Guest guest Posted August 2, 2000 Report Share Posted August 2, 2000 ===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list ===== FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE ----------------- SECTION 2- JAPANESE BEGIN HUNT OF PROTECTED WHALES IN PACIFIC- U.S. Threatens economic sanctions, Japan responds with threat of WTO action against U.S. For more information, including an outstanding section on the Japanese whale hunt, visit www.stopwhalekill.org To or , or for more information, please e-mail wcca DEFIANT JAPAN TARGETS WHALES -- (The London Times, July 30, 2000) JAPAN defied international protests yesterday by sending ships on a mission to catch 160 whales, claiming it was for research purposes. Critics say the two-month expedition to catch sperm and Bryde's whales is a cover for commercial whaling, which was banned by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. A limited number of whale-hunting trips for research is allowed. Both Tony Blair and President Bill Clinton have urged the Japanese government to abandon the expedition - with the White House saying that sanctions are a possibility. Four Japanese whaling vessels have set sail for the northwest Pacific Ocean, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency, quoting officials from the fisheries agency. The report said scientists would examine the whales to collect data on their habitats and migration patterns - with the meat then being sold. At the recent G8 summit in Japan, both Clinton and Blair urged Japan's prime minister, Yoshiro Mori, to cancel the expedition. The World Wildlife Fund called for sanctions against Japan, saying the nation's research was merely a " guise " used to expand a banned commercial whale hunt. Sue Fisher, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: " Japan has made a defiant and aggressive move that, if unchecked, will lead to a further expansion of whaling. " The president of the International Fund For Animal Welfare, Fred O'Regan, said: " This decision is a slap in the face of Clinton, Blair and many others who have been working to persuade Japan to cancel its plans to kill more whales. " Japan killed more than 400 minke whales last year. Whale meat is a delicacy there, and oils from sperm whales are used in cosmetics and perfume *****. ALBRIGHT BLASTS WHALING POSITION ----------- (Asahi Evening News, July 31, 2000) U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Sunday threatened sanctions against Japan if its does not stop whaling. During a 90-minute meeting with Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, Albright referred to the departure Saturday of a whaling fleet to conduct research in the northern Pacific Ocean. She called on the government to summon the vessels back, saying whales are protected under U.S. law. Failure to do so would result in the United States issuing a statement of criticism about Japan's whaling practices, a Foreign Ministry official said. Albright stressed that Washington would have no recourse but to take sanctions against Japanese products unless Tokyo stops the research. ``We are deeply troubled by what is happening. Whether it's for commercial or research purposes, it should not be happening,'' Albright told reporters after the meeting. Kono promised Albright he would relay her concerns to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. ***** JAPAN RISKING FOREIGN RELATIONS FOR WHALE MEAT ------------------- (New Zealand Herald, July 31, 2000) The Prime Minister says Japan is damaging its international standing by forging ahead with its whale hunting programme. Japan has defied an International Whaling Committee resolution by announcing it will increase what it calls its " scientific-based " whale-hunt in the Pacific. The exercise is expected to see the slaughter of 100 whales in the north Pacific region. The whale species Japan is targeting are minkes, sperm and Bryde's whales. Helen Clark says is ridiculous that Japan tries to justify the killing by claiming it is for scientific purposes. She believes Japan risks getting offside with powerful players by going ahead with the whale hunt. Clark says the United States is already considering sanctions against Japan. ***** HOPE-GEO Initiates Global BOYCOTT JAPAN Campaign ------------------------ July 30, 2000 (Whale lovers please broadcast this release far and wide, and return an email to Anthony_Marr to let us know of your participation. Thank you.) Japan Expands Commercial Whaling HOPE-GEO Initiates Global BOYCOTT-JAPAN Campaign Minke whales, hundreds of which are being killed by Japan every year under the guise of " scientific whaling, " are also called " cockroaches of the sea " by the fisheries minister of Japan. " This is the worst case of adding-insult-to-injury I have ever seen, " says Anthony Marr, founder of the Vancouver-BC-Canada-based Heal Our Planet Earth Global Environmental Organization - HOPE-GEO. " Japan is the most powerful, most aggressive and most devious commercial-whaling nation in the world, " continues Marr. " Its latest push includes an unethical and illegal global vote-bribing maneuver targeting a broad range of small countries and aboriginal tribes. Japan has pushed the weak-willed International Whaling Commission to announce a likely termination of the global commercial whaling ban, a ban that has been defied by Japan and Norway every year since its enactment in 1986. And now, they are going after the sperm whale and the Bryde's whale as well. " " If left unchecked, Japan can almost single-handedly restart global commercial whaling as early as 2001, " warns Marr. Concerned citizens, even world leaders such as Clinton and Blair, have tried to find a way to halt Japan's disregard for international law and agreements. Good people have written countless letters to the Japanese government and boycotted specific Japanese corporations that have connections to the whaling industry, all to no avail. Unfortunately, since Japan ignores the warnings of presidents and prime ministers, letters from individual citizens have no chance of being considered. Therefore, HOPE-GEO has launched the BOYCOTT JAPAN campaign to bring about a global and long-term general boycott of all Japanese goods, regardless of whaling connections on the part of the individual