December, 25 2018, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sumiko Kawazu, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Japan, sumiko.kawazu@greenpeace.org, phone: +81 80 3930 3342
Greenpeace Condemns Japan Government's "Sneaky" Withdrawal From International Whaling Commission
Greenpeace condemns the Japanese Government's formal announcement today to officially withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), with the intention to resume commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Previous media reports had indicated that government of Japan was considering pulling out of the IWC, but the announcement today formalises the country's intentions to leave the organisation.
TOKYO
Greenpeace condemns the Japanese Government's formal announcement today to officially withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), with the intention to resume commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Previous media reports had indicated that government of Japan was considering pulling out of the IWC, but the announcement today formalises the country's intentions to leave the organisation.
Sam Annesley, Executive Director at Greenpeace Japan said:
"It's clear that the government is trying to sneak in this announcement at the end of year away from the spotlight of international media, but the world sees this for what it is. The declaration today is out of step with the international community, let alone the protection needed to safeguard the future of our oceans and these majestic creatures. The government of Japan must urgently act to conserve marine ecosystems, rather than resume commercial whaling.
"As a result of modern fleet technology, overfishing in both Japanese coastal waters and high seas areas has led to the depletion of many whale species. Most whale populations have not yet been recovered, including larger whales such as blue whales, fin whales and sei whales.
"The world's oceans face multiple threats such as acidification and plastic pollution, in addition to overfishing. As a country surrounded by oceans where people's lives have been heavily reliant on marine resources, it is essential for Japan to work towards healthy oceans. Japan's government has so far failed to resolve these problems.
"As the chair of the G20 in 2019, the Japanese government needs to recommit to the IWC and prioritise new measures for marine conservation."
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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Critics Denounce Israel's Defense Against Genocide Charges as 'Dishonest Talking Points'
"The problem for Israel is that the world has seen what they've done," said one observer.
May 17, 2024
The arguments presented by Israeli representatives at the International Court of Justice on Friday were not unexpected, as the government faced a new set of hearings on the Israel Defense Forces' assault on Gaza, but observers said the legal team's defense of the country's actions in the Palestinian enclave were "hard to stomach" in light of mounting reports about the lack of humanitarian aid and the rising death toll.
Tamar Kaplan Tourgeman, principal deputy legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Gilad Noam, the deputy attorney general for international law, presented Israel's arguments against South Africa's claim that the ICJ must stop the IDF's invasion of Rafah, from which 630,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee since Israel seized a border crossing there and began moving troops into residential neighborhoods.
More than 1 million people have been forcibly displaced to Rafah since October as Israel has decimated cities across Gaza in what it claims is an effort to target Hamas fighters—but which has killed at least 35,303 people, two-thirds of whom have been women and children. The World Food Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development have both said in recent weeks, following months of warnings from humanitarian groups, that famine has taken hold in parts of Gaza due to Israel's near-total blockade on humanitarian aid.
Tourgeman claimed that South Africa—which launched the genocide case against Israel in December—has turned "a blind eye to Israel's remarkable effort" to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and said Israel has taken "proactive steps" to ensure medical care is still being provided. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) disputed the claims at a press briefing shortly after the hearing.
"The last medical supplies that we got in Gaza was before May 6," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said at a U.N. press briefing, referring to the date Israel seized the Rafah crossing. "We don't have fuel. We have hospitals under evacuation order. We have a situation where we cannot move physically."
Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum reported Friday that U.N. officials had confirmed no aid has come through either the Rafah or Karem Abu Salem crossings in recent days.
"That reflects how much Israel is working to erase truth and change the facts on the ground as it continues its relentless bombardment of Rafah and the Jabalia refugee camp," Abu Azzoum said.
Marc Owen Jones, associate professor of Middle East studies and digital humanities at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, accused Israel of using the ICJ hearing to promote "dishonest talking points" to the international community.
"This is why a lot of what it says comes across as completely dishonest—because it is completely dishonest," Jones told Al Jazeera. "There is a difference between the reality on the ground and what Israel is trying to present to the international community... The aid situation is desperate."
Kate Stegeman, a policy and advocacy consultant in South Africa, said it was "particularly hard to stomach" Israel's denial that civilians and medical staffers were killed by the IDF at Al-Shifa Hospital, one of the facilities where multiple mass graves have been found containing hundreds of bodies, including those of women and children.
