LETTER | Afghan killings: Australian PM’s apology sounds hollow

LETTER | Western democracies often portray themselves as freedom fighters when it comes to wars in Asian countries, conveniently forgetting that the wars are often against the will of the local people.

It is even worse when they commit many shocking and damning massacres. In 1968, more than 500 innocent Vietnamese were killed by US troops in what is known as the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.

Fast forward 40 years later, Australia’s elite Special Air Service soldiers were found to have enjoyed trigger-happy moments in Afghanistan.

Thirty-nine Afghan civilians were killed in cold blood from 2009 to 2013. Some of them were murdered by Australian junior soldiers who were coerced by their superiors to experience a “blooding” process to get the first taste of killing.

The murdered civilians were not heroes of Dota 2 – a popular multiplayer videogame – who could be revived after being killed. They will never be able to reunite with their grieving families ever again.

The killings were not a work of fiction, but actual findings from the heavily-redacted Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Brereton Report released two weeks ago.

How could Canberra allow such terrible war crimes to occur among the “freedom fighters” after years of a cover-up?

Last month, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (above) denied being a deputy sheriff in the US-China tensions.

Yet, he cannot absolve the responsibility of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in conducting the killing spree during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Until now, Morrison only expressed a cosmetic reaction by offering his “deepest sorrow” to President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani without taking any concrete action.

No ADF general was requested to resign to show the accountability for the innocent lives lost.

There was only one unnamed platoon commander who was said to have orchestrated the cruel killings. Yet, no senior commanders have taken any responsibility for the tragedy.

How could Australia proudly claim themselves as human rights defenders and freedom fighters when nobody bears the punishment? It is against the principle of “not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done”.

Canberra’s inaction has exacerbated the mistrust between the Western and Islamic world.

The US invasion, with the support of Australia, has poured oil on the fire concerning the relationship between Afghanistan and the West, encouraging the perseverance of the Taliban movement against imperialism.

It also serves a self-fulfilled prophecy of Samuel Huntington’s famous theory of Clash of Civilisations. 

The Western world has once again shown its double standards and hypocrisy in this terrible incident. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.