KOROR, Palau (9 Nov 2005) -- What do you do for an encore after you prostitute your country to Japan's commercial whaling agenda and ruin its eco-friendly image? Well if you're Palau president Tommy Remengesau, you get hot under your blubbery, made-in-Japan collar about global warming and the world's biodiversity. In a speech to visiting U.S. officials, Remengesau boasted that Palau is a world leader in conservation and muttered vague slogans about global issues requiring global solutions and global partnerships. "For Palau, the environment is our economic future," Remengesau said. "We have no higher issue on our agenda than the preservation of our natural resources." Despite the eco-friendly rhetoric delivered at a meeting of U.S. Coral Reef Task Force participants, Remengesau recently brokered a deal to support Japan's agenda to kill dolphins and whales in waters surrounding Palau and throughout the world. According to respected international environmental groups, Palau's partnership with Japan is based on agreements that the island nation will vote to support Japan's ongoing slaughter of whales and dolphins in exchange for various development grants. While Remengesau denies that Palau's pro-whaling position is a "sell-out" that puts economic goals ahead of environmental protection, officials in pro-whaling Caribbean countries have admitted that Japan's aid program is nothing more than bribes to buy votes against marine sanctuaries at annual International Whaling Conference (IWC) meetings. "You cannot be both for and against protection of marine wildlife," said Cyber Diver Society (CDS) Vice-President Sylvia Collins. "Until Palau rejects Japan's commercial whaling agenda and agrees to support the full protection of marine mammals including dolphins and whales, many in the global diving community will continue to avoid Palau." | | Whale sushi anyone? Palau president Tommy Remengesau. CDS and CDNN have launched an ACT NOW campaign aimed at collecting 100,000 letters from tourists stating they will boycott Palau until it reverses its position on whaling. To date, CDS estimates the boycott has cost Palau over $17 million in lost tourism revenue. To join the campaign, go to CDNN ACT NOW: Boycott Palau. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
