Foreign secretary Godal answered questions concerning the American organisation Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s attempt at sinking the combined fishing and whaling vessel “Senet” in Gressvik on January 24. The boat was salvaged at the last minute by the local fire brigade. The incident caused damages amounting to £9,000. This is Sea Shepherd’s second unsuccessful attempt at sinking whaling vessels in Norway. Sea Shepherd claimed responsibility for the attempted sinking in a press release (January 24) showing pictures from the event.
“I am not on intimate terms with American legislation, but I can make the following statement without hesitation: There can obviously be no legal basis in American legislation for sinking vessels engaged in legal activities in other countries, neither on the high seas nor in the territorial waters of other countries,” said foreign secretary Godal to the Norwegian parliament, Stortinget.
Five days after the attempted sinking of “Senet”, representatives from the US Embassy in Oslo were summoned to the Norwegian foreign office. The two parties disagree about what happened at the meeting. US Embassy press officer, Greg Crouch told the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv that he denied that the US had been asked to stop Sea Shepherd. Foreign office press officer, Ingvar Haven told Dagens Næringsliv that he could confirm that such demands had in fact been made and added “We await a reply to our request.”
Crouch claims that the offenses committed by Sea Shepherd are not an American concern. “We have done all we can to assist the Norwegian authorities in their investigations and will continue to do so,” says Crouch to Dagens Næringsliv.
Tacit agreement
“The US authorities do not only allow the Sea Shepherd’s terrorist activities, they also condone them by providing tax exemption for final contributions to the organisation,” claims Olavsen. Sea Shepherd has been awarded status as a charity by the US authorities.
No reply
Trained killers
When asked by Dagbladet whether using people with such experience in campaigns that could well lead to confrontations with Norwegian whalers and police, might not lead to the use of violence, Watson replied “Certainly, these men are trained to kill, but they are also very well-disiplined and respect my orders. And the order is: Violence is forbidden!”
Pressing charges
He told NTB (Norwegian Telegram Agency, January 26) that he was considering not appearing because he was worried about his safety. He has also claimed that he has not yet been charged with an offence. This has been repudiated by the Norwegian prosecuting authorities.
There are no extradition agreements between the US and Norway. Watson is a Canadian subject while DiStefano is an American subject. “No criminal charges have been filed against the Sea Shepherd for the attacks (on whaling vessels),” it says in a Sea Shepherd press release
dated January 24.
“There appears to be a tacit agreement to the effect that Sea Shepherd may continue their activities as long as they do not impact US citizens or their property,” says chairman of the High North Alliance, Jan Odin Olavsen, to High North News. He refers to the fact that in their publication “Sea Shepherd Log” (third quarter, 1993), the Sea Shepherd proclaims that the organisation “is not active” in the US and does not take action within US territory.
After the first scuttling attempt, made against the “Nybræna” in Lofoten in December 1992, the High North Alliance made enquiries at the American embassy as to whether Sea Shepherd’s use of American territory as a base for acts of terrorism was legal in accordance with American law. This question was never answered. “I will not answer as to whether we will answer,” said Mr. George Boutin, second in command at the embassy, to the High North News in April of last year. A letter was also sent to then newly elected president Clinton appealing that he put a stop to further campaigns. The letter was handed over to the embassy. No reply has been received to this letter either, despite several reminders. After the attempted scuttling, the High North Alliance has repeated their written enquiries to the embassy and the White House.
Sea Shepherd leader, Paul Watson, told the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet on January 26, that former “Seal”-soldiers took part in the attack on the “Senet”. The “Seal” force is the US army’s elite force, specially trained for close combat and commando raids of extreme difficulty.
The investigations into the attempted scuttling of the “Nybræna” last year confirmed that Sea Shepherd was responsible. Sea Shepherd leader, Paul Watson, and his girlfriend, Lisa DiStefano, perpetrated the attack themselves, together with a third person. Charges have been pressed against Watson and DiStefano who have been summonsed to appear in court in Svolvær on May 30. Watson has repeatedly expressed that he has no greater desire than to defend his actions before a Norwegian court of law. But now it would seem that he has changed his mind: On January 25, he told the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, that he had not yet decided whether he would appear in court:
“We are in the middle of planning a campaign against whaling this summer and it all depends on how this will be carried out.”