JAPANESE POLICE VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL LAW TO SILENCE GREENPEACE

11 May 2000

TOKYO/AMSTERDAM -- Greenpeace today condemned the heavy-handed actions of the Japanese authorities against its activists, the flagship Rainbow Warrior and the Greenpeace Japan office as an unreasonable attempt to silence peaceful public protest.

This morning at 08h10 local time, over 30 police officers raided the "Rainbow Warrior" in the port of Tokyo. The raid lasted over nine hours and resulted in the confiscation of the ship’s property, including the ship’s logbook. The Japanese Government also violated international law by refusing the Dutch Consul access to the crew of the Greenpeace flagship “Rainbow Warrior” during police investigations. (1)

The Greenpeace lawyer in Japan arrived on the raid scene, but was denied access to the wharf by the Japanese police. The ship’s Captain, Joel Stewart, called for assistance from the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo, as the "Rainbow Warrior" is a Dutch-flagged ship, but the embassy official‘s attempts to visit the ship were also stifled by police.

"The authorities are trying to stifle our right to send the message out to the world that Japan is one of the world’s top polluters. Now they have escalated their activities against us to include violating our human rights," said Greenpeace Japan Toxic Campaigner Ayako Sekine. Mamie Mutchler, Legal Advisor for Greenpeace International added: "The Dutch Consul is entitled to ensure that the civil and political rights of the citizens of the Netherlands are upheld under international law. Greenpeace condemns this violation of international law as well as the refusal of the Japanese authorities to permit Greenpeace access to legal counsel." The Japanese Police also raided the Greenpeace Japan office at 09h30 and cut off its communication to the outside world for three and a half hours. They seized public leaflets that contain information on the problems of toxic emissions into the environment.

"The Japanese authorities are not afraid of our actions, but of our message. This is evident in the fact the police confiscated our public information pamphlets that provide facts about the environmental problems associated with incinerators that emit dioxins and other toxic substances which cause cancer and other serious health problems," Sekine said.

Greenpeace also called for the immediate release of the four Greenpeace activists who were arrested in Tokyo on Tuesday after a non-violent action highlighting the problems of dioxin emissions into the environment. Today it was announced that the activists will be detained without charge for at least a further ten days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Sanae Shida, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan, Tel: +81 90 2252 95 28;
- Ayako Sekine, Greenpeace Japan Toxics Campaigner, Tel: +81 90 2254 0114;
- Susan Yoshimura, Greenpeace Japan Media, Tel +81 90 8116 9816;
- For the "Rainbow Warrior", contact Peter Sandison, Tel: +81 9022543326;
- Mamie Mutchler, Greenpeace International Legal Advisor, Tel: +31 20 523 6289;
- Teresa Merilainen, Press Officer Greenpeace International, Tel: +31 625 031001.

Footage and pictures will be available from Greenpeace.
Greenpeace’s picture desk website:
www.greenpeace.org/library/picturedesk.html

Follow Greenpeace's Toxic Free Asia Tour on the web:
www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/toxfreeasia/index.html

(1) Failure to allow access of the embassy officials is a violation of Articles 5 and 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (see text below) as well as a violation of customary international law: see also the Chapman Claim (1930) 4 RIAA, 632, 638 and the Chevreau Claim (1931) 2 RIAA 1113, 1123.