Greenpeace Puts Dead Whale in Front of Japanese Embassy

[Guest guest]

[i'm definitely on a lifetime boycott on anything

coming out of Japan. Japans refusal to stop Whaling is

a disgrace to humanity itself. Rick.]

 

Source >

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1860931,00.html

 

 

Greenpeace Kidnaps Dead Whale for Protest in Germany

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

Greenpeace's offer to transport the whale turned out

to be a deception

In protest against animal research carried out by

Japan, environmental group Greenpeace laid a whale

cadaver in front of the Japanese embassy in Berlin.

 

Greenpeace dropped a 20-ton dead fin whale in front of

Japan's embassy in Berlin on Wednesday night, as a

protest comment on the Japanese practice of killing

whales for research.

 

 

 

The environmental activism organization used a flat

bed trailer to haul the 17-meter (56-foot) long

finback whale to the embassy compound in central

Berlin from the Baltic Sea town of Warnemünde, where

it had been brought ashore.

 

 

 

 

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der

Bildunterschrift: Greenpeace has protested whaling

practices in the past

" We want to show Japan how nonsensical whale-hunting

is, and show them they must stop killing whales " ,

Greenpeace spokesman Björn Jettka said. Killing whales

for research purposes does not make sense because

living creatures could be used instead, he said.

 

 

 

Diplomatic protest

 

 

 

At the same time, the action supported

environmentalists who have been blocking Japanese

whale hunters in the Antarctic since December. Despite

worldwide protest, Japan continues to catch whales

each year.

 

 

 

This week, 17 governments, including Britain, protests

Japan's scientific whaling program diplomatically. The

Brazilian ambassador sent Tokyo a demarche on behalf

of the collective governments, demanding Japan " cease

all its lethal scientific research on whales. "

 

 

 

 

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der

Bildunterschrift: A research boat hunting Minke

whales off the coast of Iceland in 2003

The development came after a video release last week

from Greenpeace that showed the horrific drawn-out

death of a minke whale at the hands of a Japanese

research expedition, and followed significant earlier

opposition from governments, NGOs and the public.

 

 

 

Deceitful move

 

 

 

After the 10 to 20-year-old whale died on the Baltic

Sea coast on Saturday, Greenpeace offered to transfer

it, at their own cost, to the German Oceanographic

Museum in Stralsund for testing.

 

 

 

The environmental group now admits the move was a

trick, and said they did not inform he Oceanographic

Museum of the fact that they had planned to used the

cadaver as a political protest.

 

 

 

 

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der

Bildunterschrift: A humpback whale in Australia

Greenpeace said it would leave the ocean mammal in

front of the embassy until Thursday afternoon, where

dozens of people came to have a look at the animal.

 

 

 

Criticism from Japan

 

 

 

The embassy criticized the action.

 

 

 

" Whale catching for research, which Japan does,

adheres to the regulations set forth by the

International Whaling Commission, " embassy secretary

Kazuya Otsuka told Reuters news service.

 

 

 

At this point, the action is an uncomfortable

situation that must be tolerated, he said.

 

 

 

" We have no other choice, " Otsuka said.

 

 

 

Berlin's Senator for the Interior, Ehrhart Körting,

said he personally was sympathetic toward the protest.

 

 

 

" It is our job to allow such congregations, " he said,

adding that the police gave a short-term permission

for the action, since " it did not endanger the

Japanese embassy. "

 

 

 

Change of strategy?

 

 

 

The Berlin protest action might also be the first sign

of a shift in strategy by Greenpeace officials.

 

Shane Rattenbury, who heads an expedition on the

Greenpeace ship " Artic Sunrise " that has been trying

to interfere with Japanese whaling boats, told

DW-RADIO Thursday that his group will abort the

mission shortly. Last weekend, a harpoon was fired

from a Japanese whaling ship across a Greenpeace boat.

 

" We're seriously considering changing tactics in order

to return home with all crew members alive, "

Rattenbury said, adding that the group was planning to

focus on companies that cooperate with the whaling

industry.

 

 

 

DW staff (jen)