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subsequent whale news home May 29, 1999 Rest gently, spirit of a creature called whale, the betrayal is past and your suffering over. You swim, safe forever, in the ocean of our tears. Now you delight the eye and heart of God. -Athena McEntyre Sea Defense Alliance Thus did Athena take leave from her long vigil of e-mailing reports of events leading up to the Makah whale murder. I usually try to avoid emotional words like "murder" and write the non-judgemental "kill" instead, but it was murder in the minds of all who saw on their TV sets how the friendly, trusting whale approached the Makah canoe only to be stabbed and stabbed again when she returned to the canoe as if asking for help. The only mercy she was shown, if you can call it that, was to be shot at least twice with the Makah's 50 cal. anti-tank gun. Ten minutes elapsed before death released her from her suffering. One can only wonder what thoughts were going through her intelligent mind. The female whale was about three years old, the same age J.J. would be now. J.J. was an orphan who was nurtured at Sea World until she was deemed able to survive on her own at sea, but that was when a whale was safe from attack in American coastal waters, especially in a marine sanctuary where this young whale, who may have been J.J., was killed. The whale defenders have obtained a sample of the dead whale's flesh so that Sea World can compare her DNA with that of J.J. to ascertain whether the victim was or was not J.J.. Up until May 29, that hadn't happened. This appalling event was instigated by the Japanese whaling industry, eager to legalize its own illegal (by International Whaling Commission [IWC] standards) slaughtering of whales and dolphins. There was never any doubt that the tribal council intended to engage in commercial whaling after people got over their initial shock from "cultural" whaling. They had clearly announced this intention earlier, but vehemently denied it when they saw an opening to kill with US government, but not IWC, sanction. The government erroneously announced that the Makah had received IWC sanction to kill, but this was not the case and has been denied by the Australian, British and New Zealand delegations as well as Washington Congressman Jack Metcalf, who was present, and IWC Secretary Ray Gambell who saw fit to issue a formal statement that IWC had not sanctioned the hunt. As feared, other tribes around the world, egged on by Japan, have announced their intention to get back to their traditions and resume killing for "cultural" purposes. As one protester remarked, some traditions are best left in the past. My ancestors used to kill your (Makah) ancestors, for instance. For this, he was denounced as a "racist" by the pro-Makah Seattle press. Why the Clinton administration has chosen to go along with Japan and support the letter of the Makah 1855 treaty rights is anybody's guess. It is said that they want to support the Japanese concept of free trade, but this seems it would be more like free mayhem if other tribes decide to follow suit. A return to killing whales was bound to be unpopular with most people,, but Clinton doesn't have to worry about votes. He won't be running for president again. The policy has been attributed more to Gore than Clinton, however, and Gore is very much in the running. Nobody argues that native Americans were shamefully mistreated by the Europeans who took over their land. It is one of the most disgraceful epidsodes in history, but it cannot be expunged by condoning further violence. Apparently, the administration does not agree. Can it be that they think they are helping the Makah to lead better lives by engaging in this cruel, and dangerous, violence and breaking the peace and mutual trust that has evolved between humans and whales? Whatever the administration's reasoning, they have brought to bear the authority of the Coast Guard (at considerable taxpayer expense) to assist the Makah in destroying the gradually achieved peace between most human and whale nations. United States, once a leader in protecting whales is now a whaling nation. Coast Guard helicopters helped the Makah to locate whales to throw their harpoons at. When the Makah lied that crew members of the Sea Defense Alliance had pointed guns at them, the Coast Guard searched their boat and found no guns. That should have been the end of it, but they also impounded the boat and detained crew members without charges. They seized other boats, zodiacs and jetskis as well. The Makah committed their murder while the whale defenders were off trying to muster more boats to shield the whales from those who were trying to kill them in a power boat-assisted, anti-tank gun mockery of their ancestors' ways. The Coast Guard is being sued for a related incident. Skid marks showed how a vehicle driven by Richard Gardener, a Coast Guard agent, accelerated and swerved in an attempt, which only partially succeeded, to run down a protester who was merely walking along the road. The agent had been found hiding in the bushes behind the Sea Defense Alliance's bugged cabin with a car full of listening devices. The IWC has met and disbanded without addressing the non-subsistence whaling issue, which leaves the fate of the gray whales in the hands of the brave folks who have put their boats and bodies on the water to defend them from the murdeous Makah. It should be noted that many Makah, including tribal elders are opposed to whaling. Unfortunately, the murderous faction happens to be in control of the tribal council and has dealt harshly with those who oppose whaling. The council has announced its intention to kill and kill again. For now, the migration is over, but the whales will head south again in the autumn and the horrible story will be repeated unless enough citizens call and write to persuade their representatives and senators to override the Clinton administration in deference to the will of the people. It was the pennies of school children that led to the rescue and rehabilitation of Keiko, the star of "Free Willy". Maybe letters and postcards from children can persuade Congress to act for the gray whales and all the rest of the world's whales now threatened by administration policy. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ subsequent whale update 112 previous whale update86 Introduction to "C-paper" 28 Summer 1999 issue of "C-paper"96 |