Japan Bribes the Caribbean at IWC

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Japan Bribes the Caribbean at the International

Whaling Commission

 

July 4 2005

 

Press Release - Council On Hemispheric Affairs

 

Harsh words and accusations of bribery were flying at

the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting

last week, June 20-24. Tensions flared over Japan’s

challenge to the moratorium on commercial whaling

adopted by the organization in 1986, a perennially

controversial issue. Over the past two decades, Japan

has been deservedly accused of skirting the ban by

killing whales for profit under the guise of

“scientific research” – studies that cost the lives of

about 650 minke whales last year alone. Equally

troubling, several IWC member nations as well as

organizations such as Greenpeace and COHA have

actively charged Japan with bribing the Commission’s

smaller and poorer Caribbean nations with economic aid

in exchange for their votes in favor of overturning

the hunting bag.

 

The allegations were confirmed in 2001 when Japan’s

former Fisheries Minister Maseyuku Komatsu told

reporters, “Japan does not have military powers,

unlike the U.S. or Australia… Japanese means are

simply diplomatic communication and overseas

development aid. So, in order to get appreciation of

Japan's position, of course, that is natural we must

resort to those two major tools.” Antiguan Prime

Minister Lester Bird, no great friend of the concept

of public rectitude in office, revealed further

evidence of foul play when he refused to deny trading

votes for Japanese aid, saying, “We are able to

support the Japanese and the quid pro quo is that they

will give us some assistance. I'm not going to be a

hypocrite.”

 

The Caribbean countries’ voting record confirms that

some in the region have placed itself on the selling

block. Although few of the eight Caribbean IWC members

(which include Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica,

Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent &

the Grenadines and Suriname) can legitimately claim to

have a direct stake in the whaling industry, they have

unswervingly supported Japan’s interests in the true

samurai tradition. >From 1992, when allegations of

impropriety first surfaced, to 2005, the region have

cast a combined 274 votes on numerous questions

related to Japanese whaling interests. On these

questions, the Caribbean countries have voted in line

with the Japanese position an astounding 258 times, or

on 94 percent of the votes. Issues have included

opposing the founding of whale sanctuaries in the

South Pacific in order to maintain open whaling

waters, as well as favoring the institution of secret

ballot voting to do away with transparency and

supporting the outright repeal of the commercial

hunting moratorium. In nearly every instance, the

Caribbean nations have found themselves in the losing

minority. Nevertheless, considering that Japan granted

$8.18 million in overseas development aid to the area

last year (earmarked for “the project for construction

of fisheries center”) to Antigua and Barbuda alone,

such strong loyalty is anything but surprising.

 

The region’s fidelity to the Japanese cause is both

discouraging and strategically unwise. The eight

Caribbean IWC members make up more than half of the

larger Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Their propensity

to shamelessly sell their votes undermines the

organization’s strength and credibility; since

everyone knows that Antigua and Barbuda and the others

are on the take, CARICOM cannot gain the respect of

the international community while its members are

routinely bought off by pitifully small bags of gold.

If the Caribbean bloc desires to play a legitimate

role in international affairs, its leaders must

reevaluate their strategy of cheapening their good

nameand pursue a more principled policy stance when it

comes to exercising CARICOM’s clout.