New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark visits the flotilla before they sail to join other boats to protest against the BNFL Plutonium shipment being transported through the Pacific Ocean.
Auckland - The Greenpeace yacht, the Tiama, today joined the
Nuclear Free Pacific Flotilla as yachts left Australia and New
Zealand to protest against the shipment of plutonium through the
Pacific and Tasman Sea.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark was one of a
large crowd that gathered in Auckland to farewell the New Zealand
arm of the Pacific flotilla. Prime Minister Clark, an official
speaker at the flotilla departure, gave strong words of support and
claimed the Pacific Ocean, the Tasman Sea and New Zealand should
remain nuclear free.
The Prime Minister also said the New Zealand Government had
officially contacted the British and Japanese Governments stating
strong objection to the transportation of nuclear materials through
the Pacific.
Two yachts leave Sydney Harbour to join the Nuclear Free Pacific
flotilla.
The Australian contingent, the 'Love of Gaia' and 'Kaileia' were
sent off by a traditional smoking ceremony and Green's Member of
the NSW Legislative Council, Ian Cohen, who will join the flotilla
in the Tasman next weekend.
They will join the seven ships from New Zealand and two from
Vanuatu, and gather next week in the northern Tasman Sea and wait
for the two ships carrying the reject plutonium mixed oxide (MOX)
en route from Japan to England as it passes through the Pacific and
Tasman Sea.
"This shipment is totally unnecessary and puts us all at risk.
Flotillas have also formed in South America and Ireland to protest
these shipments demonstrating the growing concern that the public
has to over the transportation of plutonium," said Bunny McDiarmid
of the Greenpeace New Zealand Nuclear Campaign.
Opposition also has come from the Governments of New Zealand and
the Federated States of Micronesia, elected representatives in Fiji
and Guam, the Japanese communities living around the nuclear
reactors and the people of Ireland who have lived with their sea
being polluted by the industry responsible for these shipments.
Two UK lightly armed nuclear freighters, the Pacific Pintail and
Pacific Teal carrying the cargo of faulty MOX, including 255 kgs of
weapons-usable plutonium, left Japan on Thursday and are expected
to arrive in the Tasman in the next two-three weeks.
The shipment of faulty MOX is being returned to the UK because
its producers, the government-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL),
falsified critical safety data on the fuel and the Japanese refused
to use it.
Greenpeace has launched a virtual
flotilla on the new Greenpeace Planet website for people who
want to join the growing opposition to this shipment.
"The commitment of people in the flotillas is both inspiring and
courageous. One individual's action can make a difference. Even if
you can't sail a boat into the path of a nuclear transport, you can
show your opposition. For those of us watching from home, joining
our virtual flotilla will show your support for the brave activists
out on the rough seas. You can also talk with other people speaking
out against nuclear transports and participate in cyberactions
throughout the transport routes," Said Bunny McDiarmid.