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It's sad that courageous people who fight for those who cannot fight for themselves had endured such attrocious attack by the dishonorable whaling folks in Japan. Japanese whaling industry claims that senseless slaughter of whales is needed for scientific reason. There is nothing scientific about murdering these sentient and majestic beings whom are very similar to us human. There's nothing scientific about serving whale meat loaded with toxins such as mercury from ocean water to a population minority in Japan. When Japanese whaling groups rationalize their cruel massacre of defenseless whales and dolphins with ludicrous reason of "scientific research", that is no different from saying "we can make soap from people, the Nazis had done so with the Jews in concentration camps back in World War II, so it's perfectly okay to kill people to make soap even though there are alternatives for making soap."

Captain Paul Watson shot by Japanese coast guard

from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/07/whaling.japan

Whaling activist claims he was shot by Japanese coastguards

Clashes between whalers and environmentalists in the southern ocean took a dramatic turn today after the leader of the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group claimed he had been shot by Japanese coastguard officers.

Paul Watson said he had only survived because he was wearing a protective vest. Two other members of the group were injured when the officers hurled "flash grenades" at their vessel, the Steve Irwin, he said.

Japanese officials, however, said no shots had been fired during the confrontation.

Tomohiko Taniguchi, a foreign ministry spokesman, said the whaling fleet's mother ship, the Nisshin Maru, had warned Watson and his crew that it would retaliate with flash grenades unless they stopped attacking the vessel with "stink bombs" containing of butyric acid.

"The Nisshin Maru was attacked four times today," Taniguchi told the Guardian. "After the second wave of attacks, Sea Shepherd was warned that if they threw more acid then the whaling ship would retaliate. But no bullets were fired."

The three coastguard officers on board the Nisshin Maru carry handguns but are not permitted to use them unless they are fired at first.

"We are not talking about a High Noon confrontation here," Taniguchi said. "We are not interested in escalating the conflict with Sea Shepherd."

The flash grenades, also known as "flashbangs," are commonly used in crowd control. They are designed to rupture in mid-air and produce a loud bang to deter protesters. One of seven grenades thrown at the Steve Irwin is thought to have exploded on the vessel's deck.

Watson claimed the bullet struck him above the heart and that he had video footage of the ship's doctor, David Page, removing it from his protective vest.

Ashley Dunn, an Australian, injured his hip as he tried to dodge incoming grenades, Sea Shepherd said. His compatriot, Ralph Lowe, received bruises to the back when one of the grenades exploded behind him.

"I felt this impact on my chest," Watson told Australian radio. "I found a bullet buried in the Kevlar vest that I wear. It bruised my shoulder but it would have hit my heart if I didn't have the vest."

Watson accused Japan of overacting to Sea Shepherd's protests, which pose no threat to members of the whaling crew.

"We go out of our way to make sure we don't throw them near anybody, but they were throwing the flash grenades directly at us," he said.

"Why are there armed coastguard people attacking Australian citizens and other citizens in the Australian Antarctic territory?"

The Australian foreign minister, Stephen Smith, called for calm on both sides.

"The Australian government once again calls on all parties in the southern ocean, including all protest and whaling vessels, and their respective crews, to exercise restraint," he said.

Japan is growing anxious about the safety of its whaling crews as it comes under international pressure to end its controversial culls in the Antarctic. This year the whaling fleet had planned to kill almost 1,000 whales, but it is believed to be well below its quota due to clashes with Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace protesters.

Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 but the following year Japan began using a loophole in the moratorium that allowed it to slaughter whales for "scientific research".

Yesterday a protester scaled the Japanese embassy in London and unfurled a banner that read: "Japan stop your illegal whaling". The protest occurred as the International Whaling Commission met for three-days of closed talks near Heathrow airport.

Martin Wyness, a Sea Shepherd member, also lowered the Japanese flag to half-mast. "I think an awful lot of people in Britain are not happy that the Japanese can proudly fly their flag at the top of the mast while they continue this illegal whaling sham," he said. Wyness, 50, was arrested for trespassing.

Masahiko Komura, the Japanese foreign minister, today condemned the attack and urged the British police to step up security around the embassy.

"I want to make it clear that acts of violence or unlawful acts are unacceptable," he said. "I don't know if it was an individual act or an organised one, but either way this is outrageous."

Tags: Captain Paul Watson Shot By Japanese Coast Guard

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