World News – AU – Afghan veterans may keep quotes from units

Thousands of Australian troops who have served in Afghanistan may not withdraw their meritorious unit citations.

Angus Campbell, chief of the Defense Forces, announced earlier this month that quotes will be stripped from more than 3,000 special forces soldiers in response to war crimes allegations.

General Campbell made the decision final, stating that he would write to the Governor General to request that the awards be revoked.

In response to the swift public backlash, Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted that no final decision had been made.

« It will be a difficult process and patience will be required, but I want to reiterate that the actions of a few, whether in command or in the field, do not reflect the many thousands of others who are serving today and who already are once served, « he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

« Our defense forces deserve this, they deserve the rights they are demanding now, and they deserve the respect we all rightly deserve and nothing can be taken away from that, and that is for sure. « my view and that of the government. « 

Tens of thousands of people have signed an online petition demanding that only veterans convicted of war crimes withdraw their quotes.

Mr. Morrison also answered questions on Governor General David Hurley, who ruled the revocation of unit citations as he led the Australian Defense Force during the period the alleged war crimes were being committed.

« Furthermore, I just want to take note of the oversight body appointed by the (Defense) Minister to oversee the actions taken by the CDF and ADF in relation to the implementation of the recommendations in this report.

An investigation conducted by Justice Paul Brereton found that Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 civilians and prisoners and treated two people with cruelty in Afghanistan.

NSW Police Minister David Elliott served in the Australian Army years before the alleged crimes.

Mr Elliott said the Afghan war veterans he spoke to were heartbroken, all being tarred with the same brush.

« I think General Campbell is in danger of becoming the least popular man in Australia, which is a tragedy for the role of Chief of Defense, » he told reporters in Sydney.

« We cannot send tens of thousands of soldiers overseas, bring them back, find out that 19 of them may have done the wrong thing, and then treat everyone equally. « 

Mr. Elliott also suggested that senior military officers who served during the conflict should consider the role they played in facilitating the alleged war crimes.

Angus Campbell, Scott Morrison, Australian Forces, Afghanistan