- Alain Mafart
Alain Mafart is a French military officer best known for his part in the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.
Marfart was a
DGSE agent and deputy commander of the French Navy Training Centre inCorsica . He supported the sabotage team that travelled toNew Zealand and bombed and sank the "Rainbow Warrior", drowning photographerFernando Pereira .He was apprehended by
New Zealand police, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment onNovember 22 ,1985 . Following aUnited Nations sponsored mediation between New Zealand andFrance in July 1986, Mafart was deported to the island ofHao inFrench Polynesia to serve three years. In return, France apologised to New Zealand and paid New Zealand $6.5 million.However, on
December 14 ,1987 , Mafart was returned toParis after complaining of stomach pains. After treatment he was not returned to the island and in 1988 enrolled on a two-year course at theÉcole de Guerre (War College) in Paris.Mafart was promoted to Colonel in December 1993. According to
Le Monde , Mafart was then serving near Paris on a base housing several command staffs, including that of military intelligence.His commanding officer during the "Rainbow Warrior" affair became an aide to Defence Minister
Francois Léotard .He wrote a book "Carnets secrets d'un nageur de combat: Du Rainbow Warrior aux glaces de l'Arctique" ("Secret notebooks of a naval frogman: Rainbow Warrior to the ices of the Arctic") that concerned his role in the bombing.
External links
* [http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/rw/pkspy.html "Where are they now"] , from the Greenpeace archives
* [http://www.kauricoast.co.nz/Feature.cfm?WPID=70 The Rainbow Warrior Affair]
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