Aussie outrage over fake image
Prime Minister demands China apologise for post
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has demanded an official apology from China for the posting of an “offensive” and “outrageous” and “deplorable” fake image of an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child.
The Prime Minister called an unscheduled press conference yesterday afternoon to respond to the image which was posted on an official Chinese Government account over alleged “war crimes” in Afghanistan.
“It is utterly outrageous and it cannot be justified on any basis,” he said.
“The Chinese Government should be utterly ashamed of this post. It diminishes them.”
Australia will also demand an official apology for the image and has requested that social media giant Twitter remove the post.
“It is a false image and terrible slur,” he said. “The only thing that has brought shame today is this appalling post by the Chinese Government.”
The horrific doctored image was posted yesterday on the official Twitter account of China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao.
“Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians and prisoners by Australian soldiers,” he said. “We strongly condemn such acts and call for holding them accountable.”
The remarks are a reference to the release of a damning defence report that found “credible evidence” of the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by 25 special forces troops.
The row comes as debate rages in Australia over the Defence Force chief’s plan to revoke military honours for 3000 special forces troops.
General Campbell had argued there is “a collective responsibility” for the alleged crimes.
“I have accepted the Inspector
The Chinese Government should be utterly ashamed of this post. It diminishes them. Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister
General’s recommendation and will write to the Governor-General requesting he revoke the Meritorious Unit Citation for Special Operations Task Groups who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013,” the General said.
“While necessary, I appreciate that these latter decisions will be a bitter blow for many.”
However, a public backlash is growing with a petition from a leading veterans’ support group, opposing the revoking of citations, now gathering more than 50,000 signatures.
The Prime Minister signalled on Friday it may not be a done deal, suggesting the final decision had not been made.
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has also issued a blunt warning to the Defence Force chief Angus Campbell to get his “head out of his arse” over his call to strip 3000 soldiers who served in Afghanistan.
“If General Campbell has not felt the b****-slap from all those millions of Australians out there, he needs to pull his head out of his arse,” she said.
Senator Lambie was one of the first MPs to question the decision to strip the meritorious citation from all soldiers when the Brereton report was released on November 19.
“It’s heartbreaking stuff. But one recommendation I can’t support is stripping the whole of Special Operations Task Group 66 of the Meritorious Unit Citation,” she said.
“One of the things that makes these allegations so disturbing is that we hold ourselves in Australia to a higher standard. We’re proud that we play by the rules — even when we’re fighting those that refuse to do the same.
“Sticking up for the rule of law, even when it’s inconvenient, is what makes us different. And stripping these blokes of an award for their good deeds, over an allegation that some of them have done the wrong thing, is a total breach of that standard.
“You’re innocent until proven guilty. Everybody is entitled to that right. And I can’t get behind a recommendation that says these guys aren’t entitled to it any more than I am, or you are.”