## 38 Free Paul Watson

Two days ago, activist Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland (Denmark). He risks spending the rest of his life in a... Japanese prison. Yet another inversion of values.

His detractors call him an eco-terrorist, like our dear french interior minister with regard to the «soulèvements de la terre» and other so-called ‘radical’ environmental movements. The term itself should not give rise to debate: the real eco-terrorists are not those who defend the living, the earth, but those who pillage it by their pollution, their intensive exploitation, exhausting it until this planet becomes uninhabitable not only for humans but for so many other animal and plant species. The term was defined by the FBI under Reagan to fight animal rights movements such as the Animal Liberation Front. And Paul Watson was already in the sights at that time... Who is etymologically right? Ecology is a term that refers to the interactions and relationships between living beings and, by extension, all living things. And one of its definitions is the study of balance and harmony in living things. To be a terrorist in this field is therefore to endanger and terrorise living things. And Paul Watson in n
o way endangers living things, he protects them. 

His action began in the 1970s, when he was participating to the foundation Greenpeace (although the organisation, which has changed a lot, denies that it was true). This Canadian sailor and former coastguard began his environmental action by protesting against nuclear testing on islands in Alaska. It was in 1975 that he came into conflict with his friends at Greenpeace, advocating more direct action to protect whales. In 1977 he was expelled from Greenpeace and set up Sea Shepherd (or rather the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society). Although he sometimes made headlines for his actions against whalers, putting his boat between the hunted animals and the hunters, it was not until the TV Show Whale Wars (Justiciers des mers in French) that he became known to the general public. The actions of his association are not limited to this subject (over-fishing, marine pollution, cetacean captivity, shark protection, etc.) but it is the main mode of action. The association has branches all over the world, including one i
n France. It owns up to 9 ships, some of which have been sponsored by celebrities: the Sam Simon was donated by one of the creators of The Simpsons. Its emblem, derived from pirate symbols, is now well known and can be seen at many animal rights events.

Controversies remain: if he is on the INTERPOL red list, it is because of a complaint from Japan. Its organisation has sunk Icelandic whalers without endangering the crews. It has already used underwater mines to damage whalers and force them to turn back, blocked propellers with cables, poured butanoic acid (a non-toxic repellent) to make whale meat unfit for consumption... The NGO talks about respecting international conventions to justify its actions, and in particular the agreements on whaling, which is tolerated for scientific reasons... reasons that are obviously not respected, since it is indeed commercial exploitation that is practiced by some countries: Japan, Norway, Denmark, in particular. Many countries that support whaling within the International Whaling Commission do not practice it, and are subject to corruption. Although 40,000 whales have still been killed since the 1985 moratorium was introduced, Sea Shepherd claims to have saved 5,000 through its actions. 

Another controversy comes from Paul Watson's own personality. No sexual scandal or rape this time...During the 2011 earthquake in Japan, Watson wrote a poem suggesting that it was Neptune's revenge. He corrected his remarks by expressing his condolences to the Japanese people. The association split in 2022, with the American branch ousting its founder for reasons of internal politics and the more mercantile orientation of the US branch. Today Paul Watson continues to be supported by the French, English and Brazilian branches. Some associations regret that his stubbornness has endangered agreements to limit whaling without banning it. But despite the fact that he was under threat of arrest (he was also arrested in Germany and then released), the sailor set sail again to continue his work. He was in Greenland to do just that before the authorities came to arrest him.

He alone is the symbol of what still divides activism and politics. Simply asking politely is not enough to achieve progress. But simply taking action can also be counter-productive. Sea Shepherd has not contented itself with these high-profile actions either, and is taking part in in-depth actions and negotiations, alongside a large number of other associations. The INTERPOL notice (also criticized for abusive notices in other areas, under the influence of its management) is obviously there to dissuade other activists of the same type from taking action. By leaving Paul Watson in prison, we are not only dissuading action to preserve whales, we are attacking environmental and even political movements in the broadest sense. It's similar to convicting trade unionists for damaging machinery, peacefully kidnapping managers, ripping off shirts, etc. Without Paul Watson, more whales would have been killed, and the subject would not be on the table at environmental conferences. Long gone are the days when it was hi
ghlighted by associations like Greenpeace or the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. Now we're content with moratoriums so as not to offend on other issues. We still have a long way to go...

=> https://www.mesopinions.com/petition/nature-environnement/emmanuel-macron-demander-liberation-paul-watson/232333 Sign the French Protest
=> https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/freepaulwatson/ Help the Paul Watson Foundation

2Dɛ
=> mailto:icemanfr@sdf.org Comments by mail
or by a reply on your blog