherever trouble brews. You’re absolutely right: no one country can do everything. Change requires everyone stepping up and doing what they can, and the Dutch more than do their share.