A sordid act: the Rainbow Warrior incident: James Veitch provides a 25-year perspective on the act of state terrorism that sank the Greenpeace flagship.

• Author: Veitch, James
• Position: Essay

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The Pacific has long been used as a nuclear testing and dumping ground. The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was France's public demonstration of its opposition to Greenpeace and that organisation's opposition to the French nuclear testing programme in the Pacific.

The explosions heard on 10 July 1985 at Auckland Harbour were met with astonishment. Many were shocked when the news broke that behind the explosions were French intelligence agents. David Lange, the then Prime Minister, described the incident as 'a sordid act of international state-backed terrorism'.

The attack centred around two explosions which sunk a vessel docked at Marsden Wharf in Auckland Harbour at 11.50 pm on 10 July 1985. It was carried out by operatives of the French intelligence service. Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE). This was not a random act of destruction; it was the result of months of preparation.

The context for the incident can be traced to the Pacific being used as a nuclear testing ground since the 1940s and the belief of one nuclear power that it had the right to use any means to safeguard its own testing programme. As a result, a strained relationship had been growing between France and Greenpeace; the bombing was a planned retaliation. The political context of this nuclear disagreement must not be forgotten. It took place during the Cold War.

Greenpeace's protest at the nuclear testing site at Moruroa atoll focused world attention on France's nuclear testing. It was a bid to raise public opposition to compel the French to stop the tests. Greenpeace planned to become such a nuisance that in exasperation France would stop. But France had other ideas in mind.

On the night of the explosion, the Rainbow Warrior was docked in Auckland Harbour. It was the flagship of five vessels; the others, however, would not be able to carry out the protests without it. On board was equipment essential to transmit pictures of French activity at moruroa to the Associated Press. The only unintended casualty of the attack was the ship's photographer, who operated this apparatus. He was drowned as he attempted to return to his bunk to retrieve his photographic equipment as the boat sank.

Although at first France denied any involvement, it was soon discovered that the French Minister of Defence, Charles Hernu, had approved the assault on the vessel. It was later revealed that President Francois Mitterand had 'personally authorised' the operation, as head of the Secret Service Pierre Lacoste claimed that without this consent the operation would not have gone ahead. Alain Mafart claimed that Hernu gave instructions for the Rainbow Warrior to be 'sunk' rather than 'immobilised' to deter Greenpeace from continuing its protests. On 21 September 1985 Hernu resigned and Lacoste was dismissed. On that same day, the French government acknowledged its involvement.

Thirteen agents

The DGSE employed thirteen agents to carry out different tasks in New Zealand. On 23 April 1985, Christine Cabon, a French Army lieutenant was the first to arrive. Her task was to infiltrate Greenpeace and gather information on the movements of the Rainbow Warrior, and inform the DGSE of ways to obstruct plans for the Moruroa voyage. She introduced herself as Frederique Bonlieu and claimed she was a scientific consultant gathering information for travel articles and friends wanting to visit New Zealand. She claimed to be writing articles on ecological issues for the French press. Gabon's infiltration assumed that whoever assigned her to this task was already well informed about the activities of Greenpeace. In 1985, the majority of the operational membership of Greenpeace in New Zealand was female, so Cabon was readily accepted. She collected maps, names, numbers and rates of hotels, vehicle hire firms, boat rentals and underwater gear. She was also seen taking photos of the coast at Otama Beach, Whitianga and Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel peninsula just south of Auckland.

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Agents Xavier Maniguet, Roland Verge, Jean-Michel Barcelo and Gerald Andries hired the boat Ouvea in New Caledonia to transport the explosives. The crew were to make no secret of their presence in New Zealand in order, if necessary, to divert police attention so that the agents responsible for the bombing could escape. The crew passed the explosives to agents Main Mafart and Dominique Prieur at the Hinemoa Hotel in Helensville on 8 July. The explosives were given the next day to...