New Delhi, India – More than 16,000 Indians have joined Nobel Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams in calling for justice for Greenpeace Japan activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki. The duo, famously known as the ‘Tokyo Two’, face up to 18 months in jail for exposing corruption in the Japanese government’s whaling industry (1).
The call comes even as a stalemate at the recently concluded annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission at Agadir, Morocco jeopardizes the future of thousands of whales. The 88 member states of the IWC failed to find consensus on the chair’s proposal (2) and failed to agree on bringing about an end to all commercial whaling.
Reflecting on the just concluded IWC meeting, 2010, the Inspector General of Forests – Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, and India’s representative at the IWC 2010 meeting, Mr. A. K. Srivastava, said, “India has always taken a principled stand on maintaining the moratorium on whaling. Additionally, we are of the opinion that eventually ending all whaling – whether commercial, scientific or subsistence – is necessary. While India fully respects the dietary and cultural requirements of the aboriginal communities, we believe that International Whaling Commission should work to accurately identify such communities actually dependent on whaling and reduce their dependence on whales in a phased manner through alternate livelihood options such as through whale watching and eco-tourism. We want conservation of all small cetaceans as well. In our own country, with a view to protect small cetaceans, India has recently declared the endangered Indo-Gangetic Dolphin as the National Aquatic Mammal (3).”
“It is disappointing that while Junichi and Toru risked their personal freedom to expose large scale embezzlement and corruption in Japan’s Whaling Programme, the member states of the IWC have not taken any action to protect the whales. It is critical that the Government of Japan take serious steps to phase-out its controversial whaling programme in the Southern Ocean,” said Areeba Hamid, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India.
Over forty legal professionals and lawyers, social luminaries, law firms, and human rights networks such as noted civil rights activist and vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Dr. Binayak Sen and the Human Rights Law network amongst others, have also written to India’s Minister for Empowerment and Social Justice, Shri Mukul Wasnik, calling on the government of India to formally take a position on this issue (4).
The detention and trial of Sato and Suzuki is a violation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which both Japan and India are signatories. The UNHRC’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has also ruled that the rights of the Tokyo Two have been breached by the Japanese justice system, and recognized that they had acted in the public interest to expose a scandal that involved corruption in the taxpayer-funded whaling programme (5)
“The Tokyo Two story illustrates an increasingly common situation – intimidation of those fighting for a green, equitable and peaceful planet. It is not only liberty that is at stake – it is the fundamental right to peacefully investigate and expose corruption, to challenge authority and to do so without fear of reprisal, which needs to be defended,” concluded Hamid.
Click here to read Statement of Concern on the Tokyo Two.
Notes:
(1) Refer to http://iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/future/IWC-M10-SWG4.pdf
(2) In January 2008, Greenpeace began an investigation into whistleblower allegations that organized whale meat embezzlement was being conducted by crew inside Japan’s so-called ’scientific‘ whaling programme, which is funded by Japanese taxpayers. The informer was previously involved in the whaling programme, and following his advice Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki began an investigation, eventually discovering firm proof that cardboard boxes containing whale meat were being secretly shipped to the homes of whaling fleet crew – and then sold for personal profit. Junichi delivered a box of this whale meat to the Tokyo Prosecutors’ Office in May 2008, and filed a report of embezzlement. However, the embezzlement investigation was dropped on 20 June – the same day that both men were arrested and then held for 26 days before being charged with theft and trespass. They are currently facing up to ten years in prison for their actions. Refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/tokyo-two/whaling-on-trial and http://www.greenpeace.org/tokyo-two
(3) Refer to http://iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/IWC62docs/62-OS%20GO.pdf for India’s opening statement at the IWC 2010 meeting.
(4) Refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/reports/statement-of-concern-on-the-to for the list of endorsements.
(5) Refer to http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/opinion-of-the-unhrc for the ruling.
Related Features:
- Ganges River Dolphin Declared National Aquatic Animal
- Whaling Commission Meeting Opens in a Swirl of Corruption Claims
- IWC Chair & Vice-Chair Offer New Way to Conserve Whales and Manage Whaling
Source: Greenpeace India Press Release dated July 1, 2010.