Japanese corporations, until such time as Japan discontinues whaling. The only petition the Japanese government can understand is if Sony, Toyota, Pentax, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, etc., as well as government accountants, all say, " Stop the minor industry of whaling; the major industries are taking a beating because of it! " YEN is the most powerful word in the Japanese language, as unfortunately DOLLAR is the most powerful word in ours. HOPE-GEO calls upon all whale-lovers to forward this news release to as many people who oppose whaling as possible, worldwide. " I realize that it is difficult to avoid the purchase of Japanese goods altogether, but I'd like all concerned people to constantly remember the whales when they go shopping, and to buy non-Japanese alternatives as much as possible. Let's all keep this up as long as Japan has whale blood on its hands, " says Anthony Marr. A worldwide BOYCOTT JAPAN DAY will soon be organized. Contacts: Anthony Marr, HOPE-GEO, http://www.HOPE-GEO.org, 604-222-1169, Anthony_Marr For more background and up-to-date news on Japan's whale hunts and global schemes, visit http://www.stopwhalekill.org ***** FROM SEA SHEPHERD INTERNATIONAL ----------------- JAPAN NOW A PIRATE WHALING STATE -- Aggression against Bryde's, sperm whales is an outlaw act Today's departure of the Japanese factory whaling fleet for the North Pacific with the goal of killing 100 endangered Bryde's whales and sperm whales is an intolerable violation of international conservation agreements, and has placed Japan outside the circle of civilized nations. " We do not recognize the technical loophole within the flawed Convention of the International Whaling Commission which Japan is abusing in the name of 'research,' " said Captain Paul Watson, President of Sea Shepherd. " The law is the law, and we are prepared to confront Japan on the high seas to enforce that law. " ... (More at www.seashepherd.org) ***** JAPAN WARNS AGAINST U.S. WHALE SANCTIONS THREAT ----------------------- (AP, Tuesday, August 1, 2000) Japan, the world's largest consumer of whale meat, defended itself today for pressing ahead with the hunting of whales and warned the United States against a move to take punitive action. Denouncing a threat by Washington to impose sanctions as unwarranted, Japan said the United States would stand to lose a legal battle if it moved ahead with any retaliatory action. " If the United States takes unilateral action, it is almost certain that Japan will win in the World Trade Organization (WTO), " a Japanese trade ministry official told Reuters. " But it is all up to the United States as to what kind of punitive measures to take. We must wait and see, " he said. Washington stepped up pressure on Japan on Monday to call off a controversial whale hunt in the northwestern Pacific and threatened to impose sanctions if Tokyo pressed ahead with the expanded hunt that Japan says is for research purposes. Under U.S. law, the Secretary of Commerce will review Japanese actions and make recommendations to the president, who could impose trade sanctions or other retaliatory measures. " The United States has forcefully expressed its opposition to this new program at the highest level, " U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said on Monday. The Clinton administration could impose trade sanctions against Japanese fishery products and other goods, though U.S. officials said a number of non-sanction options were available. Legal battle Defying fierce opposition from the United States, Britain and leading conservationist groups, a Japanese whaling fleet sailed out at the weekend to hunt whales in the northwestern Pacific, including two species protected under U.S. law. Officials of Japan's Fisheries Ministry stood firm and argued that the hunt would be part of their scientific research designed to gather information on the habitat, population, diet and migration patterns of the whales. They said Japan had been conducting research whaling within the bounds of international law. " The United States is renouncing its right to research whaling and blaming Japan. That is self-contradictory, " Takaaki Sakamoto at the ministry's whaling section told Reuters. Japan's Fisheries Ministry said the populations of Bryde and larger Sperm whales protected under U.S. law have recovered enough over the period in which they were not hunted to allow catches to begin again. " We want to use marine resources including whales effectively while keeping them at sustainable levels, " Sakamoto said. " We need to conduct scientific research to do that. But without hunding, such research is impossible. " Legal victory not enough The Japanese trade ministry official said, however, that even a legal victory over Washington might not guarantee that Japan could continue to hunt whales. " Even if Japan defeated the United States at the WTO, the dispute might not end because of the impact of international opinion, " he said. Japan gave up commercial whaling in compliance with an international moratorium that went into effect in 1986 but has been carrying out what it calls " scientific research " whaling since 1987. At an International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Adelaide last month, Japan and Norway blocked an attempt to establish an ocean sanctuary to protect whale breeding grounds in the South Pacific. In 1965, Japan caught a record 22,000 whales in coastal and Antarctic waters. The number fell to 2,700 by 1987, partly as a result of quotas set by the IWC and partly because of the availability of cheaper sources of protein. After World War Two, the government rationed whale meat to help to save its starving people from malnutrition. But in the last decade or so, the plunge in supply and rise in prices has transformed whale meat into a gourmet food. ***** QUOTE: P.J., TAKE A LOOK AT THE MAKAH HUNT! ---------------- " While they are technically allowed under international law to do this, it's our view that the world is moving in one direction in terms of conservation and Japan appears to be moving in a different direction. " P. J. Crowley National Security Council spokesman ***** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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