Monday July 3 1995 1630 local time, Papeete:- The Rainbow Warrior departed Papeete this afternoon bound for the French nuclear test site at Moruroa.
Hundreds of Tahitian supporters blew conch shells, waved flags and decorated the ship and its crew with lei (floral necklaces) and greenery as it departed Papeete at 4.30pm local time, with a crew of 31 on board. The crew include the French Catholic bishop Monsigneur Gaillot, Tahitian anti-nuclear activist Pasteur Temarama, and the anti-nuclear pro-independence leader, Oscar Temaru.
Moruroa atoll is 1000 kilometres (650 miles) east of Papeete, and the voyage time to the atoll is estimated at 3-4 days.
While in Papeete, the crew of the Rainbow Warrior participated in demonstrations and events opposing nuclear testing, which saw a record 15,000 people on the streets on Thursday, a commemoration of the 29th anniversary of the first nuclear test at Moruroa on Sunday, blockades of Papeete for 72 hours, and an ecumenical open-air mass and protest drawing several thousand people on Sunday afternoon.
"We set sail for Moruroa with the knowledge that the people of Tahiti and millions of people worldwide back our call for an end to nuclear testing, everywhere and forever," Greenpeace's Stephanie Mills said. "The risks we face in challenging the resumption of French testing at Moruroa are real and serious; but they are worth taking if we can stop the greater danger to nuclear non-proliferation posed by more tests by France."
Greenpeace France's Jean-Luc Thierry said President Chirac had seriously underestimated public opposition to a resumption of nuclear testing in France, Tahiti and internationally.
"This voyage challenges the dangerous illusion of nuclear grandeur, the lack of democracy and the disregard for the environment and peoples of the South Pacific inherent in Chirac's decision," he said. "We hope that when we return to Tahiti the nuclear cloud will have lifted over both this country and the Pacific."
The crew of the Rainbow Warrior are aged between 21 and 70, and come from ten different countries, including France, Tahiti, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
ENDS
Further information: Stephanie Mills, Jean-Luc Thierry, Steve Sawyer aboard the SV Rainbow Warrior +872 1300312 Arnaud Apoteker, Tahiti, +689 53 16 33 Cindy Baxter, Greenpeace Communications, London +44 171 8330600 Further information is available on Greenpeace's home page on the Internet http://www.greenpeace.org/