Australian Senate demands action for gaoled Greenpeace whale activists

Friday, June 27, 2008
Posted in Whales | Tagged Whales

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Australia - The Federal Senate today passed a motion in support of two Japanese Greenpeace activists who are still being held without charge in a Japanese prison. Japanese police arrested them for exposing the theft by whaling crew members of whale meat worth thousands of dollars from the Japanese whaling program.
The senate called on the Rudd Government to press Japan to take action on the alleged embezzlement of whale meat; and to either charge the Greenpeace activists with an offence or release them. The motion also expressed concern about the crackdown by the Japanese authorities on the Greenpeace office in Tokyo and noted that the public prosecution of the whale meat scandal had been dropped. The government opposed the motion put forward by the Greens, but it was passed with support from the coalition.

“Greenpeace welcomes this strong direction from the Australian Senate,” said Steve Shallhorn, Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO. “It is surprising that while the government is taking a strong stand at the IWC on whale conservation, they are not speaking out against the unjust treatment of innocent activists who have played a crucial role in exposing corruption in Japan’s whaling program. The Senate has sent a clear signal to the government to speak out on this issue.”

Minister Garrett has the perfect opportunity while he is at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Santiago, to put Australia’s concerns regarding illegal sales of whale meat to Japanese government officials.

Speaking at the third day’s meeting, Greenpeace urged that the modernisation process must focus on transforming the IWC into a body for the conservation of whales, and not for the whalers. Rob Nicoll, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner in Chile said “Japan should suspend its current whaling program JARPA as a show of good faith for the duration of the IWC modernisation process.”