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Rainbow Warrior sailor: Little has changed

Author
Alex Mason ,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2015, 5:05AM
The Rainbow Warrior after being bombed (Getty Images)

Rainbow Warrior sailor: Little has changed

Author
Alex Mason ,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2015, 5:05AM

A former member of the Rainbow Warrior crew believes little has changed since Greenpeace's flagship boat was sunk by French secret agents in 1985.

LISTEN TO MARTINI GOTJE'S INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL SMALLEY ABOVE

Tomorrow marks 30 years since the two explosions which claimed the life of photgrapher Fernando Pereira.

The Greenpeace vessel had been involved in protests over French nuclear testing in the Pacific, when it was bombed by two French agents while moored in Auckland.

French DGSE operatives Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart were eventually arrested and sentenced to 10 years behind bars. However they only served two.

Martini Gotje was the Warrior's First Mate, and claims that if you look at the world today, nothing has really changed since the attack which lead New Zealand to embrace a stronger line on foreign policy.

The former Greenpeace sailor believes nuclear weapon states are all updating their equipment, ready to terrorise the whole planet.

"For me the issue is still alive, it's kicking. I wish we (could) have nuclear disarmament tomorrow," he told Newstalk ZB.

Gotje said the anniversary of the bombings is an opportunity to get people talking about nuclear weapons - and why they're not the answer.

"It would be incomprehensible that they ever be used. But the longer you hang onto the buggers...it only needs one mad man to stop the whole thing."

Despite three decades having passed since the Warrior was sunk, tomorrow's anniversary will be an emotional day.

Gotje still thinks often of Portuguese crew member Fernando Pereira, a father-of-two, who lost his life that day.

"His death was absolutely pointless. He's a mate of mine, and on a day like [this] you have no choice. He's in your head."

While Gotje laments the lack of change since the 1985 attack, he's proud to live in a country with such a strong nuclear-free stance.

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