17/1/2008
Sea Shepherd Shuts Down Antarctic Whale Hunt
The Japanese hunt for endangered whales in the Southern Oceans Whale Sanctuary has been shut down.
“All whaling activities have come to a halt,” said Captain Paul Watson from onboard the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship Steve Irwin. No whales have been killed since January 11th. The Japanese whaling fleet has been denied a solid week of whaling activity. Our task now is to make that two weeks and then three weeks.”
As long as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace keep the Japanese whaling fleet on the run, there will be no whaling activity.
“I wish that Greenpeace would be more cooperative,” said Captain Paul Watson. “However we will continue to feed them the coordinates for the rest of the fleet as they tail the factory ship Nisshin Maru. If we cannot work with Greenpeace directly we will work with them indirectly. The strength of any movement is in diversity.”
January 17th found the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin chasing the whaling supply vessel Oriental Bluebird and three other whaling ships eastward along the line of Latitude of Sixty Degrees South near the Eighty Six Degree East line of longitude. This is approximately 2000 miles from Fremantle, Australia.
The Japanese whalers continue to hold Australian citizen Benjamin Potts 28 and Giles Lane 35 of Great Britain. The Japanese government has ordered their release but the whalers are defying that order and refusing to release their hostages until Sea Shepherd agrees to their demands. One of the demands is for Sea Shepherd to discontinue opposing whaling activities. Captain Watson responded by refusing to acknowledge their demands and demanding instead that the hostages be released without conditions.
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin will continue to pursue illegal Japanese whaling activities for as long as possible.
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Australia to intercede in Safe Return of Sea Shepherd activists
After two days being held hostage on the Yushin Maru No 2, two Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activists may be returned within the next day to the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin by the authorisation of the Australian Government to use the Customs and Fisheries patrol vessel Oceanic Viking as an intermediary.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said “What is required now to transfer those two men is the agreement of the Japanese Government, which we have, the agreement of the Australian Government, which we have,” Mr Smith said. “We now need the full and complete cooperation of the two vessels, the two captains and the two men concerned.”
Sea Shepherd were refusing to meet the conditions stipulated by the Captain of the Yashin Maru No 2 to stop interfering with the whaling fleet operations for the transfer of the two crew members, with Captain Paul Watson saying on the ABC 7.30 report “I don’t acquiesce to terrorist demands and that’s what that is. Holding hostages and making demands is a terrorist tactic.”
Asked to justify two members of his crew boarding another vessel without authorisation, which the Japanese have accused as an act or terrorism or piracy, Paul Watson replied “You can run around the ocean jumping on poacher’s vessels. They’re targeting endangered species and whale sanctuaries, in violation of a global moratorium. The United Nations’ world charter of nature on section of implementation under Section 21 E allows for non-government organisations to uphold international conservation law. So, we are authorised to do that. These are poachers, I’m trying to get that through to people. They are poachers.”
Section 21 E of the World Charter for Nature, passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982, states that “States and, to the extent they are able, other public authorities, international organizations, individuals, groups and corporations shall ….(e) safeguard and conserve nature in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”
Section 24 of the charter says that “Each person has a duty to act in accordance with the provisions of the present Charter; acting individually, in association with others or through participation in the political process, each person shall strive to ensure that the objectives and requirements of the present Charter are met.”
According to the Australian Foreign minister, Stephen Smith on the ABC 7.30 Report, “the only conditions that will be imposed here are conditions that will be imposed by the Australian authorities and the ‘Oceanic Viking’, and those conditions will go to the safety and security of this operation.
It was reported by AAP that the transfer may take place in the next 24 hours. According to Kim McCoy, the executive director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, on board the Steve Irwin “We have just spoken very recently with an agent on board the Oceanic Viking customs vessel,” she said. “We have received official contact from them stating that they’re just waiting for the Japanese to confirm that they’re willing to accept those terms.”
