|
|
|
|
Sea Shepherd Hostages Released from Japanese Whaling Ship Ask Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. to oppose illegal whaling in Antarctic sanctuary After two days of being held hostage aboard a Japanese whaling vessel, two volunteer crew members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were released to Australian authorities late last week. Acting legally in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature and the laws of Australia, unpaid Sea Shepherd volunteers Giles Lane and Benjamin Potts boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 on Tuesday, January 15th to inform them that they were illegally killing whales in the Southern Whale Sanctuary of the Australian Antarctic Territorial Economic Exclusion Zone. Ignoring their message, the whaling crew took Potts and Lane hostage, and lashed them to the radar mast. While the men remained hostage, Valerie Sicignano, IDA's East Coast Director, rushed a letter urging their immediate release to Ambassador Ryozo Kato at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and hand-delivered a similar letter to Japanese Ambassador and Consul General Motoatsu Sakurai at the Consulate General of Japan in New York City. She also requested an emergency meeting with Ambassador Sakurai to discuss a swift resolution of the crisis and cessation of Japan's illegal whale hunting. The hostages were freed later that day before the meeting could take place. However, the Japanese harpooners continue to hunt in the Southern Whale Sanctuary off Australia's coast -- though, notably, no whales have been poached in the last eight days. "The American people are outraged and dismayed that this Japanese whaling vessel continues to break national and international laws by hunting whales," said Sicignano. "We demand an immediate and permanent end to this illegal activity that threatens the survival of endangered marine mammals." What You Can Do:Contact Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. and respectfully ask him to urge his government to enforce the law by putting an end to illegal whaling by Japanese ships.
Ryozo Kato Also contact officials at the Japanese Consulate General nearest you. |