EU Official: Story of "Hijacked" Ship a Cover-Up for Missile Delivery
Russian officials arrested eight people in August believed to have
hijacked the cargo ship Arctic Sea, which went missing for two weeks in
European waters before the Russian navy recovered it. The government
says that the hijackers threatened to blow up the Maltese-registered
ship, which was crewed by eight Russians and carrying $1.3 billion worth
of timber, if their demands were not met.
But the EU rapporteur on piracy, Tarmo Kouts, has told Time that
Russia's odd behavior during the ordeal suggests that the disappearance
was meant to cover up sales of weapons to the Middle East.
"There is the idea that there were missiles aboard, and one can't
explain this situation in any other way," he told the magazine. "As a
sailor with years of experience, I can tell you that the official
versions are not realistic."
As a former commander of the Estonian military, however, his motives
regarding rival Russia aren't necessarily pure. Still, other skeptics
have expressed similar doubts about the official story as the Russian
government has released very few facts.
"To put it plainly: The Arctic Sea was carrying some sort of
anti-aircraft or nuclear contraption intended for a nice, peaceful
country like Syria, and they were caught with it," journalist Yulia
Latynina wrote last month in the Moscow Times
(
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1016/42/380923.htm).
Read original story in Time | Tuesday, 1 Sep 2009:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1919342,00.htmlRgds,Ken