Police board Greenpeace ship

BBC News ^ | February 1, 2003 | BBC News

[MadIvan]

Police have boarded the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior and are towing it from its blockade at Marchwood military port to Southampton Docks.

A Royal Navy spokesman said 21 police officers from the Hampshire and Ministry of Defence forces boarded the ship at 2200 GMT from the Admiralty tug Powerful.

Their objective had been to either gain control of the ship or attach lines to the tug which would then drag the Rainbow Warrior "to a place of safety".

Greenpeace said later that police had severed the anchor chain of the Rainbow Warrior and were towing it away.

The protesters had been at the Marchwood site - which is the departure point for most of the UK's military supplies for a possible war with Iraq - since Monday.

Spokesman for Greenpeace Rob Gueterbock, who is on board the Warrior, said none of the crew had been arrested by police.

The protesters said a decision had not yet been made on what the crew will do when the ship arrives at the docks.

On Friday the government was granted a High Court injunction banning anti-war protesters from boarding any military ships, but the order did not ban the Rainbow Warrior from the area.

'Rush into war'

Earlier spokeswoman for Greenpeace said they had stopped a ship loaded with helicopters, jeeps and Scorpion tanks from leaving port.

Mr Gueterbock said: "Day and night tanks and helicopters are streaming through Marchwood as part of the build up of the military machine.

"Greenpeace is determined to do everything we can to stop this headlong rush into war."

[cyborg]

Maybe you should be the poet laureate instead of Rita Dove.

[wretchard]

The French operatives who sank the original Rainbow Warrior were arrested by the New Zealand police and only freed under a negotiated arrangement with the French government. The French operation against the Rainbow Warrior doesn't compare very favorably with the Israeli operation against the Iraqi reactor at Osirak.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Gee, wonder why they don't undertake a journey to Pyongyang or Latakia.

[wasp69]

Bookmarking this in the "Hell Yeah" file. Thanks for the update, Ivan.

[JennysCool]

Why, after the serious and tragic events of today, do I have so little patience with the antics of self-important hippies? FReegards, Ivan.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Excellent limerick! Thanks, MadIvan, for the heads-up on this one! Britannia always comes through when it counts!

[ChadGore]

Re: "Greenpeace is determined to do everything we can to stop this headlong rush into war."

Gee, it's a good thing they are a non-political, bi-partisain, neutral party interested only in the good of mother earth. (eye roll)

Tell me, did *MY TAX DOLLARS* help these punks ??

[KnutCase]

Reminds me of the fraternity that had a sign posted in their parking lot:

"Unauthorized cars will be dismantled"

The Brits should do the same and recycle the metal into one of their new subs.

[Hoverbug]

Ivan,
Tell those green-piece(OS) weenies to come on over here and try to block one of our Navy ships. :-)

[CharlesThe Hammer]

Where was this altruistic concern for the environment when Herr Hussein sparked all those Kuwaiti oil wells? There wasn't a peep from these leftist hypocrites as Sadaam blackened the sky in his little hell simulation at the end of the Gulf War. Further, we've never heard complaint one from the Greenpeacers about communist or other totalitarian earth soilers. Try to imagine these fools approaching a Soviet "boomer" or a CHICOM vessel with the intent to protest and paint slogans. Do these envirodopes really think they could even exist in a world absent the tenets of
Western classical liberalism?

[MinuteGal]

Wonder how many innocent-looking spies have infiltrated the scruffy crew and passengers aboard the good ship Greenie?

A supply port is a nice place to observe and keep a little log to transmit to any enemies holed up under some London mosque.

Leni

[spitz]

Those french Operatives were released to France to serve out their sentence, the French released them after serving part of their sentence. More French treachery? Yup.

[KnutCase]

Greenpeace is like all other left-wing commie organizations....their primary objecive is to destroy capitalism wherever it thrives. ( Yes, I realize the UK is semi-capitalist)

[CFC__VRWC]

I wouldn't have minded seeing this scene again.

Oh well, perhaps another day.

[Bogey78O]

Guess no one told them about Saddam's love of setting oil rigs on fire and killing animals.

[sweetliberty]

Idiots!

[rogue yam]

Right after the Rainbow Warrior sinking National Lampoon ran a photo cartoon of the U.N. General Assembly as they were supposedly discussing the incident. The joke was all of the confusion engendered as the U.N. translators struggled to translate the phrase "French frogmen" into all of the various languages.

[rogue yam]

Dude, I wouldn't be lumping that buddhist monk in with the actions of a bunch of America-hating lefty idiots. The self-immolating monks showed astounding personal discipline and courage to bring attention to what were legitimate grievances, and did so in a way that appealed solely to the consciences of their audience (that is, they did not physically block anyone from doing anything). That's my take, anyway.

[finnman69]

They should confiscate the ship, outfit it for long line drift nets and go haul in some really tasty fish.