Pages above:
The Esperanza is heading to Sydney fresh from the Southern Ocean, to meet and greet Ocean Defenders and our Australian supporters.
For more information on how you can get on board, please see Greenpeace Australia Pacific's website.
But whaling will never be stopped in the Southern Ocean alone. It's only a few months until the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets in Anchorage, Alaska. Recently Cyprus announced it was joining the IWC - good news for the whales, and Turkey and Poland have also started procedures to join. But there is a long way to go before ensuring that the anti- whaling nations have a definite majority at the meeting.
In February, the Japanese government held a meeting in Tokyo to "normalise" the IWC. As we reported, it seemed that "normalise" means "continue business as usual" -- in this case, keep on catching whales.
Recently, thousands of Ocean Defenders and Greenpeace cyberactivists asked the Danish government not to go to the "normalisation" meeting, which intended to pave the way for resuming commercial whaling after the next IWC meeting. Unfortunately, the Danish IWC commissioner Ole Samsing attended the meeting anyway. But on a positive note, what he said there was well reported to the Danish public, the majority of whom don't support commercial whaling and want to see an end to it for good.
The Danish commissioner made some statements endorsing a return of the whaling industry, and suggesting that decisions about whaling should be made in closed meetings with the press and non-governmental organizations (like Greenpeace) excluded. Now the Danish Foreign Affairs Minister is under pressure.
The native population of Greenland, which has a special relationship to Denmark, conducts a traditional "subsistence" hunt. However, in our opinion, Greenlandic society has no interest in the Danish government being still more supportive to the Japanese government's position on whaling, since the traditional Greenlandic hunt is very different to the commercial whaling that the Japanese government is fighting to bring back.
In the near future Denmark's Foreign Affairs Minister has to explain the Danish IWC position to parliament - a debate that is desperately needed.
To keep up the pressure we urgently ask you to send an email to the Danish minister for foreign affairs, Per Stig Moller.
For more information on how you can get on board, please see Greenpeace Australia Pacific's website.
But whaling will never be stopped in the Southern Ocean alone. It's only a few months until the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets in Anchorage, Alaska. Recently Cyprus announced it was joining the IWC - good news for the whales, and Turkey and Poland have also started procedures to join. But there is a long way to go before ensuring that the anti- whaling nations have a definite majority at the meeting.
The "normalisation" meeting
In February, the Japanese government held a meeting in Tokyo to "normalise" the IWC. As we reported, it seemed that "normalise" means "continue business as usual" -- in this case, keep on catching whales.
Recently, thousands of Ocean Defenders and Greenpeace cyberactivists asked the Danish government not to go to the "normalisation" meeting, which intended to pave the way for resuming commercial whaling after the next IWC meeting. Unfortunately, the Danish IWC commissioner Ole Samsing attended the meeting anyway. But on a positive note, what he said there was well reported to the Danish public, the majority of whom don't support commercial whaling and want to see an end to it for good.
From ocean to office: Denmark and the IWC
The Danish commissioner made some statements endorsing a return of the whaling industry, and suggesting that decisions about whaling should be made in closed meetings with the press and non-governmental organizations (like Greenpeace) excluded. Now the Danish Foreign Affairs Minister is under pressure.
The native population of Greenland, which has a special relationship to Denmark, conducts a traditional "subsistence" hunt. However, in our opinion, Greenlandic society has no interest in the Danish government being still more supportive to the Japanese government's position on whaling, since the traditional Greenlandic hunt is very different to the commercial whaling that the Japanese government is fighting to bring back.
Under pressure
In the near future Denmark's Foreign Affairs Minister has to explain the Danish IWC position to parliament - a debate that is desperately needed.
To keep up the pressure we urgently ask you to send an email to the Danish minister for foreign affairs, Per Stig Moller.
More you can do (even with Lego!)
