African Union chairperson and Malawian president Bingu Mutharika has blamed the continuing piracy in Somalia on the United States and European countries, saying they can end the al Shabaab sea terrorist acts in two weeks if they so wish.
Mutharika said this on Wednesday afternoon in Lilongwe upon arrival from the 15th AU summit in Uganda.
The AU chairperson told the press that if countries like Japan, Britain, and the United States, among others, can commit themselves to ending the problem, the hijacking of ships by Somali pirates can be history.
"Piracy in Somalia is continuing because the international community is refusing to act. I don't see how al Shabaab can defeat the whole world. What kind of weapons do they have? If countries like Japan, Britain and the United States of America can commit themselves these terrorist acts can end in a month or even in two weeks," said the AU chairperson.
"When a ship gets hijacked and ransom is demanded, they tell the world they are not paying ransom, but they pay and this encourages the terrorists,"
said Mutharika.
He further said the African Union is sending troops but he could not commit himself as to how many soldiers would Malawi send considering that he is the AU chairperson.
"Malawi as a country has its own priorities. If we get funds from the donor communities we will send our own contingent but I can not do it at the
expense of our own developments here because we, as a country, have to move on," said Mutharika.