FRANCE CLEARED IN BOMBING OF SHIP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000706230002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 27, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 :CIA-RDP90-009658000706230002-5
ARTICLE :,PPEAREO
ON PAGE - ~ CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
27 August 1985
France cleared in bombin of shi
g p
But government fives tough task of restoring tarnished image overseas
~~
S~icW b Ths axbur, Science Madlo-
But no, the report concluded, neither Defense
Minister Charles Hernu, nor intelligence officials,
~ nor the agents themselves had anything to do with
D difficult and embarrassing for the
eye on Greenpeace. French Navy to turn the boats back
BUt n0, neither and the government wanted to know
French ofNcials nor more.
But Tricot insisted that he had
N1teUig@nce a9@ntS found neither evidence of implicit or-
had anything t0 do ders to stop Greenpeace's efforts by
YVith Sinking the boat force, nor arty indications that the
simple instructions to gather intelli-
- Bemard Tricot gence were misinterpreted as they
Auckland. And the biggest question of all remains
unanswered: Who sank the Green-
peace protest ship, the Rainbow Warrior?
The report issued yesterday by Bernard Tricot,
the man appointed to investigate the sinking, con-
cludes largely what France's secret service, the
DGSE, had been telling reporters all along.
Yes, said Mr. Tricot, Fiance had sent agents to
New Zealand to keep an eye on the antinuclear group.
Greenpeace, and to find out what the protesters were
Planning for coming French mrclear tests in the Pa-
cific atoll of Mururoe.
has been tarnished as details of one of
' its undercover operations have sur-
~ faced. The case has rekindled contro-
versy about its nuclear tests in the
South Pacific.
Furthermore. two French agents
remain under arrest in New Zealand,
charged with scuttling the ship in
analysts sa4, and it seems unlikely
now that arty official heads will roll.
Overseas, howeve>i F~ance~s image
The F~+ench government and its secret services sinking the Rainbow Warrior.
were ezonerated Monday in an investigation into the The ship was sunk by a bomb on July 10, as it was
sinking of the Rainbow Warrior protest ship. preparing to sail for France's nuclear feet zone. A
But that is unlikely to bring a quick and to an em- photographer on board was killed.
barrasaing affair that has filled summertime head- Reports had reached the governa>ient, the Tricot
report said, that Greenpeaoe was
The Socialist government of Presi- Yes, France sent planning to send a large flotilla of
dent Fl~angois Mitterrand appears to g t0 Pi6W small pretest boats toward Muroroa
have weathered the crisis internallX ~~ t0 k ~ dunng seheduled tests. 1'x would be
ee
were passed down the line.
Tricot said that in his investigation he had consid?
eyed the possibility that independent agents were re-
sponsible, or agents fmm another nation's intelli-
gence service.
The bombers might have wanted to hurt
Greenpeace or the might have wanted to hurt the
French government, he said. Conceiveably, they
could have been targeting both Greenpeace and
Fiance, he said.
As for the French agents now under arrest for the
bombing, Tricot said: "Given the evidence now be-
~OfltltlllEd
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 :CIA-RDP90-009658000706230002-5
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 :CIA-RDP90-009658000706230002-5
fore me, I believe they are innocent.''
Tricot said that he had had access to al-
most everything he wanted during the
course of his 17-day investigation, includ-
ing agreat deal of the evidence that inves-
tigators in New Zealand have gathered
against the two > agents.
That evidence certainly merits serious
consideration, but it seems mope of a tmu-
than a convincing nature, the report
In a television interview shortly after
the report was released, Tricot was clear
and direct when asked who had sunk the
Rainbow Warrior: "I have absolutely no
idea,'' he said.
New Zealand's evidence is unlikely to
w~ suthoritiei tt-~+e areNoscheduled to
PreBent their case in court. They have
asked Tricot to key their evidence secret.
g ~P~tin6 the French
agents could set the affair spinning once
again. Until then, however it will be up to
Pr+eside~ Mitterrand and Prime Minister
Laurent Fhbius to make the moat of Tri-
c~t's favorable findings to repair the dam.
age done by the case.
Mr. Flebius is scheduled to make his
first Pubes Pronouncement on the subject
today.
Since the government now appears
blameless in the affair analysts say. Fa-
bius should suffer few political conse-
quences. The more delicate task will be of
the n~ ~ 'sn ~ntion~~r~ ?~ '
duct nuclear testing.
And despite Monday's report, doubts
about France's involvement in the sinking
are likely to persist overseas until the
mystery is solved.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 :CIA-RDP90-009658000706230002-5