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23 January 2002
Vote buying is as lethal for
whales as a live harpoon
 Melbourne,
Australia: Greenpeace activists with video screens (some nine metres
wide) strapped to their bodies are appearing around the world today
to issue an “Urgent Whale Warning”.
A new film compilation of Antarctic whaling - shot recently from
the Greenpeace ship MV Arctic Sunrise – will spell out the
imminent threat of a return to full-scale commercial whaling if
Japanese Government “vote buying” is allowed to continue.
“This is a warning to the world,” said Greenpeace Oceans
Campaigner, Sarah Duthie, speaking from the Arctic Sunrise now in
Melbourne after seven weeks protesting Antarctic whaling. “We
have witnessed first hand the whalers work in Antarctica but Japanese
Government vote buying is as lethal to whales as a live harpoon.”
 Although
a Japanese official has admitted using fisheries aid to buy support
for whaling, thus corrupting the International Whaling Commission
(IWC), only New Zealand has publicly condemned the Japanese Government
for these underhand tactics.
Ten nations have already received over $US210 million in aid to
join the IWC and vote with Japan. If vote buying is allowed to continue
the Japanese Government could achieve a majority at the next IWC
in May and immediately start to overturn the ban on whaling.
In today’s global protests Greenpeace calls on Governments
to join New Zealand and publicly denounce the Japanese Government
for vote buying. In major public places and outside Japanese embassies
public signatures will be collected, and fax and email facilities
set up so that the public can urge their Foreign Ministers to act.
The public will also be invited to join the Greenpeace
Global Whales Action Team.
 The
day starts in New
Zealand where a floating video screen will tour the downtown
Auckland waterfront. It will finish on the other side of the world
with human video screens delivering their message to Government
officials. In Austria
a nine metre long minke whale will draw attention to the video screens,
and in Chile
screens will be set up in two ports. Instead of videos a giant pink
whale will spread the message in Melbourne, Australia,
while in Fiji a banner will be hung from the Greenpeace office in
Suva.
“If vote buying isn’t stopped the Japanese Government
could wipe out the result of 30 years work to protect the whales,”
said Yuko Hirono, Greenpeace Oceans campaigner. “Commercial
whaling has never been sustainable and can never be sustainable.
Governments must denounce vote buying and show that they are not
prepared to sell-out the whales.”
More information:
See the video compilation
of whaling in the Southern ocean.
Read the diaries from Greenpeace's
Southern ocean expedition.
Media
contacts and press release.
Join
the Global Day of action team (G-WAT) to recieve regular e-mail
campaign updates and to take part in the action alerts.
For an account of the MV Arctic Sunrise campaign and Global Day
of Action information click
here.
Editors Notes:
1. Activities will take place in: Australia, Austria,
Chile, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, US.
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whales | whaling | environmental impacts | solutions | greenpeace & the whales
In
recent years Japan has actively and openly corrupted the IWC
by using Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to buy the votes of
some existing members and to recruit new members in support
of a resumption of commercial whaling. Although some countries
have challenged Japan and Norway's attempts to resume commercial
whaling, the reality is that Japan is buying a return to commercial
whaling.
