In a letter to Prime Minister Aso, the group called on him to
end the Japanese Government-funded annual whale hunt in the
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Following a Greenpeace undercover
investigation in May 2008 that exposed the embezzlement of whale
meat [4] from the taxpayer-funded whaling fleet, Japanese
authorities responded with a politically-motivated prosecution,
arresting Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki and raiding the Greenpeace
Japan office in June 2008. They have now been awaiting trial for
172 days under bail conditions which prevent them from continuing
their Greenpeace campaign work to end whaling [5]. The trial is
expected to begin early next year; they are both facing up to 10
years imprisonment.
The group declaring themselves 'co-defendants', included
Executive Directors of Greenpeace offices from Japan, Germany,
Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, USA and the Nordic
countries, as well as Australian ex-whaling captain Paddy Hart [6].
If Aso could not meet their demands, they said he should instead
order their arrest for daring to defend the whales.
Meanwhile, at Japanese embassies in Brazil, USA, New Zealand,
Argentina, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands,
Belgium, Mexico, Spain, Greece, Canada, Italy and on Bondi Beach
in Sydney, Australia, activists declared themselves as
'co-defendants', by asking the Japanese government to "Arrest Me
Too" and to put "Whaling on Trial".
"We want Prime Minister Aso to know that if Junichi Sato and
Toru Suzuki are to be tried for exposing whale meat embezzlement
and working to end the killing of whales in the Japanese
Government's 'research' programme in the Southern Ocean, then we
should all be arrested," said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of
Greenpeace Japan. "It's not Greenpeace activists who should be put
on trial; it is the government-backed whaling programme in the
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."
Australian ex-whaling captain Paddy Hart, in Tokyo to support
the Tokyo Two and the campaign to end Japan's whaling, was a master
and gunner at the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station in Western
Australia until it ceased operation in 1978 - following Greenpeace
protests.
"I'm here to assure whalers that there is life after whaling.
Japan's whaling programme is a taxpayer-funded government
enterprise, so when it finally ends, it's the responsibility of the
Japanese government and the Fisheries Agency to retrain the crews
for other, sustainable, work. In Australia alone, 300 million
Australian dollars are made every year from whalewatching -
hundreds of times more than was ever made by the whaling industry",
said Hart. "I am proud of my time at sea, but it was 30 years ago.
Times have changed, and the world has moved on - whaling no longer
has a place in the world".
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation
that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and
conserve the environment and to promote peace.
VVPR info: Dave Walsh, Greenpeace International Media, in Ireland: +81 90 1793 2767Eriko Sugita, Greenpeace Japan Media, in Tokyo: +81 80 5416 6508Greenpeace International press desk: +31 20 718 2470
Notes: 1) December 10th is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html2) Greenpeace has 2.9 million supporters worldwide.See FAQ, http://tinyurl.com/5tn73kAnnual Report 2007:http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/gpi-annual-report-20073) In a periodic evaluation completed in October 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Committee severly reprimanded the Japanese government for the "unreasonable restrictions placed on freedom of expression" in Japan. It also condemned the abuse of trespass laws by Japanese police to harass activists who are critical of government policy. UN Human Rights Committee, Ninety-fourth session, Geneva, 30th October 2008. UN Doc. CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 26, available at:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/co/CCPR-C-JPN-CO.5.doc4) Greenpeace investigation: Japan's stolen whale meat scandal, May 152008 - dossier available from:http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/whale-meat-scandal-dossier5) Junichi and Toru were arrested on June 20th, and spent 26 days in custody before being charged. Bail conditions include stipulations that they request permission to be away from home for more than three days and that they do not associate with other Greenpeace staffhttp://www.greenpeace.org/tokyo-two6) The Executive Directors present were:Jun Hoshikawa: Executive Director, Greenpeace JapanBrigitte Behrens: Chief Executive Director, Greenpeace GermanyLiesbeth van Tongeren: Executive Director, Greenpeace NetherlandsMarcelo Furtado: Executive Director, Greenpeace BrazilRose Young: Deputy Executive Director, Greenpeace USASteve Shallhorn;: Chief Executive Officer, Greenpeace Australia PacificMarkus Allemann: Executive Director, Greenpeace SwitzerlandFrode Pleym: Greenpeace Nordic Deputy Executive Director