Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer Fernando Pereira
Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, speaking from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior says, "French government agents came from the other side of the planet not only to kill our friend and colleague, and to kill our ship, but most of all they came here to try to kill our dream of a nuclear free Pacific.
"And it is true that they killed Fernando, and it is true that they sank the first Rainbow Warrior, now resting in the north of Aotearoa under the watchful eye of Ngāti Kura at Matauri Bay.
"But it is not true that they killed our dream of a nuclear-free Pacific. In fact, their act of violence was a catalyst for the further growth of the nuclear-free movement here and around the world."
At the time of the bombing in 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was preparing to lead a flotilla to Mororoa to protest French nuclear testing.
Greenpeace International Programme Director Carmen Gravitt, also speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, said, "The French government tried to silence these voices with violence, fear, and intimidation. But they miscalculated. Instead of breaking our movement, they amplified it. They blew wind into our sails."
"We built a new Rainbow Warrior and sailed to Moruroa. The peoples of the Pacific rose. And the world joined them. Together, we did not stop - not until we won and France halted its nuclear testing.
"Every right we have today was won by people who dared to fight for it. People who demanded the vote even when it was dangerous, workers who demanded dignity even when it cost them everything, indigenous peoples and frontline communities who demanded justice even when no one thought they could win. Today, we also honour them. And humbly seek to carry their legacy forward."
In the wake of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior, protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the second Rainbow Warrior.
In 1995, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to France announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing in 1996.
Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. But the organisation also says it is a moment to look to the future and to challenge current attacks on environmental protest.
"There's no doubt that we're facing challenging times. Nature is under attack. Peace and democracy are under attack too. The world feels more unstable than ever," says Norman.
"But when the environment and democracy are threatened, we all have to step up and get braver. The bravery of the nuclear-free activists - who sailed into a test zone and put themselves at enormous risk - is an inspiration for the courage we need to find now in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis."
The Rainbow Warrior will be open for tours of the ship for the next two weekends (the 12th-13th July, and the 19th-20th July).
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Do we have the courage and wits to face down the biodiversity and climate crises facing humanity, crises that threaten the habitability of planet Earth?' To Ngati Kuri kaumatua Dover Samuels says the Rainbow Warrior was 'probably the biggest battleship that ever traversed the oceans of the world. But she wasn't armed with guns, she was armed with peace'. Dr David Robie travelled as a journalist with the Greenpeace campaigners on their 1985 mission to relocate 320 Rongelap Islanders in the Marshall Islands who had suffered from a legacy of radiation from the 1954 Castle Bravo thermonuclear test and was on board the Rainbow Warrior for almost 11 weeks before the bombing. His book is published by Little Island Press. Dr Robie is speaking on the theme '40 years on, the Rainbow Warrior, the bombing, and French colonial culture in the Pacific' with the Fabian Society at 5.30pm on Friday, August 8, 2025. He will also appear in conversation with Jeremy Rose at the Aro Valley Peace Talks on Saturday, August 9, 2025.
