Soldier’s fiery protest at refugee status pace
AN Australian war veteran has set fire to his Afghanistan campaign medal in protest of the federal government‘s sluggishness in granting refugee status to hundreds of Afghans who were employed by the Australian Defence Force.
Retired army major Stuart McCarthy set his medal on fire and delivered the remains to the office of his MP, Julian Simmonds, on Monday
“I felt relieved watching that thing go up in flames,” Mr McGrath told 2GB radio on Tuesday.
“I consider it would be a badge of shame to wear it.”
Australia’s final troops left Afghanistan on June 30, putting an end to a 20-year mission in the war-torn country.
But the war is not over for those left behind. The Taliban continues to gain ground, threatening the lives of millions of Afghan civilians.
“I am in daily contact with a number of these civilians who have already had their colleagues brutally murdered,” Mr McCarthy told 9 News. “We need to show the government to get on with this job, get it done, and bring these people to safety.”
But after he delivered his burnt medal to Mr Simmonds’ office, the police came knocking,
At 6.30pm on Monday, Brisbane police arrived at Mr McCarthy’s doorstep and started questioning him about his mental health, suggesting he was potentially a terrorist threat to Australia.
“(They questioned) whether I was some kind of terrorist threat to the same country that I served for almost 30 years,” he said.
“This government waffles on about how much they care about veterans and this is how we get treated: They send the police after us.”
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has insisted Afghans who worked with Australian forces are being “prioritised” among visa applicants.
However, this is not happening fast enough for Afghan families who are under threat daily in a country increasingly dominated by the Taliban.
Mr McCarthy said he was not the first veteran to burn his medal in disgust at the government’s treatment of the Afghan allies.
“A number of soldiers, including Special Forces soldiers, have told me that they’ve quietly gone and done this in their own backyard so I thought I’d do it publicly displayed on their behalf,” he told 2GB.