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Whaling protesters held
THE Gillard government is grappling with a diplomatic crisis over three Australian environmental activists being held on board a Japanese whaling fleet ship and facing possible criminal charges in Japan.The protesters climbed aboard the security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 in darkness on Saturday night off the south coast of Western Australia. Their brazen attack - exposing the inadequacy of a recent multimillion-dollar security upgrade on the whaling fleet - was aimed at trying to force the Japanese ship to halt its pursuit of the anti-whaling flagship Steve Irwin. The two vessels were still locked together and heading south last night, about 14 nautical miles off WA. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon earlier conceded that the protesters may be taken to Japan, and said the government was now pursuing diplomatic options for their quick return from the ship. ''There are a range of different options that could occur for the transfer of these people back into Australian control,'' she said. ''We are now determined to do all we can to ensure the safety and the wellbeing of these three Australians and hopefully their prompt return to Australia.'' But Ms Roxon said the government had limited legal scope because the three had boarded the Japanese vessel in Australia's exclusive economic zone, not its territorial waters. She said that under international law it was now likely the lead jurisdiction would be Japan. Posted by: john frum 2012-01-08 |
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