WA: Smith to raise whaling with Nakasone

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2008
WA: Smith to raise whaling with Nakasone

PERTH, Dec 10 AAP - Japan's trade in commercial whaling will be raised at a meeting
of Australian and Japanese defence and foreign affairs ministers tomorrow, the federal
government says.

Japanese whalers are on their way to Antarctic waters, while the militant Sea Shepherd
anti-whaling group is sending its own vessel from Australia.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Environment Minister Peter Garrett last week called
for restraint against the use of violence by any party.

"I will raise it formally with foreign minister (Hirofume) Nakasone, make the point
that we are disappointed that the Japanese whaling fleet has left ... for the Great Southern
Ocean," Mr Smith said in Perth on Wednesday.

"We ... want to see a cessation of Japanese whaling in the Great Southern Ocean and
we continue to work very strongly in a diplomatic sense, both bilaterally but also multilaterally
through the International Whaling Commission to persuade Japan to bring their lethal whaling
program to an end."

"So I'll make all of those points to foreign minister Nakasone. I met (him) in Lima
in the course of the APEC foreign minister and trade ministers meetings ... and made those
points and I'll repeat those points.

"And, also make the point to him that we regard our envoy Sandy Hollway as doing very good work."

AAP jp/bwl

KEYWORD: WHALING

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