Thank you Japan
Pete Bethune free after months in captivity
LATEST: Anti-whaling activists appear to have struck a deal with Japanese officials allowing Pete Bethune to walk free – in return for banning him from future expeditions. Bethune, 45, who has been in Japanese custody since February after boarding a Japanese whaling ship, was given a two-year suspended sentence in a Tokyo court yesterday.
While I disagree violently with Japan's slaughter of whales for the blatant lie of 'scientific research', let's give some thanks that they didn't take advantage of the situation and throw Pete into a prison for 2 years, in fact Japan has shown him more mercy than the Sea Shepard group who cut Pete lose after his bow and arrow (which they were aware of) was shown on TV.
It's a pity the NZ Government were so weak on this issue, luckily the Japanese decided not to be vindictive, if only they could share that same compassion to all those whales they want to pointlessly kill to prop up their old National identity.
I'm very happy for Pete and his family.
posted by Bomber @ 7:28 am
9 comments
9 Comments:
Yes, a sensible decision by the Japanese. It would serve no purpose having him locked up in a Japanese jail - the Sea Shephard organisation have abandoned him, so all it would do is just make a martyr out of him sitting in jail.
Japan did what they were always going to do, defuse the situation without losing face, hence the suspended sentence.
As for Pete, I'm not to bothered what happened to him, what concerns me is how the Guatemalan fisherman's family is surviving after having their breadwinner killed by earthrace.
He's little more than an eco-Krusty the Clown cruising around the oceans on a rocket, adding more damage to the oceans, either by killing poor people, or adding pollution.
Sure he raises funds and awareness....and maybe thats the best way to stop countries endagering whales.
But there's a right way to do it, and a wrong way.
Sea Shepard.
Grandstanding, treacherous clowns.
The manner in which they quickly looked away & started whistling while Bethunes arse was left hanging in the breeze was a bad joke.
Talk about fair-weather friends.
Chicken-shit, cowardly.
Oh. Good on Japan for a sensible sentence.
Apparently there was a 'deal' made with the prosecution, so I suspect that the Sea Shepherd made the announcement about not having Pete Bethune on board again to assist in his early release. Wouldn't be a surprise anyway.
Bethune always struck me as one of those over enthusiastic A.D.D. types that organisations such as Sea Shepard's are going to see as temporarily useful. Let's face it the idea of a citizens arrest in the Southern Ocean was about as stupid as it was possible to get. An empty and futile gesture completely letting the Japanese Captain off the hook for an act of Piracy. Better to have come home and held press conferences that would have McDully squirm.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Sea Sheppard abandoned him. Didn't they spend half a million dollars on his defense? And I remember someone from Sea Sheppard saying that giving the appearance of cutting him loose was a strategy used to let the Japanese know that he won't be a threat in the future if they don't lock him up. They were loyal but couldn't make a big noise in the media about it.
The Japanese don't have mercy.
Bethune is a Westerner and that still counts for heaps throughout Asia.
If he was some poor phillipino or mainland Chinese fisherman, he would have been shown no mercy.
White privilege is huge throughout Asia - I know - I worked there for many years.
Pffft, the same outocme would've happened regardless of the nationality of Peter Bethune.
The Japanese government have a vested interest in keeping their public ignorant of the details of their activities in the Antarctic whale sanctuary, not ending things quietly like this would've opened a whole new can of worms for them.
The Japanese government have a vested interest in keeping their public ignorant of the details of their activities in the Antarctic whale sanctuary
The public already know and overwhelmingly support the whaling - regardless of the fact few eat whale meat.
The more demands countries like New Zealand make to stop whaling, the less inclined the Japanese will be to stop.
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