The Virtual March logo
is projected right outside the hotel where
the IWC is being held, in Ulsan, South Korea
19/06/2005 — Whale song erupted across Lotte
Plaza in Ulsan, South Korea, as the World's
very first "Virtual March" to
save the whales was unveiled this evening,
loud enough for any IWC delegates not in
attendance to hear. Thousands of photographs
of anti-whaling activists from all around
the globe were projected opposite the very
hotel where the IWC is being held.
Supporters, curious passers-by, locals who
had been bombarded with flyers in the last
few days, Embassy activists and the world’s
media gathered in Lotte Plaza to witness
the spectacle of thousands of images of
people protesting the prospect of resumed
commercial whaling.
The whale sounds were truly eerie echoing
around the ultra-modern Lotte Multiplaza,
flanked by a multiplex cinema and Pizza
Hut. Along with the projection it was enough
to give you goosebumps - and there were
certainly tears in some onlookers' eyes!
Over 50,000 thousand people from 122 countries
took part in the Virtual March by sending
photographs of themselves with a banner
expressing their concern about the fate
of the world’s dwindling populations of
whales.
Our resident whale guru John Frizell summed
it up beautifully. “We have brought the
protest from thousands of people to the
decision makers; to show them that even
though their decisions may be made behind
closed doors, the whole world is watching."
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
of South Korea has already publicly declared
an interest in resuming whaling under the
guise of ‘scientific’ research. South Korea
is also threatening to support the Japanese
Government’s attempts to overturn the global
moratorium on commercial whaling. Just last
night, a minke whale was butchered outside
Ulsan's whale meat restaurants under dubious
circumstances, with one local declaring
that the catch was not accidental. (South
Korea permits the sale of meat from "accidentally
killed" whales.)
We hope that tonight's events will help
the Korean Government to understand that
the international reputation of their country
hangs in the balance in the decisions they
will make in the week ahead.
