Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.02.2005, Side 34

When Paul ventured to Iceland
in 1988, offering himself up for
trial, the State was suddenly keen
to dismiss the matter and simply
deported the defiant Ahab as quickly
as possible. Yet he admitted to
and took full responsibility for the
sabotage in front of a prosecutor.
Watson left Iceland laughing his
silly marine-pants off. What’s worse:
the bastard wrote a book in which
Icelanders are perhaps accurately
portrayed as slow-witted, timid and
gullible.
Slaughter on the High Seas?
His book: Ocean Warrior: My
Battle to End the Illegal Slaughter
on the High Seas, describes how
Watson was interrogated in Iceland.
He was asked if he himself was the
perpetrator; the active agent involved
in the attack? “No,” he responded,
“but I am responsible for all activities
undertaken in the name of Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society.
I give the orders.” The prosecutor
then asked him, “Did you give the
orders to sink the ships?” and the
suspect confessed, “I did.” As if all
this wasn’t enough, Watson claims
to have threatened the prosecutor
that “we intend to sink the two
other ships at the first opportunity.”
Yet nothing was done; the State’s
major action against the leader of
an organization that had declared
itself at war with Iceland seems to
have been trying to serve him whale
meat in the cafeteria of a “most
comfortable jail”, in which he was
being held for questioning.
Mr. Ocean Warrior
What’s more, once Mr. Ocean
Warrior (starving for media
attention) had verified that Iceland
did not intend to prosecute him, he
offered to call on the ones who did
in fact do the dirty work and have
them come over to face trial. Motion
denied. The prosecutor’s attitude
being something like, “No, Mr
Watson, you don’t tell us what to do;
just get the hell out of the country
and don’t come back for at least five
years, please.” Justice served.
The government of Iceland didn’t
dare prosecute, for it would have
brought international media
attention to whaling, an unpopular
industry at the time. This would
have hurt the nation’s fish exports.
Soon after Watson’s visit, Iceland
admitted defeat and abandoned
whale hunting. But when it came to
invading Afghanistan and destroying
Iraq, the government was steadfast,
loyal and true. That does not appear
to be the case on home ground.
Klemenso@simnet.is
WATSON THE VICTOR
Does terrorism pay off
in Iceland?
Captain Paul Watson, self-proclaimed “Ocean Warrior” and
founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, used to be Iceland’s
Public Enemy #1. His agents attacked Iceland’s fishing industry
in an unprecedented terrorist attack in October 1986, when they
sabotaged a whaling station and sank two ships; half our whaling
fleet. The damages were conservatively estimated at $8 million at
the time. The Prime Minister vowed in public that “all efforts will
be made to get the people who are responsible prosecuted for this
inhuman act”, but the government of Iceland – always “willing” to
combat terrorism in distant continents – has yet to press charges.
INTERVIEW
by Klemens Ólafur
“The State’s major action against the leader of an
organization that had declared itself at war with
Iceland seems to have been trying to serve him whale
meat.”
THE BIG PICTURE:
A Controversial
Documentary Festival
Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill Kennedy? Did we really go to the moon? Is
there a cover-up regarding UFOs? Did the US government carry out the 9-11
terrorist attacks? Are western governments involved in the global drug trade
and money laundering? Did George W. Bush become president through
massive election fraud? Are we constantly being lied to by our governments
and mass media? What is the nature of reality? How important is the truth?
Do we avoid it because it may disturb us? Is it perhaps more important to
conserve the established world view? Are certain illusions necessary to justify
our way of life? What if the information flow is really under elite control?
Perhaps the public has been allowing the establishment to manifest their
distortions as historical truths that few would challenge without facing public
outrage and ridicule.
From February 19th to 27th a documentary festival will be held at Snarrót,
the radical centre at Garðastræti 2. About 30 hard hitting documentaries
will challenge the world view of all those who dare to attend. The aim of the
festival is to give people an opportunity to access controversial information
that receives little or no attention by the mainstream media. The program can
be found at www.gagnauga.is.
by Þórarinn Einarsson
LISTINGS : february 11 - march 10MOVIES :
Hverfisgata 54
Phone: 551-9000
www.regnboginn.is
PREMIERS:
11. feb. Flight of the Phoenix /
Being Julia
18. feb. Closer
25. feb. Son of the Mask
4. mar Hitch
Still running:
Finding Neverland, Sideways
Assault on Precinct 13 , Sea Inside
Laugarás
Phone: 553-2075
www.laugarasbio.is
PREMIERS:
25. feb. Son of the Mask
18. feb. Ray
3. mar Hithc
Still running:
Meet The Fockers, The Aviator
Sjóræningjar á Saltkráku (dubbed)
Búi og Símon (dubbed)
Álfabakka 8
Phone: 587-8900
www.sambio.is
PREMIERS:
11. feb White Noise
25. feb Constantine
4. mar Phantom of the Opera
Still running:
Meet the Fockers, Alexander
Team America: World Polic...
National Treasure
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Un-
fortunate Events, The Incredibles
Smáralind
Phone: 564-0000
www.smarabio.is
PREMIERS:
11. feb. Flight of the Phoenix /
Being Julia
18. feb. Closer
25. feb. Son of the Mask
4. mar Hitch
Still running:
Finding Neverland, Sideways
Assault on Precinct 13 , Sea Inside
Hagatorg
Phone: 530-1919
www.haskolabio.is
PREMIERS:
18 feb. Ray
25. feb Les choristes/Kórinn
4. mar Phantom of the Opera
Still running:
Meet the Fockers, Million Dollar
Baby, The Aviator, Alexander
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A
very long engagement)
Ocean’s Twelve, Tais toi/Ruby &
Quentin (Grjóthaltu kjafti)
G
úndi
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