Viking and Samurai Whale Killers Defy International Law
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
by Capt. Paul Watson
Without warning the Icelandic government
authorized Icelandic whalers to begin their killing on May 20th in direct
defiance of the global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Iceland has rejoined the trinity of whale
killing nations along with Japan and Norway. The three rogue whale killing
nations have thumbed their noses at the international community to continue
a criminal barbaric practice that has been outlawed under international law.
Last year Sea Shepherd's Operation
Ragnarok contributed to the decision by Iceland to halt it's whaling
operations in 2007.
Yesterday, Asda Einarsdottir, a
spokesperson for Iceland's Ministry of Fisheries reported that 40 Piked
whales (Minkes) will be killed. The good news is that they will not be
targeting Fin whales.
"....Minke sashimi is a quite popular
starter in Reykjavik restaurants,'' Einarsdottir said.
Monkey brains are also popular in some
Chinese restaurants but that does not make it legal or acceptable.
Iceland's contempt for world opinion is
underscored by the fact that last year they announced the end to whaling
operations, stating that there were no markets for whale meat. This allowed
the public to be taken in by a blatant lie.
"That announcement was nothing more than a
calculated lie in an attempt to repair damage to Iceland's reputation." Said
Captain Paul Watson. "The Icelandic whaling industry is a criminal operation
supported by government lies and corruption. The civilized world needs to
boycott all things Icelandic including tourism, Icelandic sweaters and
Icelandic vodka. It's appropriate that Icelandic vodka is labeled "black
death." This is a nation that inflicts suffering and death illegally on
defenseless sentient beings."
In 2007, The Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society undertook "Operation Ragnarok" which included sending our ship
Farley Mowat to Iceland to disrupt Icelandic whaling activities.
The voyage was cut short when the ship
which had departed from Australia stopped in Bermuda. Iceland had announced
the they would end whaling operations which ended the necessity for the
Farley Mowat to continue on to Iceland.
Unfortunately the Farley Mowat is under
seizure in Eastern Canada and not in a position for us to take it to Iceland
immediately. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is looking at a strategic
response to Iceland's illegal actions which at this point cannot include
direct intervention for practical reasons.
However it appears that the whale war
between Iceland and Sea Shepherd has been resurrected and therefore
Operation Ragnarok will be resurrected at the first practical opportunity.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is
preparing the Steve Irwin to return to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary in
December 2008 to once again disrupt the illegal Japanese whaling operation.
Captain Paul Watson and a Sea Shepherd
delegation will be attending the meeting of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) in June 2008 in Santiago, Chile.
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Anthony Marr's commentary:
Anthony Marr
In spite of the existence of Interpol,
etc., Sea Shepherd is the only organization I know, NGO or GO, that executes
any international law enforcement on the high seas. This is to say three
heroic Sea Shepherd ships fighting three thousand vallainous ships openly
flaunting international laws regarding fisheries, driftnets, longlines, and
of course whaling. There might be some international high seas policing
regarding piracy and oil dumping, etc., I'm not sure (Capt. Watson, do you
know?), but certainly none for whaling, regarding the Norwegians who
blatantly say, "So commercial whaling according to the IWC is illegal. Well,
we're going to whale anyway. What are you gonna do about it?" that's for
sure. Where Japanese whaling is concerned, the IWC "scientific research"
whaling loophole should be closed without delay.
This said, let's face it, Captain Watson
and people like myself belong to the generation that is about to pass its
baton on to the next. All power to the long term continuance of Sea
shepherd, but the villainous-ships-versus-heroic-ships ratio will only
increase.
IN view of the long term, I launched a
global petition about a month ago for a U.N. created and administered $120
billion/year Global Green Fund by a corresponding 10% reduction of the $1200
billion/year global military budget. This petition states that countries
could contribute to the Global Green Fund in $ form or in using their
military forces for executing environmental projects, including using the
navies for international high seas law enforcement and anti-poaching (which
Norwegian whaling clearly is, and Japanese whaling really is, as well as
illegal forms of fishing) operations.
Please take a moment and go to
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/to-un-secretary-general-for-creating-the-120-byr-global-green-fund-for-combatting-global-warming-and
sign the peitition, make a powerful
comment, and pass it on!
Meanwhile, Sea Shepherd is all we've got,
and deserves all our support.
Anthony Posted by Anthony Marr on Tuesday,
May 20, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Anthony Marr, founder and president
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
Compassion for Animals Road Expeditions (CARE)
Global Emergency Operation (GEO)
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.ARConference.org
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