Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula
has been giving details about an agreement between his country and the United
States for Kenya to detain and prosecute pirates captured by the U.S. military
off the coast of Somalia.
He told VOA that while Kenya is
committed to combating piracy in the Horn of Africa, the agreement does not
mean that Kenya would be a dumping ground for all captured pirates.
"We
have signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. and UK (United Kingdom)
where in practical situations pirates captured at the Indian Ocean shipping
line area can be tried in Kenyan courts. But it would be dealt with on a case
by case basis. It is not an open door for dumping pirates onto Kenya soil
because it will not be acceptable. We have a bill in parliament that is coming
up and it is going to strengthen the punishment against piracy, from the
current legal provision of 10 years in jail to life imprisonment. And I believe
it will provide some form of deterrence," he said.
Foreign
Minister Wetangula praised U.S. President Barack Obama for his decision to
close down the U.S. terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where a
Kenyan, Abdulmalik Mohamed is among the detainees.
"I want take the opportunity to congratulate
President Obama because the Guantanamo Bay saga has brought blood on the image
of your country, and I think that he should do the same with Abu Ghraib (prison
in Iraq). I don't know if it is still open. You know the images from Abu Ghraib
were horrendous. So we hope that the fresh air that is being felt all around
and the feel good factor that President Obama has brought to the world stage
will be sustainable so that we get a better world to live in," Wetangula said.
The
Kenyan foreign minister hope President Obama would said the United States
should take the lead in world development by reducing armed conflicts around
the world.
"I
think America must take the lead to reduce international armed conflicts so
that the trillions of dollars that are spent on a daily basis on armament and
armed conflicts can be diverted to human development. That way we will be able
to wipe out poverty overnight. And I hope President Obama will take the lead in
not only ending the war in Iraq and Afghanistan but showing the way that
conflicts anywhere in the world are unacceptable because they don't help the
cause of humanity," he said.
Wetangula
said Kenya, which has played host to a number of negotiations aimed at forming
a government in Somalia said Kenya was still committed to bringing about peace
in Somalia.
"The
situation in Somalia is very volatile; Ethiopia has completely withdrawn; the
U.N. is still dragging its feet in helping us put together troops for Somalia.
We (the Inter-governmental Authority on Development, IGAD) in Addis from
tomorrow, and the issue of Somalia will take center stage. Kenya like all other
members of IGAD states is committed to bringing normalcy and peace and security
to Somalia. It's not easy. Somalia is a failed state for the last 20 years,"
Wetangula said.