Pro-whalers dealt early defeat at Japan meeting
Date: 21-May-02
Country: JAPAN
Author: Elaine Lies
Iceland's reinstatement as a voting member had been seen as a crucial step towards gaining pro-whaling nations a simple majority, shifting the balance of power back to nations like Japan and Norway that favour a resumption of commercial hunting.
Twenty-five anti-whaling members voted in support of a ruling by Chairman Bo Fernholm for Iceland to remain an observer, while 20 voted against and three abstained.
"The appeal failed and the chair's ruling stands," Fernholm said after the vote.
A clearly angry Stefan Asmundsson, head of Iceland's delegation, told a news conference that Iceland did not accept the vote and would make another try in the afternoon.
"The voting that's going on is not about whaling," he said.
"I'd be lying if I said my respect for the IWC had not diminished a bit."
A source close to the Icelandic side said he felt some members had probably been confused by the wording of the vote, adding: "We'll go down fighting."
Iceland had reapplied for membership last year after walking out of the IWC a decade ago in disgust at the organisation's anti-whaling stance.
It refused to sign up to the 1986 commercial whaling moratorium, setting off hot debate and resulting in an acrimonious vote that saw it admitted only as a non-voting observer.
Iceland said on Sunday it still had reservations about the moratorium, although observers had said it had softened its stance slightly to say it would not start whaling immediately.
DIVISIONS DEEP
Divisions run deep within the 56-year-old IWC, which pits whaling nations against those backing environmentalists who are opposed to what they see as the slaughter of endangered and intelligent mammals.
Strong opposition came from the United States, one of the leaders of the battle against Iceland last year, and its allies.
Anti-whaling nations opposed admission for Iceland unless ot agreed to the moratorium, saying it would undermine the authority of the IWC.
The vote also has broader implications.
Japan is persisting in its push to overturn the commercial whaling moratorium and expand its programme of research whaling begun in 1987.
"I hope that this meeting will encourage IWC members not to treat whales separately and to make progress towards a plan for sustainable use," Japan's Agriculture Minister, Tsutomu Takebe said in his opening address.
Outside the convention centre in Shimonoseki, a former whaling centre some 825 km (490 miles) southwest of Tokyo. building, Greenpeace activists staged a protest accusing Japan of vote-buying.
Dressed as officials, five activists held out ceremonial Japanese trays laden with money as they stood under a banner that read: "Aid for aid, not for whaling" to greet delegates arriving at the building, near a fish market where whale meat is sold.
Dozens of police were deployed, with helicopters occasionally circling above, and the Coast Guard sent patrol boats to the nearby Kanmon Strait to fend off any seaborne protests.
MEMBERS GROW
The list of IWC members has grown by six since April, with Portugal and Mongolia signing up just ahead of the meeting. They joined other recent members Benin, Gabon, Palau and San Marino.
Benin, Gabon and Palau and Mongolia are expected to vote for whaling, Portugal and landlocked San Marino against.
If Iceland had become a full member, pro-whaling nations would have gained one more vote. Votes in recent years saw 20 against and 15 in favour of whaling.
Revoking the commercial whaling ban requires a three-quarters majority, which is unlikely, but other policy changes could be made with a simple majority.
Environmentalists say Japan has promised aid to countries that join the IWC and back its pro-whaling position, a stance the government denies.
They fear the growing numbers in the 48-member international organisation would enable Japan to push through longstanding aims such as secret ballots - allowing nations to vote for whaling without being ident