Thursday 14.07.2011, 6 pm Harbour Cruise : Pirates?

18.00 Uhr Anleger Vorsetzen (U Baumwall)
What has piracy to do with the international fish theft off Somalia’s coast? Who is using Somalia’s waterways as a rubbish dump?  What is the story about the weapons on the hijacked “MS Faina”? Who are these young men from Somalia? What does “safety” mean in the Gulf of Aden? The criminal trial before the Landesgericht Hamburg is all about legal matters. In cooperation with the Hamburg group kein mensch ist illegal our harbour round trip will shed light on the political background.

Exhibition and Films on the Postcolonial History in Hamburg 21.6-14.7.11

POST-COLONIAL METROPOLIS HAMBURG

ON THE TRAIL OF (NEO)COLONIAL REALITIES

EXHIBITION 21 JUNE -14 JULY 2011

HAMBURG UNIVERSITY

PFERDESTALL FOYER, ALLENDE-PLATZ 1

The metropolis Hamburg presents itself with charm and open to the world. This image is contradicted by the city’s colonial and racist past, as well as its post-colonial present.  Exploitation,  structural hierarchies and racism are closely connected with our colonial past. The structures of society , the use of language  or the topographies of a city are not  coincidental!

In the exhibition historical developments will be linked with our present-day reality. We will be searching for traces of (neo)colonialism in Hamburg, as well as in our own constructions of identity.

The trial so far

What happened so far

Since November 22, 2010 ten Somali men have been standing trial in Hamburg. They are charged with having hijacked the freighter “MV Taipan” in the Indian Ocean and demanding ransom over Easter 2010.

The Taipan was sailing under German flag and the men were captured by a special unit of the Dutch navy – although no one has been able to tell the court of who actually ordered them to do so. The ten men were chained to the railing on the Dutch frigate “Tromp” for several days and interrogated – voluntary statements, according to the Dutch crew. The commander of the Tromp insists that they didn't arrest the men, they merely 'found' them on board the Taipan – which raises the question of how they ended up in a court if they were never arrested.

Sunday 22 May 2011 - Solidarity Party in the Park

About 100 people gathered this afternoon in the park outside the Hamburg remand prison to show solidarity with the Somali men who are incarcerated there. The peoples' kitchen provided food and drink, music was provided and speakers from different groups spoke about the trial and the prison in general. Also, several people wrote postcards to the prisoners.

Summary of the 18 May 2011 court date

Prof Matthies, the German Somalia "expert" was on the stand again and questioned by the defence. To start with, the judge declines an application by the defence to have some additional info which was introduced by Matthies translated into Somali. The reason being that the language of teh court is German. Later on, Somali is spoken in court because the microphones and headphones fail.

Matthies revises some fo his statements from last time and admits that anyone growing up in Somalia would like be traumatised. The questions by the defence prompt him to give a more complete picture of Somalia than his origianl account. When asked for a historic parallel of the situation in Somalia, Matthies mentions the 30-year war. He says that piracy is partially in the hand of the clans and that press gangs might be operating from Kenia.

The defence applies to hear the mother and sister of the accused whose brother was killed – decision reserved.

There had been a request by the court to the Dutch prosecution to provide the videos of the interrogations on the Tromp was declined because it would put the Dutch officers at risk.

And finally the application for bail for one of the younger accused was declined due to flight risk.

Prosecution investigates Dutch navy officer

State prosecutor Wilhelm Möllers announced on Wednesday that the prosecution have started investigations into charges of neglicence causing death against a Dutch navy officer. The officer has appeared several times as a witness in the case against the alleged pirates. During one hearing, he alleged that one of the accused had made extensive statements to the Dutch navy, which are classified as secret. He identified the accused in the court room. Shortly after, the brother of the accused was killed by gunmen in Somalia. The defence argues that the killing was a direct result of the officer's statements in court.

“Now you will die!”: Coast Guard attempt to drown asylum-seekers in Lesbos Greece

This Incident happend 2 years ago, but unfortunately still refugees are misstreated this way trying to enter Europe.Through Wikileaks in Greece there is now the certainty that even the lokal Waterpolice chief of Lesvos was involved in the misstreatment of the refugees.

 “Now you will die!”: Coast Guard attempt to drown asylum-seekers in Lesbos Greece

Source: http://libcom.org/news/now-you-will-die-coast-guard-attempt-drown-asylum-seekers-lesbos-03082009
Coast guard of Lesbos tied 12 Somali immigrants in an inflatable boat and then pierced its sides with knives in order to drown the helpless asylum seekers who were saved by passing cruise boat
The Coast Guard of Lesbos Island has been accused of attempting to mass murder 12 Somali asylum seekers, amongst which one woman. According to the case, on the 5th of July an Austrian European border Frontex Helicopter spotted an inflatable boat containing the 12 immigrants off Korakas Cape in Lesbos.
Upon the arrival of the Greek Coast Guard, the helicopter left, leaving the Greek cops to arrest the 12. The Coast Guard took the 12 out of their boat, tied their hands to their necks, beat them, and put them back in the inflatable boat before piercing its sides with knives. Then they let the boat go to the open sea telling the asylum seekers in English: “Now you will die!”.
Immediately the boat started getting water in, and sinking. The asylum seekers were saved from certain drowning when a British cruise boat passed by, saw them and saved them. The asylum seekers were then taken to Pagani detention camp on Lesbos from where they contacted the UN through a sympathetic lawyer. The Coast Guard adding insult to harm has called the UN law suit against them an act of provocation.
 26.08.09 Greece

Summary of 04 May 2011

Judge Steinmetz seems to be aiming for a world record in declining objections from the defence. One of the accused is having a breakdown but the court-appointed doctor declares him fit for the hearing. Witness de Wind (Dutch navy officer) appears for the 5th time and finds out that he is now being charged: the defence have pressed charges of negligence leading to death against de Wind for his statement in court, in which he identified one of the accused has having made statements on board the Tromp. The brother of the accused was murdered in Somalia a few days later. The statements were classified as secret by the Dutch navy. The defence argues that De Wind should have known that him identifying the accused publicly in court would endanger his family, therefore his behaviour was grossly negligent.

Report from 20 April 2011

German Professor Volker Matthies appeared as an expert witness to explain the situation in Somalia. The fact that he hadn't been to Somalia in the last 20 years didn't stop him from explaining his theories about:

• Piracy and the decline of the State
• Piracy and the economic situation in Somalia
• Piracy in relation to the international organisations and companies.

He declares that his information comes from NGOs and media reports. The judge explains that it had been very hard to find experts on the subject.
Everything Matthies said has been said many times and better in public talks on the subject. We therefore won't repeat it here.

Spring in the Park

"Friends of Subsistence Piracy" and "No-One is Illegal" invite you to a spring rally in the park (Planten un Blomen, entrance Jungiusstr.) outside the Hamburg Remand Prison on

Saturday, 22. May 2011, 3 pm - 6 pm

We want to help break the solitude of the Somali prisoners who are currently remanded there and show them that some people in Hamburg are not indifferent to their situation. Bring petanque, badminton and frisbees.