This week in New Zealand history (10 July 1985) French Secret agents planted a bomb on a Greenpeace ship called the Rainbow Warrior. The ship, which was docked in Auckland, was torn apart by two bombs and a Portuguese crew member, Fernando Pereira, was killed.
The Rainbow Warrior had been involved in protests over French nuclear testing in the Pacific. French Secret Service (DGSE) agents were sent to prevent it leaving for another protest campaign at Mururoa Atoll. Following the attack, two DGSE officers, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, were arrested on 24 July.
Having been charged with murder, both pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The case was a source of considerable embarrassment to the French government. The fact that the attack was carried out on New Zealand territory by a supposedly friendly nation produced a sense of outrage and a serious deterioration in relations between New Zealand and France.
The Rainbow Warrior was gutted and sunk as an artificial reef in Matauri Bay, Northland, and these days, is an attraction for divers. Here’s a link to a recent story in the NZ Herald and a link to the timeline of events..
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July 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm · Link
Wow, has it been that long already? I remember that happening. I’m guessing that if they got a ten year sentence, the ‘bad guys’ are out already? Or were they sent back to France to serve out their sentence? *shakes head*
(You know, if we wrote such scenarios we’d probably be trounced as being illogical – that friendly countries wouldn’t do such things.)
July 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm · Link
Thanks for the history lesson. I’d never heard of that. I love to learn history and new things.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:10 pm · Link
Hi Leah – yes, doesn’t time pass quickly? The two agents, one male and the other female, were initially in jail here but were transferred to a Pacific island. They were both let out early, the male because of a medical condition and the female because she was pregnant.
LOL – they say truth is stranger than fiction!
Ashley – I like snippets from history, too, which is why I decided to post a few now and then.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:31 pm · Link
I vaguely remember this happening. The part about the French nuclear testing outraged me,… the bombing of the Greenpeace ship is the vague part.
Such tradegy…
I’d sure love to dive that wreck, however :)
July 14th, 2008 at 5:04 pm · Link
Wylie – you can dive it on my behalf and report back to me. You’re not getting me diving anytime soon!