A Protest Against Whaling Unites 50,000

Feature story - June 20, 2005

Fifty thousand people appeared in Lotte Plaza this week to protest commercial whaling. But this was not a typical protest - photos of 50,000 protesters lit up the building across from the venue of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting. Japan is attempting to gain political control in an effort to reopen commercial whaling.

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The Virtual March logo is projected right outside the hotel where the IWC is being held, in Ulsan, South Korea

Greenpeace campaigner, John Frizell described the scene of the world's very first "Virtual March." "We have brought the protest from thousands of people to the decision makers; to show them that even though their decisions may be made behind closed doors, the whole world is watching."

Supporters, locals, Greenpeace activists and the media gathered in Lotte Plaza to witness the spectacle of thousands of images of people protesting the prospect of resumed commercial whaling.

Anti-whaling activists from 122 countries took part in the Virtual March by sending photographs of themselves with a banner expressing their concern about the fate of the world's dwindling populations of whales.

South Korea is threatening to support the Japanese government's attempts to overturn the global moratorium on commercial whaling. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of South Korea has already publicly declared an interest in resuming whaling under the guise of "scientific" research. Just two days before the start of the meeting, a minke whale was butchered outside Ulsan's whale meat restaurants under dubious circumstances, with one local declaring that the catch was not accidental (South Korea permits the sale of meat from "accidentally killed" whales).

We hope that the Virtual March will help the Korean government understand that the international reputation of its country hangs in the balance in the decisions it will make in the week ahead.

Things have started off well at the IWC meeting. Two proposals introduced by Japan have already been defeated. The first, to delete discussion of whale sanctuaries from the five-day meeting's agenda, was voted down 29-28. The second, to introduce secret balloting, failed 30-27.

Japan was testing the waters to see whether there is a majority of pro-whaling nations among the 66 members of the International Whaling Commission. Fortunately, there is not.

View a slideshow of the event!