By Stephen Von Sychowski

     Pirate costumes were popular again this Halloween. But few Canadians know that only a few days before trick-or-treaters hit the streets, the HMCS Fredericton departed Halifax on an "Anti-Piracy and Anti-Terrorism" mission in the Arabian Sea.

     According to Canadian military websites, the HMCS Fredericton is a "multi-role patrol frigate," which carries an aircraft and 225 sailors. It is referred to as "Stalker of the Seas." It will be continuing Canada's role in Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1), which was formed in January 2005. As of late, SNMG 1 has primarily been deployed to fight pirates off the coast of Somalia.

     Earlier this year, People's Voice reported on how the explosion of piracy off the coast of Somalia was a direct bi-product of imperialist activities in the area. Fishing villages once thrived on abundant fish stocks off the coast of Somalia. But today a desperate situation has been brought on by illegal over-fishing by foreign corporations which depleted the area's resources. The situation was severely worsened by the dumping of toxic waste by European corporations, which has destroyed habitat and had serious health implications for those living in affected communities.

     These factors combined to effectively ruin the livelihood for many Somali families. This, taken with years of grinding poverty, lawlessness, war, and uncertainty, caused by imperialist exploitation and meddling have led many Somalis to turn to desperate measures to survive. For some of these impoverished former fishermen, these measures include what has been coined by the western media as "piracy," i.e. hijacking and/or kidnapping of ships and those on board for ransom.

     While nobody wants to see working people put into dangerous and potentially harmful situations as a result of these kinds of actions, one must view the situation in context. This is not the good guy vs. bad guy situation portrayed by the corporate media. Somali working people have been driven to acts that put both themselves and the working people onboard the ships they attack at risk. They aren't doing this for the fun of it, because they want to be like Johnny Depp, or because they are just plain nasty folks. They are doing it so their families can eat. Meanwhile, the executives of the corporations and officials of the governments which have effectively manufactured the conditions which have caused this state of affairs rest easy, condemning piracy from their cozy mansions, where the chances of being hijacked are slim.

     Working class, progressive Canadians should be outraged by the dispatch of the HMCS Fredericton to join NATO's "anti-pirate" mission. Military solutions which punish the poor of Somalia will do nothing to solve or alleviate the conditions from which this situation arose. Once again, the interests of the Canadian people, and of peace and justice, are proven not to be served by our ongoing participation in NATO.

     If Canada is to play a role in the region it would be better served through humanitarian aid, and through applying pressure internationally for those responsible for robbing the Somali people of their livelihood to be brought to justice and for reparations to be paid. Such policies could be part of an independent Canadian foreign policy of peace and disarmament, which the Communist Party has long advocated, and which comes in direct opposition to the policies of the Harper Tory government and the imperialist ruling class it represents.