Reuters AlertNet Lite - Anti-whaling ship docks in Japan, with conditions

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Anti-whaling ship docks in Japan, with conditions

06 Apr 2007 04:06:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Greenpeace's anti-whaling ship Esperanza docked in Japan on Friday on the condition it does not receive the public, after it was barred from coming into port for over a week in a row with the Japanese seamen's union.

The ship, which the environmental group had hoped could bring its campaign to pro-whaling Japan, was permitted to dock in Yokohama, just west of Tokyo, to take on food and water and exchange crew.

The group said on Friday the port authority had ordered it not to open the ship to the public.

"Fundamentally, the central government didn't do anything to get in our way, but they also don't really want people to know the 'inconvenient truths' about whaling," Jun Hoshikawa, head of Greenpeace Japan, told Reuters in a phone conversation.

Greenpeace has said the All Japan Seamen's Union pressured the ship's agent to withdraw services because it believed the group was violent, preventing it from docking last week in Tokyo -- a move the environmental group called a violation of free speech.

Greenpeace officials said they were pleased that the ship could finally come into port but that it was unfortunate they were unable to meet with ordinary Japanese citizens. The Esperanza will leave port late on Saturday.

In February, Japan abandoned its Antarctic whale hunt after fire crippled its main whaling vessel, the 8,000-tonne Nisshin Maru, and killed one crew member. Greenpeace had offered to tow the ship, but Japan declined.

The blaze had raised fears that oil or chemicals could spill into the Southern Ocean near the world's biggest Adelie penguin colony.

This year's hunt was also marked by clashes with anti-whaling groups, mainly the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, one of whose boats was damaged in an incident with a Japanese vessel.

Sea Shepherd activists also poured acid on the decks of the Nisshin Maru to halt the crew's work, slightly injuring two.

Last week, the head of Japan's whale hunt called for legal action against anti-whaling activists including Greenpeace, although both the government and the institute sponsoring the whaling programme said they were not considering such a move.

Greenpeace's Hoshikawa said that the delay with the Esperanza's docking is evidence that the group needs to work harder to show the Japanese people what it's really like.

Greenpeace has recently softened its stance in Japan. On Valentine's Day, during a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Tokyo, Greenpeace members handed out whale-shaped chocolates.

"The kind of actions we do aren't really known in Japan and we need to make efforts to dispel misunderstandings, as occurred with the seamen's union," Hoshikawa said.

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Last updated:Fri Apr 6 04:15:22 2007