“By putting our inflatable in front of the catcher’s harpoon, we
are putting it out of action for as long as we possibly can,” said
Greenpeace campaigner onboard the Arctic Sunrise, John
Bowler. The Greenpeace activist dressed as Santa attempted to
deliver the MV Arctic Sunrise Christmas message to the
illegal whaling fleet. The message details how the whaling fleet is
in violation of Articles 65 and 120 of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). UNCLOS requires that
all states cooperate with the International Whaling Commission
which has consistently requested that Japan stop whaling in the
Southern Ocean Sanctuary. The message has also reminded the whaling
fleet that Greenpeace is a non- violent organization.
Greenpeace urges governments to demand that the Japanese
government cancel its illegal Antarctic whaling program. To date
only Australian, New Zealand, British and U.S. governments have
made soft diplomatic moves to pressure Japan to abandon the
program.
This year Japan intends to hunt 440 Minke whales in the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary as part of its so- called “scientific
research” program. However the whale meat produced by the
“research” is sold on the open market in Japan. By continuing to
whale in defiance of continued International Whaling Commission
(IWC) requests to stop hunting, Japan is in breach of the UN
Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 144 nations of the world
(including Japan) agreed in 1982 to respect UNCLOS.
