Sinking Of The Rainbow Warrior By The French DGSE Intelligence Agency

A drawing of the Rainbow Warrior

The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamedOpération Satanique, was an operation by the"action" branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), carried out on 10 July 1985. During the operation, two operatives sank theflagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warriorin the port of Auckland, New Zealand. The French government wanted to prevent the ship from interfering with a planned nuclear test in Moruroa.

France Implicated

In June 1986, in a political deal with Prime Minister of New Zealand David Lange, presided over byUnited Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, France agreed to pay NZ$13 million (USD$6.5 million) to New Zealand and apologise, in return for which Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieurwould be detained at the French military base onHao Atoll for three years. However, the two agents had both returned to France by May 1988, after less than two years on the atoll. Mafart returned to Paris on 14 December 1987 for medical treatment, and was apparently freed after the treatment. He continued in the French Army and was promoted to colonel in 1993. Prieur returned to France on 6 May 1988, because she was pregnant, her husband having been allowed to join her on the atoll. She, too, was freed and later promoted. The removal of the agents from Hao without subsequent return was ruled to be in violation of the 1986 agreement.

A commission of enquiry headed by Bernard Tricotcleared the French government of any involvement, claiming that the arrested agents, who had not yet pleaded guilty, had merely been spying on Greenpeace. When The Times and Le Monde claimed that President Mitterrand had approved the bombing, Defence Minister Charles Hernu resigned and the head of the DGSE, Admiral Pierre Lacoste, was fired. Eventually, Prime Minister Laurent Fabiusadmitted the bombing had been a French plot: On 22 September 1985, he summoned journalists to his office to read a 200 word statement in which he said: "The truth is cruel," and acknowledged there had been a cover-up, he went on to say that "Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders."

Memorial to the Rainbow Warrior, at Matauri Bay in Northland, New Zealand

Aftermath

In the wake of the bombing, a flotilla of private New Zealand yachts sailed to Moruroa to 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. In 1987, under international pressure, the French government paid $8.16 million to Greenpeace.

The Rainbow Warrior was refloated for forensic examination. She was deemed irreparable and scuttled at 34.9748°S 173.9349°E in Matauri Bay, 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 theDargaville Maritime Museum.

The 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.

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

In 2005, Le Monde released a 1986 report that said Admiral Pierre Lacoste, head of DGSE at the time, had "personally obtained approval to sink the ship from the late president François Mitterrand." Soon after the publication, former Admiral Lacoste came forward and gave newspaper interviews about the situation, while also admitting the death weighed on his conscience and said the aim of the operation had not been to kill. He acknowledged the existence of three teams: the crew of the yacht, reconnaissance and logistics (those successfully prosecuted), plus a two-man team that carried out the bombing and whose identities have never been confirmed.

A 20th anniversary memorial edition of the 1986 book Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior, by New Zealand author David Robie who was on the bombed ship, was published in July 2005. He was interviewed by TVNZ on 8 August 2006 about the Court of Appeal judgement.

Also on that anniversary, Television New Zealand(TVNZ) sought to access a video record made at the preliminary hearing where the two agents pleaded guilty. The footage had remained sealed on the court record since shortly after conclusion of the criminal proceedings. The two agents opposed release of the footage—despite having both written books on the incident—and have unsuccessfully taken the case to the New Zealand Court of Appealand, subsequently, the Supreme Court of New Zealand. On 7 August 2006, judges Hammond, O'Regan and Arnold dismissed the former French agents' appeal and Television New Zealand broadcast their guilty pleas the same day. However, two days later the judges reversed their ruling, temporarily blocking webcasts^[19] and further broadcasts of the footage.

In 2006 Antoine Royal revealed that his brother,Gérard Royal, had claimed to be involved in planting the bomb. Their sister is French Socialist Partypolitician Ségolène Royal who was contesting theFrench presidential election. Other sources identified Royal as merely a Zodiac pilot, and the New Zealand government announced there would be no extradition requests since the case was closed.

Louis-Pierre Dillais is now an executive in the U.S. subsidiary of Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstaland lives in the U.S. state of Virginia. Ironically the New Zealand government has been buying arms from FN Herstal. Greenpeace are still pursuing the extradition of Dillais for his involvement in the act.

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

SOURCES: 

1. "Fifth French nuclear test sparks international outrage". CNN. 28 December 1995. Retrieved 13 June 2010
2. "Rainbow Warrior concert 1986". Frenz Forum. July 14, 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
3. Simons, Marlise. "Report Says Mitterrand Approved Sinking of Greenpeace Ship". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
4. Field, Catherine (30 June 2005). "'Third team' in Rainbow Warrior plot". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
5. "Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior". Auckland University Press. 15 July 2005.ISBN 9781877314469. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
6. "Tuesday August 8". TV One (New Zealand). 8 August 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2010.