Iceland push for membership key test for whale meet
Date: 20-May-02
Country: JAPAN
Author: Elaine Lies
Its stance, a day before the group's annual meeting began, was set to re-ignite one of the worst fights of last year's gathering.
Iceland, which stormed out of the IWC a decade ago in disgust at its anti-whaling stance, applied to rejoin at last year's meeting, but was limited to non-voting observer status.
The vote on Iceland's membership, expected on Monday, is likely to become a crucial test of whether pro-whaling nations have gained a majority vote that could swing control of the organisation their way.
"Well yes, we have a reservation against the moratorium (on commercial whaling)," said Iceland delegation leader Stefan Asmundsson.
"Our previous experience is that when the moratorium agreement was made it would have to be revised in 1990 at the latest," he added. "It is now 12 years later."
He said that while Iceland did not intend to join and immediately resume commercial whaling, it would work to pass a management scheme that would oversee such whaling and is regarded as a crucial step towards having the whaling ban lifted.
Iceland, like Japan, argues that a rising whale population is consuming its vital fish stocks.
Iceland's membership was put on hold at last year's IWC meeting in London after an acrimonious vote on a resolution by the United States and Australia to condemn its refusal to sign on to the anti-whaling clause.
Anti-whaling nations and activists remain strongly opposed to Iceland becoming a full member with this reservation.
"If Iceland is successful, it will be unbound by the moratorium and reduce the authority of the IWC," said Simon Reddy at Greenpeace International.
Portugal and Mongolia have joined the IWC just ahead of the meeting, along with other recent new members Benin, Gabon, Palau and San Marino, and this could change how the IWC votes.
Benin, Gabon and Palau are seen by observers as likely to vote for whaling, Portugal and landlocked San Marino against. The stance of Mongolia was not immediately known.
