Sea Shepherd member arrested for whaling ship trespass+

TOKYO, March 12 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard arrested a member of the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society on Friday for allegedly trespassing last month on a ship
of Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean.
Pete Bethune, the New Zealand captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil who
had been detained on the whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2,
since boarding it Feb. 15, was arrested aboard after it docked at port in
Tokyo's Chuo Ward at around 10:45 a.m.
He was then transferred to a Japan Coast Guard vessel which took him to the
quay adjacent to the Tokyo Coast Guard Office in Koto Ward, to which he was
taken by car and walked into the building under heavy guard by some 100 police
and coast guard officers. Some officers held blue plastic sheets around the
44-year-old to hide him as he walked.
It will be the first instance of the Japan Coast Guard building a case
involving trespass on a ship in international waters, according to the agency.
Bethune admitted he boarded the Shonan Maru No. 2 shortly after his arrest,
according to Japan Coast Guard officials.
The Japan Coast Guard later moved the ship to Yokohama port, west of Tokyo, and
investigated the degree of damage caused when Bethune boarded it while
interviewing its crew members. It plans to have Bethune attend the inspection
scheduled for Saturday.
Bethune has been ''behaving gentlemanly'' since being detained and was served
the same meals as the crew members while on the Shonan Maru No. 2, according to
Japan Coast Guard and other officials. He had lunch and looked well after
arriving at the Tokyo Coast Guard Office.
Japan Coast Guard senior official Takeo Murui declined to reveal any details of
the investigation into the case at a press conference, only saying probes will
be made into the ''series of (Bethune's) obstructive acts.''
The Japan Coast Guard obtained an arrest warrant for Bethune on Thursday for
allegedly approaching the Shonan Maru No. 2 aboard a jet ski and climbing onto
the ship. He is also suspected of having injured some Japanese crew members by
throwing bottles of butyric acid on Feb. 11.
Commenting on the arrest, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a
regular news conference that Bethune will be dealt with properly with a
judicial judgment.
''Since (the trespass) happened on the high seas, it can't be helped that it
took so much time (to make the arrest),'' Hirano said.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told reporters in the afternoon, ''While there
may be various ideas about whaling from country to country, or from person to
person, such an egregious act was very dangerous and should not be forgiven.
The arrest was a matter of course because he intruded onto a ship.''
The premier also said the case will be investigated and the suspect tried based
on evidence, adding, however, that he does not believe this incident will
worsen Japan's relations with Australia or New Zealand.
Paul Watson, head of the U.S.-based conservation group, told Kyodo News he
thought it was ''very strange...the aggrieved captain is the one who is going
to be arrested.''
Bethune reportedly asked the captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 to pay
compensation for the damage to the Sea Shepherd stealth vessel that sank after
colliding with the Japanese ship Jan. 6 in the Antarctic Ocean. Both parties
blame each other for the incident.
''Pete Bethune was prepared for this, and he said let's go back to Japan, let's
throw everything out on the table and clear this up,'' Watson said, speaking
from Hobart on Australia's southern island of Tasmania, where the group's boats
are currently docked.
''We are rallying a lot of support in New Zealand and Australia for Pete, he
may be considered a criminal in Japan but he's a hero in Australia and New
Zealand,'' he added.
On Sea Shepherd's website, a large banner entitled ''Defending the whales'' to
solicit for donations was posted shortly after Bethune was arrested.
A spokesman for New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the country
hopes that one of its embassy staffers in Tokyo can get in contact with Bethune
during the day. ''We're hoping to have some consular access to him later today
and until that happens there's not a lot more we can say,'' he said.
Watson said, ''We have a legal team standing by, but my understanding of
Japanese law is they can hold you up for over three weeks without even allowing
you to see a lawyer.''
At the wharf where the Shonan Maru No. 2 docked, about 10 people, including
members of a conservative civic group, called for preserving the country's
whaling culture and denounced Bethune's actions. About 70 members of the media
were also present.
Displaying images of Sea Shepherd members hampering the Japanese whaling fleet,
as well as cans of whale meat, the activists demanded that Bethune be harshly
punished.
A construction worker in his 50s passing by said, ''When it comes to meat,
whale used to be the one for us. I don't think Sea Shepherd's violent approach
is good, but can't we be somewhat civil to each other, when it comes to the
stance against whaling?''
Japan halted commercial whaling in 1986 in line with an international
moratorium, but has hunted whales since 1987 for what it calls scientific
research purposes. Environmentalists have condemned the activity as a cover for
commercial whaling.
The Sea Shepherd group has said it is ready to mount a legal challenge in Japan
to stop the country's so-called research whaling.
Watson, meanwhile, is slated to leave for the Mediterranean Sea on another Sea
Shepherd ship, the Steve Irwin, next week to protect bluefin tuna, which is
mostly consumed in Japan.
Funded by donations from celebrities and other individuals, the Washington
state-based group, set up in 1977, is known for its radical methods to protect
whales and other marine life. It has sunk an Icelandic whaling ship.
==Kyodo
2010-03-12 23:07:47