Rainbow Warrior Payout

France pays compensation to Greenpeace

AN INTERNATIONAL tribunal has ordered France to pay more than S ABm in compensation to the environmental action group, Greenpeace, for the sinking of its vessel, Rainbow War rior, in Auckland harbour in 1985.

The tribunal, comprising three legal experts from Switzerland, France and New Zealand, made its decision after meeting in Geneva.

France, which has admitted that agents of its intelligence service blew up Rain bow Warrior, has agreed to abide by the tribunal’s decision, as an alternative to facing legal action by Greenpeace in New Zealand.

A Greenpeace spokesman in Rome said no amount of money could ever compen sate for the loss of the life of the Rainbow Warrior crewman killed when the ship was blown up.

He said the compensation would also not buy back the dignity of a Government which sank a non-violent ship to stop it exercising the democratic right of protest.

The spokesman added that Green peace would use the compensation to fund its campaign for a nuclear-free Pacific.

Rainbow Warrior had been preparing

to lead a flotilla of protest vessels to the French nuclear testing site at Mururoa Atoll when it was blown up.

France has already made separate set tlements with the Government of New Zealand, and with the family of Mr Fer nando Periera, the crew member killed.□

The sabotaged ship in Auckland Harbour.