The failure to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of war crimes committed during Australia’s intervention in East Timor — and the recognition that there was an active culture of cover-up in the ADF — further strengthens the case for a proper inquiry into the intervention and its aftermath.
This week the ABC finally wrested from Defence a report from 2003 examining the “lessons learned” from the intervention, following an April Four Corners program that revealed that Australian officers had tortured East Timorese and never been prosecuted. The Lessons Learned document identified “the code of silence which permeates elite units in the ADF” and predicted — with eerie precision given what the Brereton Inquiry exposed in relation to the conduct of Australian troops in Afghanistan — “a culture in ADF Special Forces of not telling the truth in such matters”.
The culture of not telling the truth extends much more widely than the ADF in relation to the events around the intervention and Australia’s role in the establishment of Timor-Leste.
In June 1999, Defence Intelligence Organisation officer Mervyn Jenkins took his own life. Jenkins had been hounded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for sharing with US officials with whom he was liaising that the Howard government knew far more about Indonesia’s plans to mobilise East Timorese militia than it was publicly letting on (something that upset the pro-Jakarta lobby within DFAT). The mistreatment of Jenkins has never been independently investigated; documents conveniently disappeared and no one was held to account for his treatment.
Another intelligence official, Lance Collins, was harassed, raided and had his career ended by the Howard government after he questioned DIO reports and accused the DIO of turning off the intelligence link to Australian troops for 24 hours during the intervention. An investigator who cleared Collins was also harassed by the Howard government.
More famously, Witness K and Bernard Collaery were both harassed and prosecuted in relation to the revelation that Alexander Downer ordered the Australian Secret Intelligence Service to spy on the Timor-Leste cabinet to gain an advantage for Australian fossil fuel companies in negotiations over the Timor Gap. But in addition to the punitive prosecution, the Coalition government under Attorneys-General Christian Porter and Michaelia Cash successfully sought to prevent Collaery from subpoenaing documents and witnesses that would shed light on the bugging decision within the Howard government.
There’s a clear pattern here: the defence, intelligence and foreign affairs establishment, and successive Coalition governments, have actively worked to cover up embarrassing information, hostile and possibly illegal actions against another, supposedly friendly, government and war crimes including torture in East Timor and Timor-Leste. And that cover up involved harassing and persecuting anyone who exposed misconduct — even harassing those who failed to persecute the latter.
The persecution of those who expose misconduct and war crimes, of course, is not limited to the East Timor intervention: David McBride continues to be prosecuted in relation to the revelation of war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian forces.
Plainly DFAT, intelligence and Defence officials, not to mention John Howard and Alexander Downer, would prefer that these matters remain buried and blocked by stifling national security laws. But the continuing persecution of those who threaten to undermine the cover-up powerfully demonstrates exactly why the whole matter should be dragged into the sunlight, and those involved forced to account for their actions. Nothing short of a full judicial inquiry into the conduct and aftermath of the intervention in East Timor will do.
We seek to rob our vulnerable poor near neighbours, but get on our high-horse over similarly motivated Chinese encroachment.
The world is awash with hypocrisy obscured by the smokescreen of false equivalence.
I have paid attention to the Bernard Colleary/Downer issues but was unanware of the other people harrassed over the intervention. What is really upsetting to me is that we put our soldiers at risk and then we did a grubby little act to secure oil rights for awful people. In short the soldiers risked their lives so oil companies could make millions from the poorest people alive.
Really? If this doesn’t rile you to action nothing will!
Bring on an enquiry.
And what a relief to hear today that Dreyfus is putting an end to the case against Collaery. The man’s life has been ruined, but at least it’s over now. I would like to see Downer prosecuted though! Fat chance.
If only Howard lives long enough to be held to some account for his actions, but the powerful rarely are, except when they’re gone.
And that elitist ponce Downer too.
Who was rewarded with a cushy little job in the UK.
IMHO, it won’t be completed until Witness X is pardoned and he and Collaery receive compensation for the years of persecution and Downer, Howard and all the other illegitimates responsible for these acts are prosecuted.
Even if you waited until the heat death of the Universe, that will never happen.
I live in hope, given that Bjelke-Petersen, in his dotage was hauled before the courts.
Only the quite possibly illegal act of the undeclared Country Party member prevented a 12-person jury from convicting the corrupt slimy mongrel.
I just renewed my subscription to Crikey a few weeks ago. It is articles like this from one of Australia’s very best journalists that makes me glad that I did.
Unlike some others who have commented here, I do not interpret this article as a slur on all ADF members, all public servants or all politicians.
Keep up the great work Bernard!!
Where has anyone “interpret(ed) this article as a slur on all ADF members, all public servants or all politicians?
Mark Dreyfus has just ordered the case against Collaery be dropped. At long long last.
Such a relief…
Wonderful stuff from Mark Dreyfus, Zut! But, hopefully, that is NOT the end of this abomination. Let’s punish the REAL offenders…including a few politicians perhaps???
With this issue partially dealt with, perhaps Dreyfus will now have time to concentrate on another fight for justice: FREE JULIAN ASSANGE, and bring him home ASAP!!
… Turn the table on the unstable perpetrators – in the pursuit/interests of real justice.
The original crime
Side-note – last night’s The Drum :-
Turnbull son-in-law and fellow Liberal Party boy James Brown defending the Coalition/Morrison governments “investigations” into these matters?
Nothing about their cover-ups; trying to bury reports where the sun will never shine, or siccing the AFP onto the ABC to see where that information they came across (a couple of years back) had come from.
And nothing on how that bulwark against FOI suddenly fell – for those reports to get to Mark Willacy’s email last week – since that government Brown was lionising fell.
Cover-ups fester.
Surely weeding out the (few) bad influences (with their effect – not least psychological – on the whole) asap is better for the ADF – for the benefit of the whole.
Well said.