German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/217, p.
27398.
Right honorable Herr President. Ladies and gentlemen.
Operation Atalanta was successful; it has achieved the goals
advanced for it. It deserved and further deserves our support. This, ladies and
gentlemen, I would like to be able to say of the operations in Mali, in Niger –
of Afghanistan, it is safer to be quite silent, where the goals have not only
not been approached but are far distant. Yet, for all that – we first of all
persist in the mission in the Horn of Africa – : Germany’s freedom was
certainly not defended in the Hindu Kush, but it was defended in the Horn of
Africa and this with good result.
The numbers for the first phase of this operation are frightening.
In the time period from 2008, as Atalanta began, until 2012, there were,
believe it or not, 571 armed attacks on ships. Many of these had been repulsed,
many of these had been deterred by the sudden appearance of warships, but much
too many were plainly successful, leading to the capture of the ships, taking
the crew hostage, which often extended over many months until by payment of
ransom the crew could be freed.
This then continually improved: In the time period of 2013
to 2017, there were only ten such attacks, in 2018 two, in 2019 one, and no
more in the past year; quiet now rules there. Yet this is no guarantee that
quiet will continue to rule. The deterrent effect of such an operation will
need to be maintained for a long time.
The Navy with larger units participated in these operations,
and with a considerable number of servicemen [Soldaten] who by replacement have ever again taken part and could
collect good experience which will in the future be of use to them. So far, the
positive balance. Yet no if without but: It has taken twelve years to arrive at
this point. On that account, there was also a lot of early criticism of the
much too hesitant appearing preliminaries. For fighting piracy, it simply
cannot be sufficient to assault only the ships which carry the pirates and make
possible their attacks, but not their bases and resources; the entire history
of piracy teaches this.
We are experiencing a form of asymmetric war: On one side,
brutal pirates fight against forces which on the other side must act strictly
according to the legal standards of their countries. And if one looks at what
has happened with the pirates who have been captured, who in part have passed
through judicial procedures in Germany: That is not impressive. Most of them
after a few years have again been set free and – it is terrifying, what State
Minister Annen has said in this regard – can now continue to be active as
smugglers, drug dealers and human traffickers [Schlepper], and what there otherwise is in this way of fine
vocations.
Alexander Ulrich (Linke): What would you have done then? Shoot to kill, or what?
In any case, that is no deterrent.
It must be asked: What comes next? Need we now participate
in the missions in connection with the piracy of West Africa, in the Straits of
Malacca, etc.? We need to attempt to learn from the problematic practical
experiences which we obtained from Atalanta and to avoid them in future operations.
I thank you.
[trans: tem]
