Admiral Philippe Euverte Supreme Commander of French Armed Forces in French Polynesia
Papeete, 14 July 1995
Admiral Euverte,
I am writing to you in your capacity as the Supreme Commander of French Armed Forces in French Polynesia, in response to some of the grossly inaccurate claims which have been made about Greenpeace's recent protest actions at Moruroa.
I strongly object to the misinformation which is being spread about the Greenpeace's intentions in exercising our legitimate right to peaceful protest against the decision by France to resume testing of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific. I further object to the unlawful, excessive and inappropriate use of force employed by the armed forces acting under your orders against the Rainbow Warrior and her crew.
Specifically it has been alleged, in justification of your actions, that:
-Greenpeace intended to scupper the Rainbow Warrior or drive it aground at Moruroa;
-the degree of force employed by French commandoes was necessary in order to rapidly gain control of the Rainbow Warrior;
-the Rainbow Warrior was not rammed, but damaged while under tow;
-the crew of the Rainbow Warrior was not under arrest and were free to walk around the atoll.
All the above claims are untrue and grossly inaccurate and I can only conclude that they have been made in order to mislead the media and public from the critical issues and divert attention from the excessive and inappropriate use of force by troops acting under your authority.
I stress that Greenpeace:-
-has never had nor has any intention of scuppering the Rainbow Warrior at Moruroa. On the contrary, the safety of my ship and crew has always been paramount;
-has always and will always adhere firmly to the principles of non-violence as we have repeatedly stressed and which ought to be well known from our previous activities. The use of tear gas in a confined space, particularly against three crew members in the radio room when you already had control of the ship, was totally unnecessary, wholly unjustified and grossly violent.
-the Rainbow Warrior was rammed by your vessel, the "Rari", subsequent to the boarding of the Rainbow Warrior and the throwing of tear gas onto the bridge. It took place after I had already disabled the engines and left the bridge. This incident caused the damage to our bow, and took place several hours before towing of the Rainbow Warrior into the lagoon. The ramming was filmed and has been viewed by millions around the world. The claim that it was not rammed is incomprehensible. The ramming was, like the boarding, illegal, unnecessary and violent.
-If in fact the crew of the Warrior were not under arrest, then their interrogation for 15 hours, fingerprinting and photographing were not compatible with international legal norms. My crew and myself were certainly not free to walk around the atoll. On the contrary, we were forcibly kept in three separate locations on the atoll, and attempts to move were blocked by physical force. Moreover, as no legal charges have been laid against us, it appears that the seizing of the three inflatables and safety equipment from my ship has no legal foundation.
Greenpeace vessels and crew have a right to peaceful protest and free navigation under international law and will continue to exercise that right. Conversely, France has no right to impose a military exclusion zone around Moruroa atoll for the purpose of underground nuclear testing, let alone when no testing is taking place, any more than France had a right to impose a 200 mile exclusion zone in 1973 or a 30 mile zone in 1985.
I can assure you that Greenpeace intends to pursue its peaceful protest against the decision by France to resume testing of nuclear weapons in violation of its international commitments. Our objective is to ensure that all testing of nuclear weapons is permanently halted.
Accordingly, I wish to receive your assurance that forces acting under your orders will be given new orders which require them to refrain from the excesses displayed in ramming, boarding and seizing the Rainbow Warrior at our protest.
I trust, also, on the basis of the information contained in this letter, that French authorities will accurately reflect our intentions and capabilities and that the misleading claims will cease to be made.
This letter is written without prejudice to our right to seek legal redress under applicable law.
Yours sincerely,
Captain David Enever SV Rainbow Warrior