Greenpeace Activists Arrested at the IWC

[Guest guest]

Dear Friend,

 

Big news from St. Kitts and the IWC. As you may know, Japan has been

thwarted on some of it's measures to lift the whaling ban but has also

had some successes. Greenpeace is there in true fashion. Info and links

below.

 

Nick

*******************************

I’m writing you from St.

Kitts, site of the 58th meeting of the International Whaling

Commission. Our ship, the Arctic Sunrise, after being refused entry for

more than a week, entered the waters of St.

Kitts today to stage a peaceful protest. We landed on the beach and

began placing more than 866 whale tails in the sand to

symbolize the number of whales slaughtered by the Japanese government

this year. Ten of our activists have already been arrested.

 

 

The International Whaling Commission meetings have just ended,

and they dramatically displayed how narrow a margin exists between the

pro-whaling and anti-whaling nations. A mere 2 votes (remember that

number!) prevented Japan from eliminating conservation efforts for

dolphins, porpoises, and small whales; and implementing a secret

ballot. The Japanese delegation also narrowly lost their bids to

abolish the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, exempt themselves from the

commercial whaling ban, and kick Greenpeace out of the IWC meetings.

 

 

And you should know that your efforts played a major role in

these victories. Due to pressure from concerned people around the

world, including thousands of emails and faxes from you, Guatemala and

Honduras decided NOT to attend the IWC meetings. Those two votes made

all the difference. THANK YOU!

 

 

But after losing several votes, Japan pulled out all the

stops, and actually won a non-binding resolution pronouncing that

whales are guilty of over-fishing – by 1 vote! That’s right, the

Japanese succeeded in convincing more than 30 nations that whales eat

too much fish! And that wasn’t the only fishy thing that happened

during the meetings. One of Japan’s pro-whaling allies arrived late to

the meetings with their membership fees in cash, in a brown paper bag.

 

 

TAKE

ACTION We've taken a stand against Japanese Whaling, now it's your

turn to send a strong message!

The stage is clearly set for next year’s meeting in Alaska, and it will

take everything we have to turn the tide.

Now more than ever, the fight to protect whales is at a critical phase.

That’s why we’ve announced that we’ll be returning to the Southern

Ocean this winter to confront the Japanese whalers again. Please,

support

our efforts, follow this

story, and share

the news with your

friends and family.

 

Sincerely,

 

Buffy Baumann

Ocean Campaigner

 

p.s. We have nearly 6 months to prepare for our next big confrontation

in the Southern Ocean. Please, help

us get ready with a donation today.