This is Annya. She is more than just a number. Annya is one of hundreds of thousands of Chernobyl victims. And she was not even alive when it happened 20 years ago.
Over the next couple of days a massive 9,000 cubic metres of plywood will be loaded onto two ships bound for markets in Asia and the US.
Activists in inflatables unfurled banners saying, “Stop ancient forest destruction” in Indonesian, Japanese and English in front of the ship MV Ardhianto, which is carrying 6,000 cubic metres of plywood to Japan and Korea. The remaining 3,000 cubic metres are heading to the US.
The financial backers of the Japanese whaling industry are pulling out of the business after months of pressure from Greenpeace, online activists, consumers and other environmental groups.
The move highlights that whaling is bad for business, and weakens the Japanese government's justification for their so-called ‘scientific’ whaling program.
