Copyright Inter Press Service 1991, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.
Title: GREENLAND: INUIT END TEN YEAR DISPUTE WITH ENVIRONMENTALISTS
copenhagen, jan 10 (ips) -- a decade of bitter antagonism between
the environmental organisation greenpeace international and the
inuit population of greenland ended friday when greenpeace lifted
its objections to traditional inuit seal hunting.
greenland's home rule government said friday in a communique that
greenpeace international had informed its own organisation and
greenland that it had no objections to sealing or the sale of
greenland seal pelts.
the announcement was a triumph for the government in the capital
nuuk, which has struggled to force greenpeace to retract a blanket
anti-seal campaign which all but stopped the traditional hunting
and use of seals by greenland's indigenous population.
greenland, which is an autonomous province of denmark, has a
population of 42,000 whose livelihoods are predominantly reliant
on fishing and hunting.
''(greenpeace) is apparently fulfilling the promises it made back
in 1985,'' said home rule government spokesman kaj egede.
in 1985, then greenpeace coordinator alan pickaver apologised to
greenlanders during a visit to the world's largest island for
having ruined their export markets.
he also promised to ''try to prevent such a thing ever happening
again to traditional hunters''.
egede added: ''we see the international greenpeace instruction as
a wish to improve the relationship between greenpeace and
greenland hunters. the arguments of the past few years have been
detrimental to both parties.
''let us hope that we have heard the last of the attacks by
greenpeace against this traditional hunt,'' he said.
the greenpeace decision has come just in time to prevent a major
battle between denmark's winter olympic team and french anti-
sealing activists.
the danish team will all be wearing greenland sealskin coats as
part of the winter games which start in february. of the eleven
team members, one -- cross-country skier michael binzer -- is
greenland-born.
central danish authorities have refused to accept greenpeace
complaints over greenland sealing, and danish queen margarethe is
often to be seen sporting the latest greenland sealskin fashion.
(end/ips/en/ci/rj)