Iceland's whaling conflicts with tourism - according to foreign minister
Posted by Dave (live from the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage, Alaska)
Following the recent general election in Iceland, there's a new foreign minister in place, Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir. And yesterday, she said something on Icelandic TV channel 2 that contradicts the statements of Iceland whaling commissioner Stefan Asmundsson - who is, as you all know, very pro-whaling - aggressively so, in fact.
Ms. Gisladottir said that "we are sacrificing greater interests for lesser ones in this issue", and that she didn't set the instructions for the Icelandic delegation - who are sitting just down the room from me here in Anchorage. They were probably instructed before she came into office. What's more, she hasn't been in support of the hunt in the past.
By "greater interests", she means tourism through whalewatching and other "non-consumptive" use of whales, of course.
There's been over 110,000 names put to our Iceland pledge -
"I would seriously consider taking a vacation in Iceland rather than somewhere else if the Government of Iceland stopped whaling. I would be willing to receive an email about the options available for Icelandic tourism, an email that would be sent to me if the Government of Iceland ends its whaling program."
Comments
Thanks for setting up this pledge. I signed it and I've also emailed the Iceland tourism agency in the past about my refusal to visit. I hope they change their whaling policy soon, because I really would like to visit Iceland somebody. I'm also boycotting Canada because of the Canadian government's support of the commercial seal hunt for fur.
Posted by: Andrea | May 31, 2007 9:10 PM