In a politically motivated display that amounts to little more than a media stunt, Japanese Police Issued arrest warrants for three Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists on Monday.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxu7XaDMTvQCldbgsUmYUS1w8lTg

When asked about the situation, Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson said, "We are not worried about these arrest warrants because Interpol does not flag politically motivated warrants. The USA and the UK will not extradite their citizens to Japan for saving whales."

We discussed recent Japanese propaganda over the issue:

DV: A Japanese media report states that the arrest warrants issued Monday against three activists of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are expected to curtail action against Japanese whale research ships. Do you foresee any change in SS tactics as a direct result of these warrants?

Captain Paul Watson: We intend to take a more aggressive stance this year with Operation Musashi. We are not down there protesting whaling; we are intervening against illegal whaling activities as defined by International Conservation law.

DV: The MPD is reportedly treating the alleged attacks as a criminal matter, with one senior officer describing them as "terrorist crimes." Do you recall any action by Sea Shepherd which could be classed as criminal?

Captain Paul Watson: We have not committed any terrorist crime. On the contrary we are intervening against terrorism. The Japanese whaling fleet is killing endangered whales in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on whaling. They are in violation of CITES, IWC regulations, the Antarctic treaty and Australian law for taking whales in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters.

DV: Japanese media claim that international pressure on Sea Shepherd is getting stronger year by year. Is this your experience? Is support for Sea Shepherd growing or shrinking?

Captain Paul Watson: We are getting stronger. We grew by 25% internationally last year and 200% in Australia. We have growing support in Europe and South Africa, Brazil and the United States. Our international membership is 45,000+

DV: One Japanese media report claimed that "Sea Shepherd bases its operations in Australia, a nation opposed to commercial whaling. Despite this, Australian Federal Police in March questioned activists from the group involved in the alleged violent actions." Were any charges laid or any member of Sea Shepherd detained in Australia?

Captain Paul Watson: We have not been questioned by the Australian Federal police. The AFP did do a forensic investigation of our ship after the collision with the Kaiko Maru in February 2007 and the investigation backed our position that our ship was rammed by the whaling vessel.

More information about Operation Musashi and other Sea Shepherd campaigns can be found on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society website, http://www.seashepherd.org/.