CANBERRA, Jun 21 (NNN-AAP) – Australian Senator, Jacqui Lambie, has demanded an investigation into senior leadership of Australia’s armed forces, over alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
Addressing parliament yesterday, Lambie announced that, she has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate senior Australian Defence Force (ADF) figures, amid a “shocking lack of accountability” for the conduct of Australian troops in Afghanistan.
A landmark inquiry into allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan in 2020 revealed that, it had found credible evidence that Australian special force soldiers murdered 39 civilians and prisoners in the country, between 2005 and 2016.
One soldier has been charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with the war crime of murder, with investigations into others ongoing.
Lambie called on the government to hold commanders accountable for the actions of their subordinates.
“The government is no doubt hoping this will just go away. They’re hoping that Australians will forget that, when alleged war crimes in Afghanistan were investigated, our senior commanders got a free pass, while our diggers were thrown under the bus,” she said.
Lambie said, there is “a culture of cover-up” at the highest levels of the ADF.
“Quite frankly, I feel embarrassed that Australia is in this situation. So I am helping the government today,” she said. “I am giving you a second chance to get this right and fix this mess.”– NNN-AAP
