Tahiti 1st October 1995

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GREENPEACE BOAT BOARDED BY FRENCH IN INTERNATONAL WATERS

Greenpeace today condemned as an act of piracy the French boarding of the environmental organisation's vessel MANUTEA in international waters off Moruroa Atoll -- in the face of an imminent nuclear test.

At 0510 hrs local time Sunday, French commandos boarded the US- flagged MANUTEA, three miles outside the 12-mile military exclusion zone in international waters in the South Pacific, cutting off communications.

Greenpeace campaigner on board the vessel, Audrey Cardwell, managed to call the Greenpeace office in Tahiti and spoke for 20 seconds before the line was broken. She said there were three French inflatable boats alongside and commandos were boarding.

A journalist aboard the New Zealand government ship the TUI, also in the vicinity, told Greenpeace that the French military had found a canoe on Moruroa atoll at 0200 hrs and were citing that as the reason to board the Manutea. However, there is absolutely no indication that this canoe came from the Manutea. It is not known how many protestors were aboard.

The journalist said that the Manutea was three miles outside the exclusion zone when boarded and was now on its way, under close escort from French military vessels, into Moruroa.

"The next nuclear test is imminent and the French are desparate to stop protestors going into the atolls. They have used the canoe as an excuse to seize the Manutea -- but this will not stop the protests," said Lynette Thorstensen of Greenpeace in Tahiti.

"This is yet another flagrant breach of international law. The French have just committed what amounts to an act of piracy against a United States vessel in international waters," she said.

The Manutea, a 35m schnooner with eight crew on board, three from Greenpeace, has been in the peace flotilla outside the exclusion zone for the past four weeks, protesting French president Jacques Chirac's resumption of nuclear testing in the South Pacific. There are about six boats in the flotilla.

In the past two weeks, protestors from the peace flotilla have managed to get into the Fangataufa atoll lagoon and all have reported seeing preparations on a drill rig at the atoll. All indications are that another nuclear test will be exploded in the next few days, possibly from Fangataufa, where the largest tests are detonated.

Four protestors were deported this weekend from Tahiti after a high-speed inflatable chase around the Fangataufa lagoon. Two of them managed to get onto the drilling rig.

In the USA, Greenpeace has been in contact with the US State Department asking them to protest the seizure and asking them to clarify the illegal boarding.

"President Clinton must call on Jacques Chirac to stop his testing programme immediately and to terminate all US cooperation with France on nuclear weapons development," said Tom Clements of Greenpeace USA.

Contacts:
Tahiti: Lynette Thorstensen ++689 433 280
USA: Tom Clements Greenpeace USA ++1 202 319 2506
Debora Rephan ++1 202 319
London: Cindy Baxter ++44 171 359 6735