-Caveat Lector- "But the last word has to go to a Japanese delegate overheard telling another delegate that the minke whales hunted off Japan were small and insignificant, like "mice." " Skullduggery and intrigue characterize Grenada whaling summit Copyright © 1999 Nando Media Copyright © 1999 Agence France-Press By LOUISE DALY ST. GEORGE'S (May 28, 1999 10:11 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Whale hunting may be an ugly business, but based on events at the annual International Whaling Commission in Grenada whale conservation hardly seems much prettier. There was plenty of skullduggery, political intrigue, accusations of vote- buying and sheer nastiness at IWC's annual meeting here this week. It is a scene that has been played out many times before, and probably will again, with the whaling nation of Japan cast as the big villain. Japan also did its part: in keeping with its long-standing feud with environmentalists, the Japanese delegation began the event by asking for Greenpeace to be kicked out of the conference for "sabotage" involving one of its whaling ships. Netherlands Commissioner Fer von der Assen, in a liberal-minded kind of Dutch way, said he thought the activists' action "was rather subdued." The Japanese proposal failed. Then there was the dramatic walkout by Japan and its Caribbean allies over a vote to scale back the Japanese hunt of Dall's porpoises, large sea mammals related to whales. Interminable objections by Japan and fiery set-pieces denouncing the IWC from the Caribbean whaling islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines -- which muster at most two whalers -- followed. Japan and its allies again failed, and the resolution was overwhelmingly approved. In one extraordinary incident, a Japanese delegate insisted on challenging the United States -- opposed to Japan and Norway's pro-whaling stance -- over a misleading picture caption during a presentation. Environmentalists, and privately some national delegates, say that Japan's stonewalling is part of a grand plan to undermine the 40-nation conference by lining up allies with cash for votes. One angry delegate, who wished to remain anonymous, told how the Solomon Islands had been lined up to support the Australian and New Zealand proposal for a Southern Pacific whale sanctuary. But just weeks before the conference met the Solomons did a U-turn, allegedly because Japan had threatened to withdraw economic aid from the country, the delegate said. According to the latest figures available from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1997 Japan shelled out $21 million to the Solomon Islands, $3.4 million to Dominica, $2.7 million to Grenada and $2.9 million to St. Lucia. Japanese Commissioner Kazuo Shima, an IWC veteran, dismisses the cash-for-votes allegations. Japan is the world's largest aid donor, he points out, and is merely sharing its fishing expertise with its less technically advanced Caribbean and Pacific friends. The four nations, he said, are ignoring IWC rules that call for providing "the proper conservation of whale stocks" -- and not the total preservation of the species. And pro-whale groups like Greenpeace, the World Wide Fund for Nature and several others gathered here "should change their name to preservationists," he said. Meanwhile, on the fringes of the official debate, the conservationists and the pro-whaling lobby plied their trade, pouring forth claim, counter-claim and invective with great vigor. "Greenpeace lies," raged the Japan Whaling Association in statements describing the group's stance as "eco-posturing" and "cultural colonialism." "Political pressure, slander and intimidation are employed extensively by anti-whaling activists to control votes at the IWC meetings," said the JWA in support of a failed measure to introduce secret ballots. Whale conservationist groups were equally shrill in their rhetoric. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Swiss Coalition for the Protection of Whales warned of "shocking evidence of ... a widespread labeling deception" which allows "critically contaminated dolphin meat" to be passed off as whale meat. But the last word has to go to a Japanese delegate overheard telling another delegate that the minke whales hunted off Japan were small and insignificant, like "mice." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Wingate California Director SKYWATCH INTERNATIONAL Anomalous Images and UFO Files http://www.anomalous-images.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. 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