Japan Officially Labels Paul Watson A "Terrorist" For Saving Whales

posted by: Drew Wilson

When will this silly "terrorism" rhetoric end? I thought that once Bush left office he would take the with-us-or-with-the-terrorists mentality with him. Maybe that was naive. Apparently the Japanese government has taken yet another step towards labeling the conservationist Paul Watson a terrorist.

Watson is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and captain of the anti-whaling vessel, the Steve Irwin. During a recent trip between Canada and the United States, Watson discovered that he is now officially on some kind of Japanese suspected-terrorist watch-list. While going through the regular paperwork of international air travel, he was told that there was some issue with his documents and was pulled aside by a member of the American homeland security office. There he was held long enough to miss his original flight, but Watson was lucky enough to catch the next flight out.

While being held, Watson discovered from the US agents that the Japanese government has sent an official communication to the American government that they suspect the anti-whaling activist of being a terrorist. The homeland security officer eventually let him go, but only after asking for an autograph for his son. Apparently the boy is a big fan of Whale Wars. Awesome.

From Paul's online editorial column:
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-090611-1.html

"But the truth had just been revealed and with a shudder down my spine I realized that I was now a member of a new species of terrorist, a gentler, kinder sort of terrorist.

I was not upset. In fact I was overjoyed to find out that I was not alone. Another international terrorist whose name strikes fear into the hearts of every Chinese communist bureaucrat was his Holiness the Dalai Lama.

This gentle, non-violent, wise and honorable man is now, according to the Chinese government, an international terrorist. And if the Dalai Lama can be defined as a terrorist then I’m proud to be a terrorist also."
Seems like the power dynamic is always the same: if an activist points out the wrong-doing of some dominant power structure like a government or a major corporation, then they get labeled an antisocial terrorist. What garbage. The whole world is rooting for Sea Shepherd.

Read some of the 25 comments here:
http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/japan-labels-paul-wat...