GP PRESS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST WHALERS AFTER SHOOTING INCIDENT
Klaus Merkle
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GREENPEACE PRESS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST WHALERS
AFTER SHOOTING INCIDENT
Norwegian Coast Guard Arrests Wrong Ship
Oslo,13 July 1999 Greenpeace today will file criminal charges against the
skipper of the whaling ship Kato . During a peaceful protest crew members
of the whalingship fired a total of three shots at the crew of a
Greenpeace inflatable 120 sea-milesoff the Norwegian coast. Earlier on,
only one shot was reported but Greenpeace crew members confirmed two more
shots. The inflatable which was hit by a bullet belongs to the Greenpeace
ship MV Sirius which was towed into Stavanger by the Norwegian Coast Guard
ship Nornan early today. Norwegian police confiscated the inflatable with
the bullet hole as well as most film and stills documentation of the
event.
"I think the coast guard arrested the wrong boat. First we get fired at
and then we get arrested by the coast guard who looked on while we were
getting shot at, said Mats Abrahamsson, on board the MV Sirius. Does that
mean that people can kill you when you do not have a local permit for a
peaceful demonstration?
A Norwegian member of parliament, Steinar Bastensen, who is known as an
outspoken pro-whaling advocate in Norway participated in the hunt and was
on board the vessel Kato.
"This is the second time in a month that Greenpeace activists' lives are
put in danger with the consent of the Norwegian Coast Guard", said Frode
Pleym, Norwegian whalecampaigner. "We may be used to authorities clamping
down on our protests but risking people's lives goes over the limit.
Somebody could have been easily hurt or even killed.We will therefore be
pressing criminal charges.
On June 12, UK activists Mark Hardingham was seriously injured when a
Norwegian Coast Guard inflatable rammed into his inflatable. This time the
Norwegian Coast Guard watched passively as the whalers shot three times at
the inflatable.
The environmental group Greenpeace has been peacefully protesting
Norwegian whaling activities which take place annually since 1993, despite
the International WhalingCommission's moratorium forbidding it and despite
art. 65 of the Law of the Sea Convention which requires all countries to
cooperate with the IWC for the conservation of whales.
In addition, Greenpeace has documented that the two biggest whale meat
storage facilities in Norway are filled with blubber and whale meat, some
boxes dating back to 1986. The fact that whale meat consumption is at an
all time low has caused the whalers to put pressure on the Norwegian
Government to allow the export of whale products, despite the
international trade ban by CITES (1).
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a
treaty which currently prohibits international sale of whale meat and
other products. CITES member nationshave traditionally honored the advice
of the IWC on all matters pertaining to whales. CITES willmeet next in
Nairobi in April 2000, during which Japan and Norway, are expected to push
for a lift of the ban. Despite their defeat in the IWC meeting.
For more information, please check our WebPages at
http://www.greenpeace.org