RAINBOW WARRIOR LAUNCHES APPEAL TO PRESIDENT CHIRAC ON EVE OF ARRIVAL AT MORUROA TEST SITE

West of Moruroa, July 7, 2100 local time -- (GP) On the eve of its arrival at the Moruroa nuclear test site, the Rainbow Warrior has sent an open letter to French President Jacques Chirac, urging him to reconsider his decision to resume nuclear testing at the atoll.

Greenpeace's Jean-Luc Thierry, on board the Rainbow Warrior, said President Chirac would do more for the grandeur of France by honoring France's commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and continuing to respect the testing moratorium than by developing new nuclear weapons.

"Like the fission reaction which is required to create a nuclear bomb, the danger is that France's decision to break its moratorium on nuclear testing could set a whole chain reaction of nuclear proliferation in train," he said. "The signal to the other nuclear powers is that they can follow France in developing new nuclear bombs, and the message to non-nuclear countries is that France is prepared to betray its own commitments to exercise the "utmost restraint" over testing."

Greenpeace's Stephanie Mills said France was endangering the completion of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty as well as its own international reputation by resuming nuclear testing at Moruroa atoll.

"The peaceful protest at President Chirac's decision is unstoppable," she said. Claims by the French authorities that they could outnumber Greenpeace's ship and inflatables would not deter the Rainbow Warrior, she said.

"We know the French authorities have greater resources than Greenpeace, but on our side is the force of international public opinion and the commitment and creativity of our crew," she said.

"The determination of the small group of people on board the Rainbow Warrior to peacefully protest nuclear testing is greater than the force of a military force defending an unjust cause far from home."

The Rainbow Warrior is due to arrive off the test site within the next 24 hours.

Further information: Jean-Luc Thierry, Stephanie Mills, Steve Sawyer, on board the SV Rainbow Warrior +872 1300312

TEXT of Appeal to M. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic

ON this day when the Rainbow Warrior appraoches France's nuclear test site in the Pacific, we address to you a new appeal. On board our ship carrying our hope for a "green peace", we - 26 citizens of 10 different nationalities - are also citizens of a world which is becoming more and more inter-related in both the progress it makes and the conflicts that beset it.

Together, we share the conviction that an immediate and comprehensive treaty banning all nuclear tests would ensure the international community would find new paths to assure its security and its future.

Arguing that you are defending the supreme interests of France and the integrity of its national deterrent, you have taken the decision to proceed with further nuclear tests. But where now are France's enemies, and how would its deterrent assure its security? The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War offers the world a unique opportunity to opt for a safer future. And French diplomacy, whose voice is heard and respected in many international fora, is now criticised by dozens of countries, among them many of its traditional friends. Hasn't France taken a wrong turn?

Fifty years after having light the nuclear fire, humanity continues to multiply the ways of mastering these weapons which threaten the destruction of our planet. Like the fission process which creats this bomb of such enormous destructive capability, the French decision to break its moratorium on nuclear testing can set another kind of chain reaction in train. Not only could nuclear powers who have continued to respect the moratorium follow France in modernising their nuclear weapons but other countries tempted by nuclear weapons will see that there is only weak pressure against those who seek to acquire the status of nuclear powers. This would be a dark day in the history of humanity.

We urge you today to listen to the voice of a handful of people aboard a ship of peace, but also to listen to the strong concern of millions of people around the world. M. le President, in reversing your decision to go ahead with nuclear testing, in honouring the commitments of France to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, you would do more for the grandeur of your country than nuclear warheads ever will.

Yours sincerely

Jean-Luc Thierry                Stephanie Mills
Greenpeace France               Greenpeace International