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| Thanks to all who forwarded this to me: | | | as posted from www.dawnwatch.com :
In the last few days Sea Shepherd (www.SeaShepherd.org) has been making international news, including many front pages, on two counts: The Canadian government handed the organization a wealth of publicity when it stormed and seized the group's ship, the Farley Mowat. And the Japanese Whalers are ending their hunt with half as big a kill toll as they had hoped; they blame the activists.
It is interesting to note that while the stories have made front page news in Canada, and leading news throughout Australia and the UK, both have been largely ignored by the US media. Papers such as USA Today and the Los Angeles Times have not touched on the stories this week. The New York Times did a perfunctory story on Monday April 14, headed "Bail in Canada for 2 From Protest Ship" which said only:
"A court in Nova Scotia granted bail on Sunday to two crew members of a seal hunt protest ship that was stormed and seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
"The protest ship, Farley Mowat, which is owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was raided on Saturday after Canadian officials charged that it had endangered the lives of seal hunters off the coast of Newfoundland, interfered with fisheries officers and 'forced two collisions' with a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.
"The animal rights group contends that the ship, which is registered in the Netherlands, was in international waters at the time of the raid, making the police action illegal.
"There were 17 crew members, including 6 Americans, aboard the Farley Mowat when it was boarded by the police tactical squad, said Allison Lance, a spokeswoman for Sea Shepherd. However, charges were made against only the captain, a Dutch national, and his first mate, a Swede."
You'll find it on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/americas/14canada.html?ref=americas
Some letters to the editor could generate more discussion of the matter. The New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes.com
In contrast, Canada's Globe and Mail had the story on Monday's front page, and included an editorial headed, "The seizure of the Farley Mowat," which began with:
"The boarding and seizure of the environmental vessel the Farley Mowat and the arrest of her captain and first officer is not only a grossly disproportionate response to the efforts of opponents to document the seal hunt, but it is itself an overtly political act."
It told us:
" It is also a way for the Coast Guard, which falls under Mr. Hearn's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to redeem itself with the sealing and fishing community following the tragic sinking of the fishing vessel Acadien II while under tow by a Coast Guard ice breaker.
"Four sealers from Quebec were killed in the icy waters when their vessel overturned in that notorious incident two weeks ago. Accounts of the tragedy allege bungling by the Coast Guard crew, followed by callousness in the official response to the tragedy and search for survivors."
Today, Tuesday April 15, the Globe and Mail printed a slew of letters in response, including this one:
"Seeing my tax dollars hard at work arresting seal protesters makes me ashamed to call myself Canadian. Our government just doesn't get it. Why are we investing hundreds of millions of dollars across Canada to attract tourism when we're prepared to flush our international image down the toilet for $20-million in seal pelts? This cruel slaughter is disgusting, it's an economic disaster, and it's an embarrassment.
Craig Kelley"
But the conversation is far from over. Today's Globe and Mail also includes articles headed, "Hearn 'absolute liar,' ship's captain says; War of words continues as Fisheries Minister insists anti-sealing vessel was in Canadian waters when seized" and "Ottawa keeping observers from hunt, anti-sealers charge." (Both page A 12)
You'll find those on line at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080415.wseal15/BNStory/National/home
and
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080415.wsealobserve15/BNStory/National/home
respectively.
(Tiny URLS are http://tinyurl.com/6jz876 and http://tinyurl.com/63za3o)
The paper seems interested in keeping the story alive, so why not support the discussion? International letters can back up Canadian feelings and fears, as expressed above. The Globe and Mail takes letters at letters@globeandmail.com
Canada's National Post, Tuesday April 15, also gave the story front page billing. The article, by Don Martin and headed, "Caution: Photo op just ahead; Careless handling could give ' irate' what he wants" was blatantly slanted against Sea Shepherd, yet it made some great points.
We read:
" -- and this guy's so radical he was unanimously evicted from Greenpeace in 1978 for refusing to swear to non-violent confrontation. As he has noted in the past, 'Greenpeace protests, we intervene.'"
True.
We are told, "the lingering reaction seems to be a 'welcome to Nova Scotia' gift that keeps on giving for the captain and his crew.
"The crew's bail was posted by author and namesake Farley Mowat, who told the CBC's Nancy Wilson that Mr. Watson 'is the most heroic Canadian of recent times' while advising Mr. Hearn to 'go screw himself.'"
And also, "Naturally, Mr. Watson left room service to milk even more camera footage for the cause by paying the bail in toonies."
All true.
Then we read:
"The future ramifications appear increasingly worrisome. Beyond the possibility of a seal products import ban in Europe, this showdown puts to risk the Newfoundland travel campaign, one of the best provincial or federal efforts I've ever seen."
True. Though you may wish to debate "worrisome."
Martin then acknowledges the issue of whether the Canadian Coast Guard stormed a Dutch ship in international waters (as Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson contends, labeling the act as piracy):
"And we can only hope the Farley Mowat doesn't prove to have superior satellite location technology to a Canadian Coast Guard vessel mandated to keep track of our territorial limit. If it turns out the ship was outside of Canada's 12 nautical mile limit when it was boarded, Mr. Hearn has some serious explaining to do."
The article's dramatic finale, while negatively slanted, and underestimating Sea Shepherd in various ways, does a reasonable job of summing up the impact of the seizure:
"An organization run by a self-described pirate specializing in acts of international sabotage -- ramming whaling ships, sinking trawlers to block harbours and cutting nets, to name a few -- cannot roam around a legally sanctioned and historic hunt while illegally inside territorial waters without a challenge.
"But Canada knew days in advance they were dealing with a shipshape photo op.
"By staging a heavy-handed takedown of a vessel run mostly by youthful volunteers acting more like a nuisance than a menace, they may have inadvertently become a willing partner in an anti-sealing crusade."
You can respond to the National Post at http://tinyurl.com/3agn6t
If the story is in your local paper, please respond there!
The other big Sea Shepherd story is in the Australian, The Age, and in the UK's Independent, Tuesday, April 15, where it is headed "Japanese whalers blame 'sabotage'." (pg 24)
It tells us:
"A Japanese fishing fleet is expected to return from its latest expedition having killed just over half its target number of whales.
"The 8,000-tonne Nisshin Maru factory ship and five other whaling vessels were due to dock in Japan last night after returning from the Antarctic laden with the meat from 551 minke whales caught during a four-month 'research' voyage which was repeatedly targeted by animal rights activists.
"The catch was far below the target of 935 set by the Japanese authorities, which in turn blamed the campaigners, the American-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace, for reducing the amount of time it could devote to hunting for 'scientific purposes'".
We read that "Activists on board a vessel from the Sea Shepherd group repeatedly clashed with the Japanese fleet as it plied the Southern Ocean looking for minke whales and the much larger fin whales." And we have the following quote from a spokesman for Japan's Fisheries Agency: "Sabotage by activists is a major factor behind our failure to achieve our target. We did not have enough time for research because we had to avoid sabotage."
You'll find that article on line at http://tinyurl.com/3hemdr and can send a letter to The Independent at letters@independent.co.uk. The paper advises, "Letters for publication in the newspaper must include the sender's name, postal address and daytime telephone number."
Again, if the story appears in your local media, please take the opportunity to send a letter to the editor. |
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Posted: Wednesday April 16, 2008, 7:32 am
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