Mel and the Twelve: The Dolphin Activist Experience of a Lifetime

Will the Cove Guardians be released soon?

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Oct. 11, 2012

Taiji Cove Guardian leader Melissa Sehgal and twelve other Sea Shepherds from Australia, Brazil, Germany, the UK, and the USA, are now being held for questioning in the Shingu police station and jail near Taiji, Japan. They have been detained since 10:00am today. It is now 16:10pm.

The Guardians reported that the hunt was unsuccessful today! Our friends must get out of detention in order to report on the hunt tomorrow. The world is watching.

It is assumed that this is in relation to the accidental damage to a statue of a man before he throws a harpoon at a defenseless dolphin or whale and the arrest of Nils Greskewitz for that mistake.

Please know this: the Sea Shepherd campaign in Taiji Japan works efficiently, organized with backup plans for predictable and even outrageous outcomes.

For all the times I have seen, contingencies are considered and worked out in advance. When the Cove Guardians were detained today, a one button call was certainly made that put a designated crew in several countries into action.

At this point, there is no hurry for information on our part. Either Mel and the Twelve are going to be held for anywhere from a day to 23 days or they will be let out soon. Japanese law allows the police to collude with a prosecutor and hold anyone, Japanese or other for almost two weeks incommunicado without access to friends or family or a lawyer. If this happens the Embassies can step in but rarely do.

Nils is another story of course. He will truly be lucky to not get deported after 23 days in solitary without ever seeing the sun.

If our other friends are let out soon, they will have had  brief but interesting stories of Japanese bureaucracy. If they are detained for longer, Taiji dolphin activism will move forward with a big powerful splash of her tail.

I was detained by the Shingu police when I was assaulted by the hunters. I went to report the assault, and the police bullied their way into my life, called my workplace and bullied my family. The pressure sent me back to Osaka that same day. We can expect this sort of pressure to be put on the 13 Cove Guardians and Nils too.

The Taiji police are doing what they do best: being pricks. They are defending the hunters and supporting the killing of innocent dolphins.

These 13 selfless Cove Guardian volunteers each have their own networks of hundreds or thousands of friends, families, and contacts. In a very short period of time, perhaps 10,000 will know if this "questioning" gets turned into jail time without charge or with some trumped up charge.

Either way, please know that outside pressure (Gaiatsu) works to spread the word of the crimes done to dolphins in Taiji. There are more Cove Guardians scheduled to arrive in the next few days. Rest assured, if Mel and the 12 are held for longer than a day, there will be a tsunami of Guardians getting on planes.

And we still need Japanese to step up for the inner pressure that will ultimately change things. Until then...please follow your inspiration to make a difference in the dolphin wars.

Please support Sea Shepherd. They have what it takes continue raising awareness and applying pressure. Please support other groups and individuals when they come to Taiji too. Please come to Taiji if you are ready for the activist experience of your life.