The Rainbow Warrior: The True Story Of The Sinking Of The Greenpeace Ship
On July 10, 1985, Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior was sunk by agents of the French foreign intelligence services while docked in New Zealand’s Auckland harbor. According to History.com, the attack was meant to terrorize the environmental organization and hinder its efforts to peacefully protest France’s nuclear weapons testing on an island in the South Pacific.
As governments are wont to do when caught conducting secret operations, French authorities denied any involvement in the incident. Then two days after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, New Zealand authorities arrested two members of the French foreign intelligence agency known as the DGSE. France continued to deny responsibility. As pressure from New Zealand mounted, France launched an investigation into the incident that weeks later concluded that the French agents had only gone so far as to spy on Greenpeace, but hadn’t carried out any such attack. But a report by a British newspaper later that year revealed proof that the operation had been authorized by none other than French President Francois Mitterrand. His cabinet members dropped like flies and the country finally fessed up to the deed by way of an admission by Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.
One crew member of the Rainbow Warrior died in the attack
In 2014 the BBC spoke with Pete Wilcox, captain of the Rainbow Warrior about the attack. Shortly after going to bed sometime after 11 p.m., he felt the boat shudder and his first thought was that another boat had collided with the Rainbow Warrior. But he quickly discovered that it had been a bomb that tore a hole six feet wide in the hull of the ship. After a second blast rent another hole in the boat, he gave the order to abandon ship.
Everybody made it off the ship except one. Photographer Fernando Pereira (pictured above) had gone to his cabin after the first bomb went off, hoping to save his cameras and other equipment. He was trapped in his cabin when the second bomb went off. New Zealand authorities initially suspected the Greenpeace members themselves of having staged the attack, but reversed course after they found that the bombs had been placed on the outside of the boat. “Here was a world super power and a bunch of hippies on an old British trawler had scared them so badly that they were quite happy to murder us,” Wilcox said, adding that no apologies had been proffered to the victims, their families, or Greenpeace at the time of the interview. The French government remains officially unrepentant about the attack, but as The Guardian reports, one of the agents involved did apologize personally in 2015.
50 thoughts on “The Rainbow Warrior: The True Story Of The Sinking Of The Greenpeace Ship”
Leave a Reply
Nixon's Biggest Regret As President May Surprise You
What Sarah Really Looked Like In The Bible
The Meeting That Sparked Henry Ford And Thomas Edison's Relationship
What Disney World Was Like On Opening Day In 1971
The Unexpected Way 9/11 Impacted The Comedy Industry
The Wizard Of Oz Actors Who Got Paid Less Than The Dog
The Truth About Beethoven's Father
How Many Volcanic Eruptions Have Occurred At Yellowstone?
A Look At The Navajo Nation's Connection To Uranium
The Truth About The Tiny Da Vinci Drawing That Could Sell For $16 Million
tricor drug tricor 200mg without prescription tricor drug
zaditor for sale ziprasidone 80mg price tofranil order
cialis mail order us sildenafil 100mg over the counter order sildenafil 100mg generic
buy generic acarbose over the counter griseofulvin 250 mg generic griseofulvin 250 mg price
buy minoxytop solution order cialis for sale medications for ed
buy dipyridamole 25mg for sale how to get gemfibrozil without a prescription pravachol 20mg generic
fludrocortisone 100mcg for sale purchase dulcolax for sale imodium medication
order meloset sale cerazette pills danocrine 100 mg capsules
dydrogesterone 10mg pill jardiance cost jardiance 25mg sale
purchase etodolac buy generic pletal 100 mg order cilostazol 100mg online
buy ferrous sulfate 100 mg without prescription order ascorbic acid sotalol 40mg cost
pyridostigmine 60mg cheap buy mestinon 60 mg generic maxalt 5mg pills
betahistine 16 mg brand haloperidol where to buy probenecid canada
premarin 600 mg ca buy viagra 50mg for sale generic sildenafil 100mg
telmisartan 20mg uk buy movfor generic order generic molnunat 200 mg
brand cefdinir prevacid 30mg cheap prevacid order
buy provigil generic deltasone pill deltasone 10mg brand
buy generic famotidine tacrolimus cost buy tacrolimus 1mg pills
buy nexium 40mg capsules topiramate 100mg canada buy topamax pills
order zyloprim 300mg generic crestor order buy rosuvastatin generic
buy generic sumatriptan over the counter sumatriptan 50mg ca buy avodart 0.5mg online
purchase buspirone buspar generic cordarone 200mg pill
order generic ranitidine 150mg celebrex 200mg ca buy celecoxib online cheap
buy motilium 10mg for sale order domperidone generic tetracycline medication
order flomax 0.2mg without prescription tamsulosin price simvastatin for sale
purchase aldactone pills valacyclovir 500mg price generic propecia 1mg
sildenafil over the counter estradiol 1mg generic order estradiol 1mg pill
diflucan 100mg canada buy cipro 500mg online order generic cipro 1000mg
buy generic lamictal 50mg buy lamotrigine 50mg generic buy mebendazole generic
purchase metronidazole online order flagyl 400mg online keflex 500mg pills
tretinoin price purchase stendra generic avanafil us
cleocin over the counter buy generic cleocin 300mg order sildenafil 100mg for sale
order tadalafil 20mg online cambia price indocin order online
order nolvadex pill purchase betahistine online cost rhinocort
lamisil canada real money online casino sports gambling
buy axetil for sale buy robaxin pills for sale buy methocarbamol pills for sale
buy generic trazodone buy clindac a cheap clindac a canada
buying essay cefixime 100mg tablet suprax 200mg canada
generic aspirin 75mg real casino slot machine games play poker online real money
buy trimox 250mg for sale biaxin 500mg usa order macrobid generic
essays done for you affordable essay writing casino games online
clonidine 0.1mg pill order generic catapres brand tiotropium bromide 9mcg
oral rocaltrol rocaltrol price buy fenofibrate paypal
get acne pills online acne medication by prescription trileptal 600mg canada
uroxatral 10 mg pill uroxatral 10 mg uk list of antinausea drugs
order letrozole online buy albenza pill order abilify 30mg
strongest sleeping pills for adults telehealth consultation for cpap machine diet pills from mexico ephedrine
new pill to quit smoking buy arthritis layers doctor online prescriptions pain medication
buy antiviral drugs online buy medication for herpes online newest injection for weight loss
order generic duloxetine provigil cost provigil 200mg pills