I never heard about this, has anybody else? This is a quote from a philosophy essay I had to read for class, called "Special Ties and Natural Duties" by Jeremy Waldron, 1993.
"..... There are things a Frenchman could do in France that would undermine the laws and institutions of New Zealand. We need not play with hypotheticals: a real-life example comes to mind. In 1985, French officials conspired to arrange a terrorist attack by their agents on a ship, the Rainbow Warrior, belonging to the Greenpeace organization. The vessel was used by Greenpeace to harass the French in their conduct of nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific. It was bombed by agents of the French military, operating covertly in New Zealand, while it lay in Auckland harbor. Owing to their Clouseau-like incompetence, the French operatives immediately responsible were apprehended by the New Zealand police and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter (for one Greenpeace activist had died in the attack). But it is not the attack itself that is the focus of my example; it is what happended afterwards. During the investigation of the attack, French officials were unhelpful to the New Zealand police, and it is widely believed that they urged their operatives to perjure themselves in the New Zealand courts. Once the saboteurs were convicted, the French persuaded the British and American governments to put economic pressure on New Zealand to secure their release. Thus in various ways officials of the French government living and working in France consprired to undermine the operation of the criminal justice system in New Zealand............. In this case, obstructing justice in New Zealand was both a possibility and a temptation. The French had a lot to lose if justice were allowed to run its course."
Crazy. It's just funny where I found this story, in an essay about political obligations--- Written by a New Zealand man I believe.
"..... There are things a Frenchman could do in France that would undermine the laws and institutions of New Zealand. We need not play with hypotheticals: a real-life example comes to mind. In 1985, French officials conspired to arrange a terrorist attack by their agents on a ship, the Rainbow Warrior, belonging to the Greenpeace organization. The vessel was used by Greenpeace to harass the French in their conduct of nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific. It was bombed by agents of the French military, operating covertly in New Zealand, while it lay in Auckland harbor. Owing to their Clouseau-like incompetence, the French operatives immediately responsible were apprehended by the New Zealand police and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter (for one Greenpeace activist had died in the attack). But it is not the attack itself that is the focus of my example; it is what happended afterwards. During the investigation of the attack, French officials were unhelpful to the New Zealand police, and it is widely believed that they urged their operatives to perjure themselves in the New Zealand courts. Once the saboteurs were convicted, the French persuaded the British and American governments to put economic pressure on New Zealand to secure their release. Thus in various ways officials of the French government living and working in France consprired to undermine the operation of the criminal justice system in New Zealand............. In this case, obstructing justice in New Zealand was both a possibility and a temptation. The French had a lot to lose if justice were allowed to run its course."
Crazy. It's just funny where I found this story, in an essay about political obligations--- Written by a New Zealand man I believe.
This stunt seems very minor compared to some.
