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Rudd steps into Japan standoff
17/01/2008 14:41 - (SA)
Sydney - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stepped into a tense standoff between Japan and a militant anti-whaling group on Thursday, calling for calm and the safe return of two activists held on a Japanese ship.
Rudd said his Foreign Minister Stephen Smith was in constant contact with the Japanese government to arrange the immediate handover of the two men, who were detained after boarding the Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters.
"I have concerns about the safety of all people involved with the operation," Rudd told reporters.
"Therefore I would again urge restraint on the parties, full co-operation on the part of those involved to ensure the safe return of these two individuals."
Smith said Australia was ready to send a customs ship to pick up the men and end the high-seas standoff.
The government would use the Oceanic Viking, which is in the area, to transfer the pair back to the Sea Shepherd vessel, the Steve Irwin, if all parties co-operated, he told reporters.
Japan, which says whaling is a part of its culture, uses a loophole in an international moratorium on the practice which allows "lethal research". It is on a mission to kill 1 000 whales in Antarctic waters this season.
The confrontation has forced the Japanese fleet to suspend whaling for the time being and drawn attention to efforts by activists to halt the annual hunt for good.
The two activists - Australian Benjamin Potts, 28, and Briton Giles Lane, 35 - were detained on Tuesday after boarding the harpoon ship Yushin Maru No 2 to protest Japan's whaling programme.
Japan on Thursday welcomed the idea of Australia picking the men up.
"If concrete, Japan would greatly welcome such a move because it would be one step forward in resolving this problem," said Hideki Moronuki, the whaling chief at Japan's fisheries agency.
Commando-style raid
Moronuki accused the environmentalists of misrepresenting Japan's position, saying the whalers were not setting conditions and wanted to get rid of the protesters.
"You must understand the reluctance of the Japanese to lash their vessel up to the Steve Irwin - it's just not going to happen like that," said a spokesperson for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, Glenn Inwood.
Inwood suggested that if the men were not picked up, they would have to remain on board for the duration of the hunt and return with the ship to Japan, where they could face charges.
Watson told Sky News he would not rule out a commando-style raid to rescue them rather than allow them to be taken to Japan.
Australia last week sent the Oceanic Viking to the area to monitor the operation and gather evidence for a possible international legal case against the whalers.
"The key challenge is how do we bring about the end of commercial whaling, period, into the future - that's what I'm concerned about," Rudd said. "This is not scientific whaling - this is commercial whaling."
- AFP
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