The Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior II is raided on the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
The Rainbow Warrior was the flagship of environmental activists Greenpeace. It was bombed on 10 July 1985 while moored in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. The vessel had been preparing to sail to the South Pacific to protest against French nuclear testing in the area. One crew member, Fernando Pereira was killed. Two French agents were convicted of manslaughter.
Ten years later, a replacement ship, the Rainbow Warrior II, was protesting against a new wave of French nuclear tests when it was stormed by French commandos. Glynn Walters, Greenpeace spokesperson at their Auckland headquarters, tells 'Morning Ireland' what happened.
From the South Pacific point of view, the crime of nuclear testing is a much, much greater one than breaking some arbitrary exclusion zone that the French military may wish to impose on innocent passage
The image above shows the first Rainbow Warrior ship after the bombing. © Getty Images.
A 'Morning Ireland' report from 10 July 1995.