This part is particularly hard to stomach: in response to concerning allegations of numerous war crimes perpetrated amid Israel’s March military operation at Al Shifa hospital, Kaplan Tourgeman categorically denies any patients or medical staff were killed by the IDF #Gaza #ICJ pic.twitter.com/MUW3Cschzb
— Kate Stegeman (@KatesCurious) May 17, 2024
Tourgeman also focused part of her defense on statements made by Israeli officials about their objectives in Gaza. She claimed that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza must not pose a threat to Israel and when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military operates "neighborhood by neighborhood" and will reach every location in Gaza, they were speaking expressly about Hamas.
The legal adviser did not mention Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's recent call for the "total annihilation" of Rafah and other cities, Gallant's statement that he had "released all the restraints" on the military, or a former intelligence chief's comment in October that "the 'noncombatant population' in the Gaza Strip is really a nonexistent term," among other statements.
While the Israeli representatives claimed the country "has been and remains committed to acting in accordance with its international legal obligations," said one critic, "the problem for Israel is that the world has seen what they've done."
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'Alliance With White Nationalists': Texas Gov Rebuked for Pardoning Shooter of BLM Protester
"This pardon not only undermines the justice system but also sends a chilling message that politically motivated violence is acceptable," said Democratic Texas state Rep. Ron Reynolds.
May 17, 2024
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a pardon on Thursday for Daniel Perry, who was convicted of fatally shooting Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in 2020.
Abbott's pardon came less than an hour after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended it, Austin-based investigative journalist Tony Plohetski noted on social media. In addition to releasing him from prison, the pardon grants Perry "restoration of full civil rights of citizenship," including the right to own a gun.
"Before Daniel Perry murdered a veteran in 2020, he told a friend he 'might go to Dallas to shoot looters.' A year before, he wrote, 'to bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims,'" Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote in response to the news. "Gov. Abbott's alliance with white nationalists is putting dangerous people on our streets."
"He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his—and different from those in power—can be killed in this state with impunity."
Perry shot Foster on July, 25, 2020 in Austin. At the time an active duty Army sergeant and Uber driver, Perry accelerated his car toward a group of people protesting the police killing of George Floyd. Some of the protesters approached his car, including 28-year-old Air Force veteran Foster, who was legally open carrying an AK-47. Perry then shot Foster four times with a .357 Magnum pistol.
Perry's lawyers said that Perry acted in self-defense and that Foster had started to point his gun at him, according toThe New York Times. However, Perry told police that Foster had not actually aimed at him but that he "didn't want to give him a chance" to do so.
Perry also had a history of making violent and racist remarks on social media. In one 2020 message, shared at the trial, he said he "might have to kill a few people on my way to work."
A jury voted in 2023 to convict Perry of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; he was later sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, a day after his conviction and before he was even sentenced, Abbott said he was "working as swiftly" as possible to pardon him. In Texas, all pardons must come through the board, but its members were all appointed by Abbott.
"Texas has one of the strongest 'Stand Your Ground' laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney," Abbott said in a statement announcing the pardon. "I thank the board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation."
Foster's family members reacted with shock and dismay to the news.
His mother, Sheila, told The New York Times that she would leave Texas because of Abbott's pardon.
"I feel like I'm in a Twilight Zone episode. This doesn't happen," she said. "It seems like this is some kind of a political circus and it's costing me my life."
She added that Foster "deserved so much better" and was "out there protecting people from people like Perry."
Foster's partner Whitney Mitchell said: "I am heartbroken by this lawlessness. Gov. Abbott has shown that, to him, only certain lives matter. He has made us all less safe."
"With this pardon, the governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and U.S. Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury's just verdict," she further toldHouston Public Media. "He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his—and different from those in power—can be killed in this state with impunity."
Public and elected officials also criticized Abbott's pardon.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza, who prosecuted the case, said the pardon board and Abbott had made a "mockery of our legal system."
"Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not," Garza continued. "They have sent a message to Garrett Foster's family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) suggested the pardon was politically motivated.
"Let's call this for what it is: From the start, Abbott wanted to pardon this racist murderer to score political points with MAGA Republicans," Doggett wrote on social media.
Texas state Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-27), chairman of the Texas Black Legislative State Caucus, said in a statement that "the blatant hypocrisy in this decision is beyond comprehension" and it was an "all-time low, even for the governor."
"This pardon not only undermines the justice system but also sends a chilling message that politically motivated violence is acceptable," Reynolds continued. "This decision is a slap in the face to the Foster family, the Black Lives Matter movement, and to all who believe in justice and equality."
