Greenpeace III not detained

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32956, 30 June 1972, Page 1

Greenpeace III not detained

■(■New ‘Zealand WELLINGTON, June 29. A denial that the crew of Greenpeace 111 had been detained in a French military hospital near Papeete had been made by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister ’ (Mr Marshall) said in a statement today.

Mr Marshall said that the denial came as a result of urgent inquiries made overnight through the New Zealand Ambassador in Paris (Mr O. P. Gabites). "They (the French Ministry) have informed the Embassy that the yacht is still in the safety area west of Mururoa and got there under its own volition. “It is quite possible that confusion has arisen in press reports as a result of a completely unconnected incident about which the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs was informed by the Governor of Pitcairn several days ago,” Mr Marshall said. “Further details have since been received through the Embassy in Paris.

“A 20-year-old New Zealander from Dunedin intending to spend a vacation on Pitcairn was injured in an accident while landing on the island. In the absence of other medical assistance he was picked up by a French patrol boat and later transported to hospital in Papeete which he reached on June 26.?’ The Dunedin man is Craig Reeves, who might return to Dunedin on Tuesday for an operation. His mother, Mrs A. A Reeves, will fly from Auckland tomorrow night to be with her son in Papeete. She hopes to return with him. Discussing the Greenpeace m protest voyage arid plans to send a protest fleet from New Zealand to the test zone, the Prime Minister said today that the moves were “impractical and unrealistic.” “These people are going at their own risk and without the approval of the New Zealand Government,” Mr Marshall said. The Prime Minister said that while he understood the feelings of the people making the protest, voyages “we have not approved of these adventures.” Where New Zealanders were involved in protest voyages the Government would do all it could to protect them if they were in danger.