1-10-2002
Greenpeace
Challenges French Yacht
Auckland 1 October 2002: Greenpeace activists in kayaks protested
nuclear
company Areva’s involvement in the America’s Cup as DefiAreva
left the
Viaduct Basin today.
Twelve kayaks created a ‘guard of shame’ and flew banners saying
“Keep the
cup nuclear-free’ as the French boat left the entrance of the
Viaduct Basin
to compete in first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup. “The arrogance
of such a
dangerous and dirty industry thinking that they can come to
nuclear free
New Zealand and use this event to promote their business can
not go
unchallenged,” said Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace spokesperson.
“People can
put their heads in the sand and pretend Areva is just another
sponsor or
they can take some responsibility to make sure that the nuclear
industry
knows that they are not welcome here. This could be as simple
as flying a
nuclear-free pennant while watching the race,” she said.
It is an Areva company that discharges nuclear waste into the
ocean on a
daily basis, and it was the same company that shipped plutonium
through our
region last year despite our Government’s opposition. Areva
is also
intimately connected with the development of the French nuclear
weapons
programme through its majority shareholder, the French Atomic
Energy
Commission.
Contact: Bunny McDiarmid, mob: (0)21 838183 Brendan Lynch, mob:
(0)21 790817
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