Reynolds added: "Gov. Abbott's actions are not only disappointing—they are deeply disturbing. They reveal a willingness to ignore the rule of law and cater to a dangerous ideology that puts lives at risk. This pardon sets a dangerous precedent that undermines public trust in our legal system and emboldens those who seek to harm others under the guise of political dissent."
Notably, the pardon board recommended a posthumous pardon for Floyd, whose killing by the Minneapolis police sparked the protests where Perry killed Foster. Floyd had a drug charge on the books from his time in Houston that, according to Austin lawyer Rick Cofer, stemmed from drug planting by corrupt cops. Abbott responded to that recommendation by pressuring the board to rescind it, which they eventually did.
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'Truly Disturbing': FEC Republicans Vote Unanimously to Give Even More Shadow to 'Dark Money'
"Preventing the disclosure of the sources of political spending would deprive voters of critical information and undermine the essential need for checks on monetary power," warned one democracy watchdog.
May 17, 2024
All three Republican members of the Federal Election Commission on Thursday voted in favor of a new rule change that would have made it even easier for right-wing megadonors to hide their political campaign contributions from public view.
While the three Democratic members forced a deadlocked vote that prevented passage of the proposal, pro-democracy watchdogs said the unanimous vote by the Republican-appointed members shows the powerful commitment by GOP forces to increase the ability for wealthy individuals and corporate interests to mask their political giving.
FEC chairman Sean Cooksey was joined by his two Republican colleagues Allen Dickerson and James "Trey" Trainor III in backing the measure, but all three Democrats—Commissioners Shana Broussard, Dara Lindenbaum, and vice chair Ellen Weintraub—voted against to nullify it.
The proposal, Sludgereported earlier this week, would "supercharge" the flow of so-called "dark money" in political campaigns and was proposed by Dickerson, a Trump-nominated member who "previously worked at an anti-campaign finance regulation organization funded by conservative political megadonors."
"As democracy faces its biggest test yet around the world, it is difficult to believe that the world's oldest democracy is even considering further eroding the public's right to know who is influencing their elections."
Dickerson's proposed rule change, per the FEC, would have allowed advocacy groups or campaigns to "withhold, redact, or modify contributors’ identifying information in campaign finance disclosure reports"—reports currently mandated so that the public is made aware of who is funding such organizations.
Ahead of the vote, Scott Greytak, director of advocacy for Transparency International U.S., said the implications if it passed would reach far beyond the United States.
"With half of the world's population living in countries that will hold a nationwide vote this year, the United States must embody and exemplify the importance of transparent and informed elections," Greytak said in a statement opposing the proposal. "As democracy faces its biggest test yet around the world, it is difficult to believe that the world's oldest democracy is even considering further eroding the public's right to know who is influencing their elections."
In a May 2 memo detailing his argument in favor of exempting donors from mandated disclosure requirements, Dickerson claims it is "a Constitutional right" because "Americans are entitled to make political contributions without being attacked, threatened, or fired."
In view of such arguments, which right-wing forces have made for some time, Stuart McPhail, director of campaign finance litigation with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), has explained why such bad-faith misdirection is an effort to obscure what's really going on.
While it's true that some groups historically were granted exemptions for donor disclosures—including the NAACP and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), whose supporters and members faced coordinated, state-sponsored violence due to their political activities—claims like the one Dickerson makes, McPhail contends, fails on various merits.
"Campaign finance disclosure does not subject any viewpoint to discriminatory burdens," McPhail explained in a 2022 blog post. "Rather, the aim of the laws has nothing to do with expression at all: they target transfers of wealth that could be and are used to corruptly influence officials, defraud voters and undermine democracy. Rather than state-sponsored suppression, dark money funders face criticism from concerned and less powerful citizens."
It should be clear, he continued, that powerful "Dark money groups, their donors, and the candidates are trying to evade responsibility, not prevent retaliation." When people like Dickerson make such moves, argued McPhail, they are trying to help groups and their allies "to avoid accountability by hiding their donors and silencing critics who may speak out against them."
This is why Thursday's votes in favor of such a proposal, said Craig Holman, Ph.D., a government ethics expert with Public Citizen, should be viewed with alarm.
"Commissioners of the FEC, regardless of party affiliation, have always defended the need for disclosure of campaign money sources – until now," Holman said following the 3-3 vote. "Preventing the disclosure of the sources of political spending would deprive voters of critical information and undermine the essential need for checks on monetary power. It is truly disturbing to see half of the Commission now undermining that core principle, which is so important to an open democratic society."
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