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Whalers 'try to return activists' Stand-off over whaling activists
(about 1 hour later)
Officials in Japan and Australia are working to resolve a row over two protesters detained on a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean.Officials in Japan and Australia are working to resolve a row over two protesters detained on a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean.
Japanese crewmen took the protesters, from the radical Sea Shepherd group, into custody on Tuesday after they tried to board their vessel.Japanese crewmen took the protesters, from the radical Sea Shepherd group, into custody on Tuesday after they tried to board their vessel.
The whalers say they are trying to return the two men but say Sea Shepherd is not cooperating. The whalers say they are trying to return the two men but accuse Sea Shepherd of not co-operating.
They accuse the group of drawing out the stand-off to gain publicity. Sea Shepherd say Japanese conditions for the handover are unacceptable.
The Sea Shepherd crew have been pursuing the Japanese fleet with the aim of using direct action to disrupt the hunt.The Sea Shepherd crew have been pursuing the Japanese fleet with the aim of using direct action to disrupt the hunt.
The whalers say Sea Shepherd activists have injured crew members in the past and accuse them of dangerous harassment.The whalers say Sea Shepherd activists have injured crew members in the past and accuse them of dangerous harassment.
'Completely untrue''Completely untrue'
The two men, Briton Giles Lane and Australian Benjamin Potts, boarded the Yushin Maru 2 vessel on Tuesday to deliver a petition.The two men, Briton Giles Lane and Australian Benjamin Potts, boarded the Yushin Maru 2 vessel on Tuesday to deliver a petition.
Sea Shepherd say they were assaulted and tied to the radar mast by the Japanese crew.Sea Shepherd say they were assaulted and tied to the radar mast by the Japanese crew.
But whaling officials said the pair had not been harmed. Hostage is not an accurate description, the two crew members were intentionally left behind on board. Tomohiko Taniguchi,Japanese foreign ministry
"Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue," said Minoru Morimoto of the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) in a statement late on Tuesday. But whaling officials said the pair had not been harmed, describing the claims as "completely untrue".
The two men had illegally boarded the vessel after trying to entangle the ship's propeller with ropes and throwing bottles of acid on the deck, the statement said. They said the men had illegally boarded the vessel after trying to damage its propeller and throwing bottles of acid.
A spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tomohiko Taniguchi, said that there was a strong desire on the Japanese side to return the two men.
Officials had contacted Sea Shepherd but received no response, he said.
A condition of the handover was that Sea Shepherd's inflatable boats - or zodiacs - agreed to remain 10 miles from Japanese vessels.
"If Sea Shepherd is not willing to do what the Japanese side wants them to do, I'm afraid it will take more time," he said.
Calling the two men hostages was incorrect, he added. "The two crew members were intentionally left behind on board."
Sea Shepherd, meanwhile, described a conditional release as unacceptable.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he expected the men to be returned "in a safe and secure condition".Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he expected the men to be returned "in a safe and secure condition".
"And the Japanese government also wants that to occur," he added. "And the Japanese government also wants that to occur," he added. "What is now needed is the co-operation of the two vessels involved."
"What is now needed is the cooperation of the two vessels involved."
'Numerous efforts'
The ICR said it had made numerous efforts to contact Sea Shepherd to try to arrange a handover.
But it said the group was not responding to e-mails or radio contact.
It added that the whalers could approach the environmentalists to try and hand the men over, but they feared a further confrontation.
Earlier, Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said the whalers had offered to release the men on condition that they did not interfere in the fleet's operations.
The Japanese fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme.The Japanese fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme.
But Australia and other nations say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling. But other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling.