Fabrication or Piracy and Terrorism, The Mafia Government Faces Two Bitter Choices
By, The Diplomatic Editor
If we are to take at face value the Abu Dhabi government’s account, delivered by its Attorney General, regarding the arms-laden aircraft allegedly stopped at an UAE airport en route to Sudan, then General Yasser Al Atta, Member of the Sovereign Council and Assistant Commander in Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, deserves commendation for having early on declared that the Abu Dhabi government is nothing more than a mafia disguised as a state.
Numerous observers have highlighted the glaring inconsistencies and implausibilities in the UAE’s version of events. Chief among them is the physical impossibility of a small aircraft carrying the alleged load of weapons and ammunition, a cargo that would require several medium or even large aircraft. Moreover, the notion that such elaborate planning and millions of dollars would be invested merely to procure Kalashnikov and ammunition, an item that Sudan has been locally manufacturing for over six decades, is simply irrational. If money is available, arms companies can deliver weapons directly to any desired destination.
The narrative further collapses when it claims that the masterminds behind the shipment, allegedly security experts, chose the UAE, of all places, as the transit point for the aircraft and financial arrangements, despite the well-known and hostile nature of Sudan, UAE relations.
The timing of the incident also raises serious suspicions. It coincides with increasing international scrutiny and expose’s of the UAE’s arms shipments to the Janjaweed militia, latest of which were France 24’s five-part investigative documentary, Reuters’ recent report, and the imminent decision by the International Court of Justice on Sudan’s case against the UAE.
Even if we momentarily set aside these fundamental flaws and accept the UAE Attorney General’s statement purely for the sake of argument, it effectively constitutes documented legal admission by the Emirati government of committing an act of aerial piracy.
Given the UAE’s notorious reputation as the global hub for money laundering, illicit gold and mineral smuggling, prostitution, human trafficking, and modern forms of slavery, such as camel jockey child labor, and now, according to its own statement, as an arms trafficking center, it is not unreasonable to describe it, in Al Atta’s own words, as a mafia government.
The Emirati account states that the aircraft, whose ownership and origin remain undisclosed, stopped at an Emirati airport for refueling. According to international aviation laws, no aircraft may cross a country’s airspace or land within it without prior authorization, which is granted only after detailed information is submitted including aircraft type, registration number-equivalent to a vehicle license plate- pilot’s name, call sign, entry and exit points, destination airport, and scheduled timeframe.
Based on this information, the state can grant, often for a hefty fee, or deny permission, . Should permission be denied and the aircraft enter the airspace regardless, it may be intercepted. However, once authorization is granted, the aircraft is under the protection of the state until it exits its airspace. Any interference would thus amount to aerial piracy, unless the crew initiates a hostile act, which in this case is inconceivable.
Thus a host of urgent questions must be posed:
• When exactly did the aircraft land in the UAE?,
• How long was the refueling expected to take?
• Did UAE authorities prevent its departure, after refuling, and seize the cargo,
• What legal basis justifies such an act, which mirrors piracy on the high seas, where ships are hijacked and looted?
• Is supplying arms to Sudan a violation of international law, especially given that there is no UN arms embargo on the country?
• Did the UAE notify the aircraft’s owners, country of registration, or relevant international aviation bodies of the drastic actions it took, actions that pose a grave threat to aviation safety and amount to a full-fledged act of terrorism?
The Emirati Attorney General’s statement leaves the UAE government facing two equally damning options, either to admit that the story is entirely fabricated and baseless, or accept that the statement stands as a confession that it operates as a mafia regime, engaging in piracy and terrorism, an admission that carries the full weight of legal evidence.
