Protest Letter to Norway

Addresses, Telephone & Fax Numbers

Prime Minister

Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway
pho: 011- 47-22-24-4000 fax: 011-47-22-24-9500

Ambassadors
Find Norway's Embassy
in your country and let
us know the address.
We will include it here.

His Excellency, Kjeld Vibe,
Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S.
Norwegian Embassy
2720 34th St., NW
Washington, DC 20008
pho: 202-333-6000 fax: 202-337-0870

His Excellency, Mr. Per Haugestad,
Royal Norwegian Embassy
17 Hunter Street,
Yarralumla, A.C.T., 2600
Australia
pho: 61 6 273-3444 fax: 61 6 273-3669

Newspapers

Andreas Nordland, Chief Editor
Aftenposen AS Akersgata 51,
0180 Oslo, Norway

Bjorn Simenson, Chief Editor
Dagbladut AS Akersgata 49,
0180 Oslo, Norway

Protest Letter

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To:________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Dear People of Norway,

In May a small group of your countrymen will once again take up the "tradition" of whaling and will set to hunt down and kill many hundreds of harmless Minke whales. By this action, this careless, greedy, minority is going to earn your country the contempt and the scorn of the rest of the world. This is something, we believe, is cause for your concern.

The whalers say that they are doing this because it is a long established Norwegian tradition. You know and we know that this is nonsense. The cloak of "tradition" is being used to disguise the fact that - with the price of whale meat at more than 150 crowns ($20) a kilo - this whole bloody exercise is being done for a huge profit.

But who really profits from this massacre? Probably not the people of Norway. A few whalers are making a lot of money and a few rich businessmen in Japan are able to grotesquely impress their dinner guests.

But the losers are you and your country. Just as, years ago, the right-thinking world condemned slavery, so too your beautiful land is being stained and despised on account of a handful of hunters who are tarnishing Norway's name through their actions.

The overwhelming majority of Norwegians - especially young Norwegians - are kind and forward-thinking. They are concerned about ecology and open to new, better ideas like whale watching.

I have been told that most Norwegians don't eat whale meat anyway and, as Greenpeace has alerted, this whole sad and sick exercise is being conducted not to uphold tradition but for greed.

In past years, the Norwegian whalers have progressively increased the slaughter of minke whales. Again this year, they intend to increase the slaughter far above the number they can safely and economically handle. All the while ignoring the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) call on your government to "halt immediately all whaling activities".

That's not just men in suits passing a resolution. This IWC ruling is the world calling. The whole of the rest of the planet, with the exception of the few hypocrites who whale for the "scientific purposes" that doesn't fool or impress anybody, is imploring your countrymen to stop or be shamed.

We don't believe that the people of Norway want or deserve that shame. We believe that you have it within your power to stop this killing. Call on your leaders, write to your Prime Minister and demand a ban on Norwegian whaling. Norwegian whalers are fishermen for the majority of the year. . . they will NOT go hungry! You action now could earn the praise and respect of the world.

With love,


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