Fluoroscopy | New reprieve for whale defender

We will have to wait until October 23 to find out if Canadian activist Paul Watson will be extradited to Japan by Denmark.

Why are we talking about it?

Will Paul Watson be extradited to Japan? The suspense continues, as the Greenlandic justice system has just extended, for the second time, the detention of the Canadian environmental activist until October 23, pending the decision of the Danish government (on which Greenland depends).

Placed by Tokyo on the Interpol red list, the white-bearded captain was arrested in July, while his boat was stopping in Scandinavian territory. If he is transferred to Japan, he faces up to 15 years in prison…

What he is accused of

Japan accuses Paul Watson, 73, of attacking one of its whaling ships in 2010, as part of a campaign led by his NGO Sea Shepherd. A Japanese sailor was then injured in the face by a stink ball.

According to Paul Watson’s entourage, the Japanese request is however based on “fallacious” assertions, which he wishes to demonstrate by presenting to the court video extracts of the events, filmed by the Discovery channel, a request which has been refused until now. -there.

A pirate’s journey

Originally from New Brunswick, Paul Watson is known for his long-term fight for the protection of whales. But his heavy-handed methods arouse controversy. In 1977, the activist even had to leave Greenpeace because he was too radical.

Its tactics include boarding, the use of water cannons and stink bombs, all under a pirate flag that leaves no room for ambiguity. According to him, these highlights aim to attract the eye of the media. His violent actions led to his arrest in Canada in 1993, then in Germany in 2012. In the 2000s and 2010s, Sea Shepherd attacked Japanese ships which fished hundreds of whales each year in the Antarctic.

An ancestral tradition

Japan is, along with Norway and Iceland, one of the last three countries in the world to practice commercial whaling. The country left the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 2019 and has since openly resumed its activities at sea, arguing that it is an ancestral tradition.

After the Bryde’s whale, the Minke whale and the sei whale, it has recently expanded its commercial hunting of the fin whale, the second largest mammal living on the planet in terms of size. Some of these species are threatened or vulnerable. Whale meat, however, represents no more than 0.1% of total Japanese meat consumption, 200 times less than in the 1960s.

The pressure is increasing

Watson benefits from a certain wave of solidarity. Several international figures – including French President Emmanuel Macron – have given him their support. French and Spanish MEPs also came to his defense in the European Parliament. Demonstrations to have him released took place in Copenhagen, New York and Paris, increasing pressure on Denmark.

In mid-September, the activist’s lawyers also contacted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, denouncing the risk of “being subjected to [d]inhumane treatment […] in Japanese jails. Japan, for its part, persists and signs. On Friday, the new head of Japanese diplomacy, Takeshi Iwaya, reiterated Tokyo’s extradition request.

“We consider this to be a maritime law enforcement issue rather than a whaling issue,” he said, declining to comment on the “ diplomatic dialogue” between Tokyo and Copenhagen.

Do not demonize

Who is wrong, who is right? Japan or the ecologists? “Neither of the two,” immediately responds Jean-Frédéric Morin, professor of political science at Laval University, expert in international environmental policy. “Reason rarely emerges from a dialogue of the deaf,” he says, emphasizing that everyone addresses different audiences.

The expert points out, however, that demonizing a hunter or a polluter rarely leads to changes in behavior. This is even more true in the case of Japan, which considers whaling to be a piece of its heritage. “Every time foreign organizations condemn and criticize Japan, Japanese groups redouble their efforts to maintain this hunt, which has become a symbol of national sovereignty. »

Mr. Morin, however, fears that the international warrant against Paul Watson and the media coverage surrounding it will fuel “an ambient discourse on the criminalization of environmental activists”, which according to him represents a “threat to democracy”.

The same thing but more “aggressive”

Coincidence? The Perfect World Foundation has just awarded Captain Watson an honorary award, which propels him, according to the Globe and Mail“on the level of luminaries like David Attenborough and Jane Goodall”.

Paul Watson claims to have saved 6,500 whales during his long activist career, and shows no sign of softening up. A few years ago, the media Brut asked the old sea dog if he would do things differently. His response? “I would probably be more aggressive in certain circumstances…”

With Agence France-Presse, the International Whaling Commission, Greenpeace, the Animal Rights Foundation, the Globe and Mailthe CBC, the Whaleman Foundation and International mail