He is in perpetual motion, a man without a
country, a citizen of the world. He prefers to work
from the shadows, manipulating events and people without having
to step right into the light. He counts among his friends
several powerful politicians, a couple of multi-billionaires
(including Ted Turner) and at least one rock star (Bryan Adams).
For 20 years he has been haunting the International Whaling
Commission (IWC). He is David Fraser McTaggart, founder
of Greenpeace International. With the help of family
and friends, David McTaggart: Shadow Warrior reveals the extraordinary
man behind the passion.
It was almost 30 years ago, aboard his 38-foot double-ended
ketch named Vega, that McTaggart began his journey into history.
In 1972, he set a course for Mururoa in the South Pacific
to stop the atmospheric nuclear testing occurring there.
McTaggart quite literally sailed up against the French war
machine, daring them to blow him out of the water. But
heavy weather pushed the Vega 30 miles from ground zero, allowing
the French to successfully explode nuclear bombs into the
atmosphere.
In the summer of 1973, when France announced its intentions
to continue testing nuclear weapons into the atmosphere over
Mururoa, McTaggart set sail again. This time, McTaggart
successfully maintained position inside international waters,
causing the French to delay their testing. Thwarted,
the French sent seven commandos to ram the Vega and rough
up the crew. McTaggart almost lost his right eye in
the scuffle; his navigator was knocked out cold. Fortunately
for McTaggart, the whole incident was captured on still camera.
In 1975, the Palais de Justice in Paris found the French Navy
guilty of ramming the Vega and were instructed to pay damages.
More importantly, that was the last nuclear test made into
the atmosphere.
Whether he's taking on the International Whaling Commission,
the French government, or protecting the world's oceans, McTaggart
is single-minded in his approach. For more than three
decades, this restless and driven man has taken on the world's
rich and powerful. In the process he has not only created
a long list of friends but an equally impressive list of enemies.
Original Air Date - February 15, 2000
David McTaggart died in an auto accident March 23, 2001
near his home in Umbria, Italy.
Links
Greenpeace
International
CBC
News: Greenpeace co-founder killed in car crash
Greenpeace
protest voyages to Mururoa, 1972-1992
McTaggart's
ship Vega
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