Frå websida til Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/
For Immediate Release: 25 January 2000
Greenpeace warns that commercial whaling could return in new millenium
MV ARCTIC SUNRISE, FREMANTLE, AUSTRALIA --
As the Greenpeace vessel, the MV Arctic Sunrise, arrived in Australia
today, after more than a month on the high seas taking non-violent
direct action to disrupt Japan's illegal whaling programme, Greenpeace
warned that the path towards resumed commercial whaling could be
cleared this year.
The MV Arctic Sunrise arrived in Fremantle at 10am local time. The
Greenpeace activists on board have taken non-violent direct action
eleven times over the past month to disrupt the Japanese fleet that is
whaling illegally in the protected Southern Ocean Sanctuary in the
Antarctic.
New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, the UK, the US and Australia have
recently urged Japan to cancel its illegal Antarctic whaling programme.
Japan's attempts to continue whaling despite international opposition
must be stopped. It's now down to all governments of the world not to
simply pay lip service to international law but to ensure it is
applied," said John Bowler of Greenpeace, on board the Arctic Sunrise.
Japan continues to ignore global environmental concern and repeated
requests from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to stop
whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. It is also in violation of
articles 65 and 120 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Seas, (UNCLOS - adopted in 1982) which requires all states to
co-operate with the IWC in the matter of whale protection.
Japan's illegal whaling programme is part of an ambitious strategy to
resume large-scale commercial whaling on the high seas. The Government
of Japan, with the support of Norway, is actively lobbying countries
that are members of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), to lift the current ban on all
international trade in whale products.
"The threat that Japan will pave the path towards commercial whaling
this year is very real. The current ban on international trade in whale
products is in jeopardy and Japan is doing its best to make sure that
the protected status of some whale populations is removed," added
Bowler.
If Japan and Norway are successful, the resumption of international
trade in whale products will be a powerful incentive to both countries
to substantially increase their whaling. The decision on whether or
not to remove the trade ban will be taken at the next CITES meeting in
Nairobi, April 2000.
Contacts:
Rupert Posner on +61 (0) 419 179 529 or
MV Arctic Sunrise: John Bowler, 00 11 873 130 25 77
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