Memorial planned to mark French terror attack in New Zealand

Thirty years ago, two bombs ripped through a boat moored at the port in downtown Auckland, New Zealand.

A Portuguese crewman, Fernando Pereira, died in the blasts and the vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, owned by environmental campaign group Greenpeace, sank at its mooring on Marsden Wharf.

Dogged detective work by New Zealand police officers exposed an act of state-sponsored terrorism carried out by French secret service agents and led to the arrests and eventual jailing of two of the agents.

The event was a milestone in New Zealand's strident anti- nuclear stance, as the vessel had been used to protest against French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific, and a major embarrassment for the French government.

Now plans are afoot to commemorate the attack, which will have its 30th anniversary on July 10, with a major monument at the gates to the port.

Ports of Auckland, the local government-owned company that runs the port, said Wednesday it is seeking public feedback on the proposed design.

The planned memorial consisted of a seat facing north and incorporated the bollard to which the Rainbow Warrior's bow line was moored when it was sunk, as well as a description of the events laser cut into a steel sheet.

"The Rainbow Warrior is a piece of New Zealand's history and the port's history. We believe it's important to have a fitting memorial that remembers the day the Rainbow Warrior was bombed," Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson said in a statement.

Greenpeace had endorsed the project and the former skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, Pete Willcox also added his support.

"It would be nice to have something physical here at the Marsden wharf site to remind people walking by that this is where it was. It will be a very fitting remembrance of where the boat was bombed," Willcox said in the statement. Endi