The captain of a Japanese harpoon boat last night refused to hand back two volunteers, one British, to a radical environmental group – unless the group’s ship called off all attempts to stop whale hunting in icy seas near Antarctica.
Giles Lane, 35, from Brighton, and Benjamin Potts, 28, of Sydney, Australia, were held on Tuesday after boarding the Japanese vessel Yushin Maru 2 to deliver a plea to the captain to stop killing whales. They were detained by the crew and seen on film tied to railings.
"Using hostages to make demands is the hallmark of terrorism and Sea Shepherd has no interest in negotiating with terrorist groups. The hostages must be released unconditionally," said captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, by satellite phone from his ship, the Steve Irwin, yesterday.
Watson was supported by Jen Parker, the partner of Lane, who yesterday demonstrated with 50 people outside the Japanese embassy in London.
"Giles went out to take action to stop the whaling. He would not want to be released on these conditions," she said. "We are not getting any help from the embassy. They have told us to go through the usual channels, which could take three days. We are very frustrated."
Australia’s foreign minister, Stephen Smith, said that Japan had agreed to release the two volunteers after the department of foreign affairs and trade and embassy officials in Tokyo approached the Japanese government. But Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research, which is in charge of the expedition to catch 900 whales, claimed the Sea Shepherd was trying to prolong the controversy.
Last night a confrontation looked inevitable as the whalers attempted to regroup, pursued by Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace ships.,,kkk
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