Paul Watson (right) and President of Sea Shepherd France Lamya Essemlali speak to journalists during a press conference to celebrate the release of the environmental activist, on Place de la République in Paris, December 21, 2024. JOHANNA GERON / REUTERS A few days after regaining his freedom, the activist is determined to return to combat. “We are going to put an end to whaling in the world, one way or another,” promised Paul Watson, Saturday, December 21, during a press briefing organized on the sidelines of an event celebrating his release , Place de la République in Paris. “We will continue our missions. We will oppose Iceland’s whaling and, if Japan tries to return to the Antarctic whaling sanctuary, we will be there,” he continued, believing that “we must learn to live in harmony with all species. An international figure in the defense of whales, the 74-year-old American-Canadian activist had been detained in Greenland for five months. After several extensions of his detention, Denmark ended up rejecting an extradition request from Japan, allowing his release on Tuesday. He arrived Friday afternoon in France, where his family lives and where his arrest had sparked a surge of solidarity, and declared himself eager on Saturday to “spend Christmas with [ses] children” and to see his grandchildren for the first time in six months. “It’s my priority, but we will return to sea,” he promised. The Sea Shepherd association, which he founded, “has a boat in Bermuda, which will go to Iceland next June. We also have a boat in Australia ready to return to the Antarctic sanctuary if Japan goes,” Mr Watson said. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Paul Watson: how Denmark maneuvered to give the whale defender his freedom Read later More than 4,000 letters of support received A person holds a sign of thanks to Paul Watson, during a rally organized by Sea Shepherd France and Vakita, to welcome the American-Canadian activist released after five months of detention in Denmark, on Place de la République in Paris, Saturday December 21, 2024. JOHANNA GERON / REUTERS For her part, the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, present alongside her during the press briefing, specified that Mr. Watson had “received more than 4,000 letters in prison, including more than 3,000 from France”. “There have been more letters of support from Japanese citizens than from Australian citizens,” she also declared, specifying that “less than 2% of Japanese eat whale meat” and that the association “does not has nothing against the Japanese people. Faced with a crowd of a few hundred people who came to attend the event during which artists such as Polo & Pan performed in the rain on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Watson was pleased to see that “the ocean is important for so many people in France”, a country which has “an incredible heritage linked to the ocean”. France is “the second largest maritime surface in the world and we have an enormous responsibility in terms of protecting the ocean,” said Ms. Essemlali, calling for the country to be “the locomotive in protecting the ocean.” “. “If what happened with Paul Watson could trigger that, we really would have won everything. » Asked about a possible message to the Japanese government, Mr. Watson replied that the country must “obey international laws. Killing whales in an international whaling sanctuary is illegal. (…) We are not protesting against Japan’s whaling. We simply ask that [ce pays] respect the law.” See also | Article reserved for our subscribers The Paul Watson method: “The most powerful weapon in the world is the camera” Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
