ENVIRONMENTALISM DISASTERS

SINKING OF RAINBOW WARRIOR

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE P8

OPERATION SATANIC

The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanic, was a bombing operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services DGSE, carried out on 10 July 1985.During the operation, two operatives sank the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand on its way to a protest against a planned French nuclear test in Moruroa.

Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned on the sinking ship.

ACCOUNTABILITYFrance initially denied responsibility, but two French agents were captured by New Zealand Police and charged with arson, conspiracy to commit arson, wilful damage, and murder.

As the truth came out, the scandal resulted in the resignation of the French Defence Minister Charles Hernu.

GUILTY!The two agents pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to ten years in prison.

They spent just over two years confined to the French island of Hao before being freed by the French government.

Several figures, including then New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, have referred to the bombing as an act of terrorism or state-sponsored terrorism.

THE FIRST BOMB

After sufficient information had been gathered, two DGSE divers, Jacques Camurier and Alain Tonel, attached two limpet mines to the Rainbow Warrior berthed at Marsden Wharf.

They were detonated 10 minutes apart.

The first bomb went off at 23:38, blasting a hole about the size of an average car.

Agents intended the first mine to cripple the ship so that it would be evacuated safely by the time the second mine was detonated.

However, the crew did not react to the first explosion as the agents had expected.

THE VICTIMWhile the ship was initially evacuated, some of the crew returned to the ship to investigate and film the damage.

A Portuguese-Dutch photographer, Fernando Pereira, returned below decks to fetch his camera equipment.

At 23:45, the second bomb went off.

Pereira drowned in the rapid flooding that followed, and the other ten crew members either safely abandoned ship on the order of Captain Peter Willcox or were thrown into the water by the second explosion. The Rainbow Warrior sank four minutes later.

PUBLIC RELATION DISASTER

Operation Satanic was a public relations disaster.

France, being an ally of New Zealand, initially denied involvement and joined in condemning what it described as a terrorist act.

The French embassy in Wellington denied involvement,stating that "the French Government does not deal with its opponents in such ways".

POLICE INVESTIGATIONAfter the bombing, the New Zealand Police started one of the country's largest police investigations.

Most of the agents of the French team escaped from New Zealand but two, Captain Dominique Prieur and Commander Alain Mafart were identified as possible suspects.

FRENCH INVOLVEMENT PROVEDPosing as the married couple Sophie and Alain Turenge, Prieur and Mafartwere identified with the help of a Neighbourhood Watch group, and arrested.

Both were questioned and investigated.

Because they were carrying Swiss passports, their true identities were discovered, along with the French government's responsibility.

PROTESTS CONTINUED

In the wake of the bombing, a flotilla of private New Zealand yachts sailed to Moruroato protest against a French nuclear test.

At that time, French nuclear tests in the Pacific were halted. However, another series of tests was conducted in 1995.

BENEFIT CONCERT

A Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior benefit concert at Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland, on 5 April 1986 included performances by Herbs, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Topp Twins, Dave Dobbyn and a Split Enz reunion.

FISH SANCTUARY

The Rainbow Warrior was refloated for forensic examination.

She was deemed irreparable and scuttled at 34.9748°S 173.9349°E in MatauriBay, near the Cavalli Islands, on 12 December 1987, to serve as a dive wreck and fish sanctuary.

Her masts had been removed and put on display at the Dargaville Maritime Museum.

On 14 October 2011, Greenpeace launched a new sailing vessel called Rainbow Warrior III, which is equipped with an auxiliary electric motor.

PAYMENTIn 1987, after international pressure, France paid $8.16m to Greenpeace in damages, which helped finance another ship.

It also paid compensation to the Pereira family, reimbursing his life insurance company for 30,000 guilders and making reparation payments of 650,000 francs to Pereira's wife, 1.5 million francs to his two children, and 75,000 francs to each of his parents.

FOREIGN RELATIONSThe failure of Western leaders to condemn this violation of a friendly nation's sovereignty caused a great deal of change in New Zealand's foreign and defence policy.

New Zealand distanced itself from its traditional ally, the United States, and built relationships with small South Pacific nations, while retaining excellent relations with Australia and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom.