The NHK reports that the Japanese Coast Guard has today obtained an arrest warrant in Tokyo against Canadian Paul Watson, 59, for allegedly instructing members of his group, Sea Shepherd, to obstruct Japan's whaling mission and causing injury to Japanese crew. The Japanese government also seek an international arrest warrant, and Watson's arrest through Interpol.
Sea Shepherd is a non-government environmental organization, operating out of the United States. The group engages in conventional protests as well as controversial direct actions to protect marine wildlife. The Sea Shepherd has crusaded against commercial fishing, shark poaching and finning, seal hunting, and whaling, but its actions have not always been legal, or even free of controversy.
Controversial incidents include scuttling and disabling commercial whaling vessels at harbour, ramming other vessels, throwing glass bottles of butyric acid on the decks of vessels at sea, boarding of whaling vessels while at sea, and seizure and destruction of drift nets at sea. As of 2009, Paul Watson has said that the organization has sunk ten whaling ships while also destroying millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. He considers the actions to be against "criminal operations".
Most recently, this whaling season saw the arrest of Peter Bethune who seized while illegal boarding a Japanese whaler. He was indicted on April 2 for trespassing, injuring a person, carrying a weapon, vandalism and obstructing commercial activities and could face up to 15 years jail time.
So, do the ends justify the means? Tell us what you think and coment bellow!
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