Brad Heap

Today marks 25 years since French Secret Service agents, allies of New Zealand, committed the first and only act of terrorism ever in New Zealand’s history when they bombed Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship while it was docked in Auckland killing one person; an act of war committed by an ally against a pacifist organisation.

I was born two years after the bombing, however, the bombing not only changed New Zealand history it also had an important role in shaping my political views. When I was at primary school during the 1990s the French resumed nuclear testing at Mururoa and during that time Greenpeace sent their replacement Rainbow Warrior II ship from Auckland to protest the testing. My connection to the two ships comes through primary school friends, the father of one of my friends was onboard the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed in Auckland harbour in 1985 and parents of other friends were onboard the Rainbow Warrior II and other ships when they were detained by the French in 1995.

So 25 years on where are we? Once France had finished “testing” aka bombing the shit out of an island in the middle of nowhere because apparently no one would care they signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, since then France has not detonated another Nuclear Weapon. However, Pakistan has, India has, North Korea has. The work of Greenpeace has slowed the Nuclear Winter but I don’t think we are out of the autumn yet.

Today Greenpeace have blogged links to 4 videos on the Rainbow Warrior.

They have also posted a long blog remembering the ship, the life lost, and what the Rainbow Warrior achieved.

There is also the remaking of the song Anchor Me done for the 20^th Anniversary

And who can forget French Letter (audio only, can’t find the video):

Finally a year and a half ago I blogged on why it is so important for Kiwis to never forget the Rainbow Warrior.

Last night C4 ran a top 10 countdown of political songs.

One of the songs was French Letter 1982 by Herbs. When I saw this I immediately phoned a friend and said watch it now. French Letter is one of the most powerful and well known songs in NZ History. One of those songs that defines us.

French Letter is about the French Nucelar Testing in the Pacific at Moruroa Attol.

For me the testing in 1995 was a major issue. And thinking back it was probably my first involvement in Political Activism. At the time I was a seven year old in primary school and one of my friends was Ruby the daugther of Henk Haazen who served on the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed in Auckland in 1985.

Something that I have never understood is why the French tested in the pacific. On one hand they claimed it was completely safe and on the other they stuck it on the other side of the world and not in their backyard.

Now coming back to the point of the post. What scares me is the person I phoned has no knowledge of French Nuclear Testing in the pacific. No knowledge of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland by French Secret Agents in 1985 (Read about that here: http://www.police.govt.nz/operation/wharf/ and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_Rainbow_Warrior).

Now I didn’t expect this person to know the intimate details of these events. They didn’t spend their early childhood in NZ. But what did scare me is the statement why should I care, how does this apply to me?

This statement is as dangerous as the one made in 1995 by the then National Party leader, Don Brash, who stated that if elected the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone would be “Gone by lunchtime.”

At the time this caused an outrage. But I wonder if it would do the same now. Only three years down the track.

So why should we care?

Knowing your history is vital to any citizen or resident of a country. We learn from our personal mistakes and victories as does each and every country.

When we go forward we must remember our past, knowing where we came from, what defines us and what makes us us!

Look around Auckland and NZ there are a few things that you will see that clearly define us. The most obvious is War Memorials and RSA’s. Another would be the local pub. But the third would be our political activism. There are signs of it all around the place you just have to know where to look. Probably one of the most famous pieces is a series of paintings on KRoad done in the mid 1980s. If ever there was a clear demonstration of what NZ stood for and what it was about it is these sets of images:

Internationally, around the world, New Zealand is known for its stance on Human Rights and Environmental Protection. But it seems at home our young generation don’t know about the very things that define us. And that is sad.

You can read about the history of NZ Nuclear Free here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand%27s_nuclear-free_zone

Watch French Letter 1995

Tag Archives: France

Rainbow Warrior bombing 25 years on

Has New Zealand lost its backbone? Or just forgotten the past?