Rainbow Warrior bomber Jean-Luc Kister wants to clear his conscience

THE French naval frogman who planted the bombs that sank the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in 1985 has apologised for the death of the crewman aboard.

(FILES) -- A file picture taken on August 14, 1985 shows the Greenpeace ecologist organization boat "Rainbow Warrior" which was sunk in the bay of Auckland on July 10, 1985 by French secret services, as it was en route to Pacific Ocean to protest against French nuclear tests. Colonel Jean-Luc Kister, the combat diver of the French DGSE (General Direction of Foreign Security) who planted the explosive charge which sank the ''Rainbow Warrior'' apologized in an interview broadcasted 30 years after the fiasco, on September 6, 2015. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK RIVIERE

THE French naval frogman who planted the bombs that sank the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in 1985 has apologised for the death of the crewman aboard.

Jean-Luc Kister has broken his silence over the incident, telling France’s Mediapart and TVNZ’s Sunday program that now is the right time to speak up about the death of photographer Fernando Pereira.

“Now that emotions have calmed, and also with the hindsight I have regarding my professional life, I thought that this was a chance for me to express both my deepest regrets and my apologies,” Mr Kister said.

“First of all to Fernando Pereira’s family, in particular his daughter Marelle, for what I call an accidental death and what they consider to be an assassination.” Mr Kister said he also wanted to apologise to the members of Greenpeace who were aboard the Rainbow Warrior when it was sunk and to the people of New Zealand.

Wounded warrior ... The Rainbow Warrior lies striken after the explosive blast which ripped open her hull. Source: Greenpeace

Pre-emptive strike

In July 1985, the Greenpeace ship was in Auckland to head a flotilla of protest boats to Mururoa Atoll in French Polynesia in a bid to disrupt French nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

Mr Kister said he was one of 12 members of France’s spy agency, the DGSE, ordered by then French defence minister Charles Hernu to sink the ship.

The two bombs attached to the Rainbow Warrior were “disproportionate”, but the idea of breaking the propeller shaft was rejected by the French government.

He said he was obeying orders at the time but now wanted to clear his conscience.

Two of the French agents who were caught, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, were sentenced in the High Court at Auckland to 10 years in prison for manslaughter, but were later transferred to French Polynesia and both were free within three years.

Killed ... Photographer Fernando Pereira was killed when the Rainbow Warrior was bombed in Auckland in 1985. Source: Greenpeace

Demand for justice

The skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, Peter Willcox, says no one has been held accountable for Mr Pereira’s death and France has never apologised for the bombing.

Jean-Luc Kister has broken his silence over the incident, telling France’s Mediapart and TVNZ’s Sunday program that now is the right time to speak up about the death of photographer Fernando Pereira.

“Now that emotions have calmed, and also with the hindsight I have regarding my professional life, I thought that this was a chance for me to express both my deepest regrets and my apologies,” Mr Kister said.

“First of all to Fernando Pereira’s family, in particular his daughter Marelle, for what I call an accidental death and what they consider to be an assassination.” Mr Kister said he also wanted to apologise to the members of Greenpeace who were aboard the Rainbow Warrior when it was sunk and to the people of New Zealand.

Wreck ... A group including officials looks at the partially sunken Rainbow Warrior during salvage operations after it was bombed. Source: Greenpeace

Time of turmoil

In July 1985, the Greenpeace ship was in Auckland to head a flotilla of protest boats to Mururoa Atoll in French Polynesia in a bid to disrupt French nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

Mr Kister said he was one of 12 members of France’s spy agency, the DGSE, ordered by then French defence minister Charles Hernu to sink the ship.

The two bombs attached to the Rainbow Warrior were “disproportionate”, but the idea of breaking the propeller shaft was rejected by the French government.

He said he was obeying orders at the time but now wanted to clear his conscience.

Two of the French agents who were caught, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, were sentenced in the High Court at Auckland to 10 years in prison for manslaughter, but were later transferred to French Polynesia and both were free within three years.

The skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, Peter Willcox, says no one has been held accountable for Mr Pereira’s death and France has never apologised for the bombing.

Originally published as Rainbow Warrior bomber Jean-Luc Kister wants to clear his conscience