14/04/2008 – Today 5 members and supporters ofthe Sea Shepherd crew, the ‘Steve Irwin’ occupied the offices of the Canadian consulates representative in Melbourne with over 40 activists demonstrating out the front…
Ships manager Benjamin Baldwin said, “We are standing in solidarity with our fellow crew who were mistreated and illegally detained in international waters.
‘We were here to present our concerns to the Honorary Consul, Lois Appleby. We are calling on the Canadian government to drop charges against our crew and apologise to the crew for this gross breach of international law.
‘We are relieved upon hearing this morning that charges were dropped against some of the crew, however call on the Canadian government to drop all charges against the Captain and First Officer prior to their next hearing on the 1st May – they have no jurisdiction.
‘We demand an end to the seal slaughter and call on Australians to make their views known to the Canadian consulate.
The activists were escorted from the building by police after being threatened with arrest as a result of their peaceful protest. There were manygestures of support from the general public out the front of the action with many people shocked that the hunt was still taking place.
For further information: Benjamin Baldwin on 0412 730 813 or 0422 990 040
A professional photographer was on hand and further pictures are available.