 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Japan invites developing nations for whaling meeting
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 29, 2008 Japan, in a feud with Western nations over whaling, said Friday it will meet with 12 developing states in a bid to boost its clout in the deadlocked International Whaling Commission. The foreign ministry said it will hold a "seminar" on Monday for nations that recently joined or plan to join the IWC, which has long been divided between pro- and anti-whaling forces. Japanese fisheries officials will also take part in the talks aimed at "obtaining understanding for Japan's position on sustainable whaling," a foreign ministry statement said. Japan, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year, says its whaling is legal and part of its culture, and accuses anti-whaling countries of insensitivity. Japan has clashed bitterly with Australia, whose coast guard is trailing the whalers on their annual expedition in the Antarctic Ocean and has released bloody footage of the whale slaughter. Environmentalists accuse Japan of buying votes in the IWC by roping in countries that receive Japanese aid and have little tradition of whaling. The countries to take part in Monday's seminar are Angola, Cambodia, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Micronesia, Palau, Tanzania and Vanuatu, the foreign ministry said. Japan has pushed for secret balloting at the 78-member IWC, which in 1986 imposed a global moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan continues to harpoon whales using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals, with the meat going on Japanese dinner plates. Tokyo says it want to "normalise" the IWC to return to its original mandate of managing whaling. Last year, Japan invited all members of the IWC, which then had 72 members, for "normalisation" talks in Tokyo. The final attendance was 37, with major anti-whaling nations such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States boycotting. Norway and Iceland are the only nations to conduct outright commercial whaling in defiance of the 1986 moratorium. In turn, a number of prominent developing nations, including India and South Africa, support Western countries in opposing whaling. Related Links Follow the Whaling Debate
Anti-whalers set to resume hounding Japanese fleet
Sydney (AFP) Feb 14, 2008A ship carrying militant anti-whaling activists was due to head back to Antarctic waters Thursday to resume harassing Japanese whalers, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