“My understanding is that the Australian government is not going to impose any conditions on us to stop harassing the whaling, because the whaling is illegal. The only condition that the Australian government wants to impose is the safe transfer, and of course we’re going to have to facilitate a safe transfer, we don’t want to jeopardise anyone’s safety during the transfer of Giles and Pottsy (Benjamin Potts) to our ship.
“Beyond that they’ve told us that there will be no additional conditions. In other words, we are going to continue intervening against the illegal whaling activity of the Japanese.” she said.
Captain Paul Watson told Ali Moore from the ABC 7.30 Report “We’re not protesting their whaling operations, we’re not protesting them. What we are doing is interfering with illegal activities. This is an interventionist operation not a protest organisation.”
Sources:
* ABC 7.30 Report – Jan 17, 2008 – Govt considers sending ‘Oceanic Viking’ to the rescue
* ABC 7.30 Report – Jan 17, 2008 – Sea Shepherd captain reports from the high seas
* ABC News – Jan 17, 2008 – Sea Shepherd will only accept ‘unconditional’ Govt help
* news.com.au, Jan 17, 2008 – Anti-whalers contacted over detainees
* United Nations General Assemby 1982 World Charter for Nature
Repost from report on Sydney Indymedia, that contains all source links.
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/australia-intercedes-safe-return-sea-shepherd-activists
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Sea Shepherd Solidarity Protest at Japanese Embassy, Berlin
16.1.2008
People went to put pressure on officials at the Japanese Embassy at Hiroshimastrasse in Berlin today. They hung banners on the fences of the Embassy demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the two Sea Shepherd crew members taken hostage on 15 January by the Japanese
Whaling Fleet.
For updates, see www.seashepherd.org
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Sea Shepherd Hostage London Solidarity Demo
16/1/08
Fifty picket the Japanese embassy in London in solidarity with the Sea Shepherd hostages (see previous posts). The embassy staff were not happy. Banners read ‘Free the Hostages’, ‘Stop the the Whale Slaughter’ and ‘Defend the Wild’. The picket got a lot of media coverage with multiple TV crews including one from Japan.
Updates posted here and at www.seashepherd.org
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Sea Shepherd demo, Barcelona
17.1.2008
Demonstrators today held a protest outside the Japanese Consul in Barcelona, also delivering a letter to the General Consul demanding the immediate release of two Sea Shepherd crew members currently held hostage by Japanese whalers.
A group of Sea Shepherd supporters demonstrated outside the Japanese Consulate in Barcelona today, to call for the immediate release of Giles Lane and Benjamin Potts, currently held hostage aboard a Japanese whaling ship.
Inside, two people delivered a letter to the Consul condemning the hostage taking and demanding Japanese intervention. Outside, 150 leaflets were handed out to workers and passersby.
The Mossos turned up but everything was quiet. Solidarity to Sea Shepherd!
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NYC Protest for Sea Shepherd Hostages
17.01.2008
Activists braved the cold of New York City today to protest yesterday’s kidnapping of Giles Lane and Benjamin Potts by an illegal Japanese whaling ship. They were released earlier today to the Ocean Viking (Australia’s ship).
VIDEOS
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk1AKVRbR8I
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb7IM9VNY48
Activists braved the cold of New York City today to protest yesterday’s kidnapping of Giles Lane and Benjamin Potts by an illegal Japanese whaling ship.
The duo are currently being held hostage on the ship, and demonstrations and protests at Japanese embassies and consulates across the globe are being held in solidarity with the Sea Shepherd crew.
Japan, we demand you stop the bloody slaughter of innocent whales and dolphins and return the kidnapped activists IMMEDIATELY without harm!
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17/01/08
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO2I38jBo-E
Activists from NYC banded together with activists from Washington D.C. to protest the kidnapping and hostage taking of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society members Giles Lane (UK) and Benjamin Potts (Australia).
Animal lovers and environmentalists gathered outside the Japanese embassy and demanded the release of Potts and Lane, who are regarded as heroes, and also demanded an end to the slaughter of beautiful whales and dolphins that go to feed Japanese bellies.
At the end of yesterday’s protest activists received the call: The Sea Shepherd heroes had just been released.