Post by LSDeep on Jun 16, 2006 11:48:14 GMT -5
by John F, Greenpeace delegation head, at the IWC meeting in St. Kitts
In 1977 I went to my first IWC meeting in the cold of a Tokyo December. Now, almost 30 years later, I'm waiting in a hot, sweaty St. Kitts for what may be my last. And the last for Greenpeace as well.
In between, I've seen the moratorium voted in, and partied all night after the creation of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. I watched conservation roll like a slow ocean wave through the IWC, moving it away from whale killing and toward conservation and now, unbelievably, I'm seeing that wave roll back.
This year, over 2000 whales, including endangered species, are scheduled to die in commercial hunts - either openly, in Norway, or under the guise of science in Iceland and Japan's 'research' hunts. But this is only the beginning; the Fisheries Agency of Japan wants full-scale commercial whaling and is determined to get it.
So far, at the preliminary meetings, there are few signs of the surge of developing countries that Japan has recruited to buy itself a majority. But it's not their contribution to the preparatory work that Japan wants, it's their votes and those aren't needed until Friday when the main decision making meeting starts.
The first morning is likely to be frenetic, and the IWC's course away from conservation and toward whaling set within the first couple of hours.
First, Japan will propose to eliminate any consideration of protective measures for small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) from the agenda. Then comes 'interference with whale research', an item under which we expect Japan to call for Greenpeace to be ejected from the meeting because of our success in hindering their 'scientific' whaling in the Antarctic earlier this year. It was the Japanese whalers who deliberately collided with our ships and attacked our crews in open boats with metal poles, but they are claiming that WE were violent and aggressive. True there was violence, as grenade tipped harpoons ripped into one whale after another, violence we did our best to stop.
And then comes Japan's proposal for secret ballots which would eliminate all voting records and make it impossible to hold any nation accountable for its vote at the IWC. It makes me wonder if the whalers actually believe their own arguments. If countries like Benin, Cote d'Ivore, Nauru and Tuvalu have really joined the IWC of their own free will, because a resumption of commercial whaling is an important national priority (that's what they say), then why do they feel the need to keep their vote a secret?
How it will come out depends on how many nations show up to vote. Last year Japan had a majority on paper but failed to have it on the floor because some of their new recruits didn't show up. An angry Japanese delegate addressed the meeting promising that they would all show up next year, saying, "The turning point, the reversal of history, is at hand." And a newspaper story from a Tokyo correspondent published today reported that Japan was extending 'logistic aid' to its supporters to ensure they arrive. On the other hand, Greenpeace campaigners are working with local NGOs in at least one of these countries to make the selling of their vote a public issue.
How well the opposing forces do will determine if this is the last time Greenpeace attends the IWC. But it won't stop our whale campaign. If you are as amazed and angry as I am at what is happening here then tell someone. Tell your friends that whaling is coming back. Tell your president or prime minister that your country needs to do something to stop the takeover of the IWC by the whalers. I remember when the whalers controlled the IWC and it was simply a machine for turning out quotas - we can't let it go back to that.
In 1977 I went to my first IWC meeting in the cold of a Tokyo December. Now, almost 30 years later, I'm waiting in a hot, sweaty St. Kitts for what may be my last. And the last for Greenpeace as well.
In between, I've seen the moratorium voted in, and partied all night after the creation of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. I watched conservation roll like a slow ocean wave through the IWC, moving it away from whale killing and toward conservation and now, unbelievably, I'm seeing that wave roll back.
This year, over 2000 whales, including endangered species, are scheduled to die in commercial hunts - either openly, in Norway, or under the guise of science in Iceland and Japan's 'research' hunts. But this is only the beginning; the Fisheries Agency of Japan wants full-scale commercial whaling and is determined to get it.
So far, at the preliminary meetings, there are few signs of the surge of developing countries that Japan has recruited to buy itself a majority. But it's not their contribution to the preparatory work that Japan wants, it's their votes and those aren't needed until Friday when the main decision making meeting starts.
The first morning is likely to be frenetic, and the IWC's course away from conservation and toward whaling set within the first couple of hours.
First, Japan will propose to eliminate any consideration of protective measures for small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) from the agenda. Then comes 'interference with whale research', an item under which we expect Japan to call for Greenpeace to be ejected from the meeting because of our success in hindering their 'scientific' whaling in the Antarctic earlier this year. It was the Japanese whalers who deliberately collided with our ships and attacked our crews in open boats with metal poles, but they are claiming that WE were violent and aggressive. True there was violence, as grenade tipped harpoons ripped into one whale after another, violence we did our best to stop.
And then comes Japan's proposal for secret ballots which would eliminate all voting records and make it impossible to hold any nation accountable for its vote at the IWC. It makes me wonder if the whalers actually believe their own arguments. If countries like Benin, Cote d'Ivore, Nauru and Tuvalu have really joined the IWC of their own free will, because a resumption of commercial whaling is an important national priority (that's what they say), then why do they feel the need to keep their vote a secret?
How it will come out depends on how many nations show up to vote. Last year Japan had a majority on paper but failed to have it on the floor because some of their new recruits didn't show up. An angry Japanese delegate addressed the meeting promising that they would all show up next year, saying, "The turning point, the reversal of history, is at hand." And a newspaper story from a Tokyo correspondent published today reported that Japan was extending 'logistic aid' to its supporters to ensure they arrive. On the other hand, Greenpeace campaigners are working with local NGOs in at least one of these countries to make the selling of their vote a public issue.
How well the opposing forces do will determine if this is the last time Greenpeace attends the IWC. But it won't stop our whale campaign. If you are as amazed and angry as I am at what is happening here then tell someone. Tell your friends that whaling is coming back. Tell your president or prime minister that your country needs to do something to stop the takeover of the IWC by the whalers. I remember when the whalers controlled the IWC and it was simply a machine for turning out quotas - we can't let it go back to that.