Vive le tigre ! Vive Poutine et DiCaprio !

Vive le tigre ! Vive Poutine et DiCaprio !

Nous devons avouer, ici à dedefensa.org, notre estime pour des raisons diverses, pour le tigre, superbe et puissante créature s’il en est ; pour Vladimir Poutine, qui est un des rares dirigeants politiques dans notre monde chez qui l’on peut sentir quelque énergie et quelque détermination non dépourvues de sagesse ; pour Leonardo DiCaprio, formidable acteur hollywoodien au comportement général, hors caméra, absolument anti-hollywoodien, c’est-à-dire avec une réelle sincérité dans ses efforts d’activiste pour diverses causes.

Les trois se sont retrouvés à Moscou : Poutine qui organisait une grande réunion avec le patronage notamment de diverses organisations internationales, DiCaprio qui s’était rendu à cette réunion malgré des difficultés considérables (exploit qui a suscité l’admiration de Poutine), le tigre enfin, espèce en voie d’extinction grâce à la grandeur et à la beauté du Progrès dans la modernité, et qui était (le tigre) le sujet de la conférence. On notait aussi une forte présence chinoise, qui veulent sauver le tigre pour honorer la prochaine Année du Tigre, 2022 dans le calendrier chinois. (On y prendra garde : cette symbolique-là n'est pas indifférente dans l'esprit des Chinois.)

(Dans The Independent du 25 novembre 2010.)

«The unlikely pairing of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio emerged this week as they became figureheads in the battle to save the tiger at a summit in St Petersburg.

»The forum was described as the “last chance” for the world's biggest cat. Mr Putin hosted the conference to discuss a World Bank proposal for a tiger-saving initiative. It was the first time global leaders have met specifically to talk about saving an endangered species.

»The goal is to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, the next Chinese Year of the Tiger. Currently there are just 3,200 wild tigers, down from over 100,000 a century ago. Stocks of the animal have been depleted due to poachers, who sell their skins and body parts at markets in China and other Asian countries, and by urbanisation destroying their natural habitats.

»Mr DiCaprio, a board member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), travelled to St Petersburg for the forum and pledged $1m (£634,000) of his own money to the organisation's tiger-conservation programmes. The actor recently visited Nepal and Bhutan, touring tiger habitats with WWF experts and local anti-poaching authorities.

»The forum, which ended yesterday, attracted leaders from most of the 13 countries where tigers are found in the wild, including the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The delegates pledged to spend a combined total of $350m over the next five years. Mr Putin quoted Mahatma Gandhi in addressing the forum: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” […]

»Mr Putin paid special thanks to Mr DiCaprio, saying that he had forced his way to St Petersburg as if he was going across the front line". The American actor had been on a plane that had to return to New York due to engine failure, so he then took a private plane. Mr Putin said that not everyone would be brave enough to have taken another flight after the first incident. “In Russia, we call this ‘a real man’,” said the Prime Minister…»

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