Sunday 9 June 2019

PRESS FREEDOM IN AUSTRALIA: Letting The Light In - Part One


It has been reported that the day this article (set out below) was published by the Australian public broadcaster, the then Chief of the Defence Force and Acting-Secretary of Defence referred said article to the Australian Federal Police.

Six days short of two years after that Defence Force complaint and, after a lengthy investigation by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force as well as the arrest of a whistleblower in September 2018, the AFP decided to raid ABC offices at Ultimo on 5 June 2019.

This raises a suspicion that the two raids conducted over the last 48 hours may have been held back so they did not occur during the recent federal election campaign - thus raising politically sensitive questions the Morrison Government might have been obliged to answer before polling day.

As this is the third instance in which journalists and a radio commentator have been approached in the last few weeks by either the federal police or the Dept. of Home Affairs and questioned over source/s of information contained in articles or on air commentary, one has to wonder what the Morrison Government and its agencies are playing at.

The original article……

ABC News, 11 July 2017:

Hundreds of pages of secret defence force documents leaked to the ABC give an unprecedented insight into the clandestine operations of Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan, including incidents of troops killing unarmed men and children.

The ABC can reveal that some of the cases detailed in the documents are being investigated as possible unlawful killings.

The Afghan Files

This is one story in a seven-part series based on leaked documents exposing Australian special forces troops’ role in the Afghanistan war. For context, they are best read in order.


The documents, many marked AUSTEO — Australian Eyes Only — suggest a growing unease at the highest levels of Defence about the culture of Australia’s special forces as they prosecuted a bloody, secretive war against insurgents across a swathe of southern Afghanistan.

One document from 2014 refers to ingrained “problems” within special forces, an “organisational culture” including a “warrior culture” and a willingness by officers to turn a blind eye to poor behaviour.

Another document refers to a “desensitisation” and “drift in values” among elite Special Air Service soldiers serving in Afghanistan, while others allude to deep divisions between the two elite units which primarily comprise the special forces - the SAS based in Perth and 2 Commando Regiment based in Sydney.

A large proportion of the documents are reports on at least 10 incidents between 2009-2013 in which special forces troops shot dead insurgents, but also unarmed men and children.

The Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force is investigating at least two of the incidents as part of its inquiry into the conduct in Afghanistan of special forces, which includes alleged unlawful killing…..

Read the full article here.

NOTE

* Details of the first AFP raid on the home of a News Corp journalist on 3 June 2019 and the 2018 article which allegedly prompted that raid is at http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2019/06/on-4-june-2019-federal-police-raided.html

* Further ABC stories:

Still waiting on the official report concerning the alleged unlawful killings……

ABC News, 8 March 2019:

A lengthy investigation into possible war crimes committed by elite Australian soldiers in Afghanistan will not be made public before this year's federal election.

Senior military and government figures have told the ABC they are not expecting the long-awaited report by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) to be ready for release until at least the second half of this year, well after voters go to the polls in May.

In 2016 the IGADF began examining "rumours of possible breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by members of the Australian Defence Force", but inside the special forces community frustration is growing at how long the process is taking.

One special forces veteran, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the ABC that there were "natural justice impacts" from having the inquiry extended, and that it was "painful" for those involved.

"I can only hope the ultimate findings are of sufficient gravity to justify this extended process," the former high-ranking Commando said.

For almost three years New South Wales Supreme Court Justice and Army Reserve Major General Paul Brereton has been leading the secretive IGADF investigation, which is believed to have uncovered numerous concerns about the conduct of elite soldiers, including several incidents of possible unlawful killings.

Many in the ADF had originally anticipated the inquiry would be completed by 2018, but in a statement to the ABC the Defence Department has confirmed the independent IGADF inquiry is "ongoing"……

Read the full article here.

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