Worldlog Tjedan 5 – 2014

U ovom će trenutku otprilike 250 dupina u Japanskom ribičkom selu Taji, biti zaklano. Ovaj je godišnji lov usko vezan za trgovinu dupina u svrhu zabave. Nakon što sve divlje dupine prisile u jednu uvalu, odaberu se naljepši primjerci kako bi se za mnogo novaca prodali u akvarije diljem svijeta. Preostale dupine brutalno zakolju. Cove Guardians, dobrovoljci životinjske organizacije Sea Shepards, koji na licu mjesta protestiraju protiv pokolja svjedoče stravičnim scenama.

Photo: Sea Shepard

Ovo mora prestati! U utorak smo, za vrijeme usmenih pitanja, pozvali ministra Timmermansa u Zastupnički dom. Sretni smo što, uz odobrenje ministra vanjskih poslova Timmermansa, nizozemski ambasador u Japanu može zauzeti stav protiv ovog pokolja dupina. Ambasadori Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva i Sjedinjenih država osudili su ove pokolje. Iz Nizozemske se nije čuo ni glas, iako vlada službeno ima stav da se lov na dupine mora obustaviti.

To je, dakle, korak u dobrom smjeru, no moramo postati još glasniji protiv ovih stravičnih pokolja. Želimo da Nizozemska postavi i uvjete za trgovanje s Japanom. Želimo da Japan cijeni ljudska prava, poštuje moratorij vezan za lov na kitove, te prestane s pokoljima dupina prije nego što se uopće mogu započeti pregovori za trgovanje.

I ti možeš pomoći! Možeš, između ostalog, tweetati o ovoj temi na #tweet4taji. Možeš poduprijeti i Sea Shepard u njihovoj borbi protiv pokolja dupina. Pogledaj ovdje kako 800 djece iz Hong Konga protestiraju protiv pokolja u Tajiu.

Želiš saznati više o ovim pokoljima? Pročitaj ovaj članak.

Prošlog sam tjedna sudjelovala u debati o daljnjem prijenosu vlasti u Bruxelles preko građanske inicijative BurgerforumEU.nl, koji s pravom poziva na referendum. Smatramo da je posve neprihvatljivo da se suverenitet prenosi u Bruxelles bez da se prvo pita Nizozemce što misle o tome putem referenduma. Iz jedne smo ankete nizozemskog ispitivača Mauricea de Honda doznali da 67 posto Nizozemaca misli ds bi se trebao održati referendum po pitanju prenošenja vlasti u Bruxelles.

Mi svakako podupiremo internacionalnu suradnju, no ne podržavamo način na koji se sve više ovlasti prenosi u nedomokratski organizirani Bruxelles.

Bruxelles ima snažan utjecaj na politiku gospodarstva (polovica budžeta Bruxellesa odlazi u svrhe gospodarstva) i način na koji opada briselska težnja ka pozitivnim promjenama za klimu dokaz je trenutno slabe EU. Bruxelles se, primjerice, zalaže za nuklearnu energiju…

Ovog sam tjedna primila e-mail od profesora Williama Ripplea, sa Sveučilišta u Oregonu. Oduševljen je dokumentarcem Meat the Truth našeg znanstvenog odjela NGPF. Jako lijepo! Pročitaj ovaj članak iz Guardiana o porezu na meso i stajalištu profesora Ripplea.

I opet jedna lijepa slika sa @fascinatingpics! Please tell me again, how hard your life is i hot sand, hot sand, hot sand 🙂

Do idućeg tjedna! Marianne

At this moment, around 250 dolphins are being slaughtered in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji. This annual hunt relates closely to the trade in dolphins for entertainment. After wild dolphins are rounded up in a bay, the finest animals are selected and sold for a lot of money to dolphinariums around the globe. The remaining dolphins are brutally slaughtered. Cove Guardians, volunteers of the animal welfare organisation Sea Shepherd, who protest these massacres on site, report horrific scenes.

Photo: Sea Shepherd

This must stop! During oral question time last Tuesday, we called minister Timmermans to Parliament. We are glad that minister Timmermans of Foreign Affairs promised that the Dutch ambassador in Japan will take a stand against this slaughter of dolphins. The ambassadors of the United Kingdom and the United States already condemned these massacres. The Netherlands remained silent, whereas government adopted the formal position that dolphin hunting must be stopped.

Although this is a step in the right direction, we must take much tougher action against these gruesome massacres. We also want the Netherlands to set conditions with regard to free trade with Japan. This means that Japan must respect human rights, respect the moratorium on whaling and stop the slaughter of dolphins before further trade negotiations can be conducted.

You can also help! One of the ways to help is by joining the discussion on this topic on Twitter, using #tweet4taiji. And by supporting Sea Shepherd in their fight against the slaughter of dolphins. See here how 800 school children in Hong Kong also protest against the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji.

If you would like to know more about the slaughter, read this article.

Last week, I had a debate on a further transfer of power to Brussels and the citizens’ initiative BurgerforumEU.nl, which rightly calls for a referendum. We believe it is not acceptable to transfer more sovereignty to Brussels without asking the Dutch people first by way of a referendum. A poll by Dutch pollster Maurice de Hond has shown that 67 per cent of Dutch people are of the opinion that a referendum should be held in case of a new transfer of power from the Netherlands to Brussels.

We are a strong advocate of international cooperation, but we distance ourselves from the way in which more and more decision-making powers are transferred to an undemocratically organised Brussels.

Brussels has a major impact on agricultural policy (half of the Brussels budget goes to agricultural subsidies) and the way in which Brussels has weakened climate targets is another proof of major weakness of the current EU. For example, Brussels gives more room to nuclear energy ….

Last week, I received an email from Professor William Ripple of the University of Oregon. He is very enthusiastic about the Meat the Truth documentary of our scientific bureau, NGPF. Really great! Read this article in The Guardian on meat tax and professor Ripple’s vision.

And a few more beautiful photos of @fascinatingpics! Please tell me again, how hard your life is and hot sand, hot sand, hot sand 🙂

See you next week! Marianne