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Property tycoon sentenced to death over $27 billion fraud

A Vietnamese billionaire was sentenced to death on Thursday in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, an estimated $27 billion in damages - a figure equivalent to six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP. Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of embezzlement, after looting from one of the country's biggest banks, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) for over a decade. “The defendant’s actions... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the (Communist) Party and state,” the verdict read at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After a five-week trial, 85 others were also charged for their involvement in the fraud, with charges ranging from from bribery and abuse of power to appropriation and violations of banking law. Four were given life imprisonment, while others received jail terms ranging between 20 years and three years suspended. Lan's husband was Hong Kong billionaire Eric Chu Nap Kee, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Lan and the others were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown. Lan was initially believed to have embezzled $12.5 billion, but on Thursday prosecutors have said that the total damages caused by the fraud now amounted to $27 billion. The property tycoon was convicted of taking out $44bn in loans from the bank, according to the BBC, with prosecutors saying that $27 billion of this may never be recovered. The court ordered Lan to to pay almost the entire damages sum in compensation. It is also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68778636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that she is one of very few women in Vietnam to be sentenced to death for a white collar crime. “In my desperation, I thought of death,” Lan said in her final remarks to the court, according to state media. “I am so angry that I was stupid enough to get involved in this very fierce business environment -- the banking sector -- which I have little knowledge of.” Police have identified around 42,000 victims of the scam, and many of them were unhappy with the verdict. One 67-year-old Hanoi resident told the AFP that she had hoped Lan would receive a life sentence so she could fully witness the devastating impact of her actions. “Many people worked hard to deposit money into the bank, but now she’s received the death sentence and that’s it for her,” they said. “She can’t see the suffering of the people.” The resident has so far been unable to retrieve the $120,000 she invested with SCB. Police have said that many of the victims are SCB bondholders, who cannot withdraw their money and have not received interest or principal payments since Lan’s arrest. Authorities have also reportedly seized over 1000 properties belonging to Lan. Image: Twitter

Legal

Everything you need to know before you travel to Vietnam

So you’ve booked your flight to Vietnam to experience the best of south-east Asia. When travelling to Vietnam, and other Asian countries, there are a handful of tips and tricks to be aware of to ensure you have a smooth sailing travel experience. In comparison to travelling around Western countries, exploring Vietnam comes with a unique set of circumstances, and being prepared for every situation will make sure your trip is one to remember. Cash is king When it comes to planning your trip to Vietnam, other than booking your flights, hotels and travel insurance, one of your first priorities should be getting your hands on cash. The Vietnamese Dong is a unique currency to get used to, given that $5 AUD is equal to approximately $82,000 VND. Most of the restaurants, cafes and tourist attractions you’ll be heading to will only accept cash, so make sure you seek out an ATM (most ATMs will let you translate to English) and always have a decent amount of cash on hand. Go off the beaten track Vietnam has so much more to offer than the major cities. While Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have a lot of interesting history, tourist attractions and unique cultural experiences, staying in these cities for the entirety of your Vietnam trip is limiting. Make sure you explore coastal towns such as Hoi An, Hue and Phu Quoc, explore the rolling rice fields of Sapa, and don’t forget to book your cruise around the picturesque Ha Long Bay. Don't be afraid of the food While Vietnamese food is maybe not what you’re used to eating everyday, part of experiencing a different culture is immersing yourself in the food scene. One of the best things you can do when you arrive at your destination is to book a food tour with a local guide (there are many available through TripAdvisor), to take you around and show you a variety of dishes to become accustomed to. Your food tour guide will also help ease your anxiety over ordering food in different places. Another top tip: Restaurants will often be called the name of the dishes they serve. For example, places that sell the delicious Bahn Mi bread rolls will have “Bahn Mi” in their name. Google Translate is your friend While your hotel staff will often speak good English, other vendors at restaurants or markets may not be as fluent. Downloading the Google Translate app on your phone will allow you to communicate with locals quickly and easily, by typing in what you want to say in English, and letting the app read out the sentence in Vietnamese. Also, the app’s camera feature lets you hover your smartphone camera over something written in Vietnamese, before translating it into English in seconds. Beware of scams One of the most common scams in Vietnam is taxi scams. Some people will claim to be a taxi and then jack up the prices once they take you to your destination. To avoid this, only get in registered taxis (that actually look like taxis and not just a random car), and download Grab, which is the Vietnamese version of Uber and is just as easy to use. Another common scam is for market vendors to hike up prices for food and souvenirs, so be ready to barter for a better price. Make friends with the locals The Vietnamese people are some of the loveliest, kindest and most accommodating in the world. People on the street, hotel staff and restaurant workers are always happy to help you with queries or concerns, so make the most of their local knowledge and don’t be afraid to approach people with a smile. Image credits: Getty Images

International Travel

Legendary Star Wars and James Bond actor passes away

The galaxy far, far away has dimmed a little with the passing of Michael Culver, a distinguished British actor whose name became etched in the annals of cinematic history, particularly for his role in the iconic 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. Culver, who portrayed Captain Needa, the unfortunate Imperial officer, met his demise in one of the franchise's most memorable scenes at the hands of Darth Vader. However, his legacy extends far beyond the realms of science fiction, encompassing a career spanning over five decades of stage, screen and political activism. Born in 1938 in Hempstead, North London, to esteemed parents within the theatre industry, Culver was destined for a life under the spotlight. His father, Roland Culver, was a notable West End stage actor, while his mother, Daphne Rye, served as a casting director in London-based theatre. Following in their footsteps, Culver honed his craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, laying the foundation for a prolific acting career. Culver's journey in the performing arts began in the late 1950s, with appearances on Broadway in Shakespearean classics such as King Henry V, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. His talent soon graced the West End stage in 1962, marking the start of a distinguished theatrical career. Transitioning to the small screen, Culver made his onscreen debut in 1961, captivating audiences with his versatile performances in British television series and movies. However, it was Culver's portrayal of Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back that solidified his status as a cultural icon. Despite his character's brief appearance, Culver left an indelible mark on audiences worldwide, immortalised in one of cinema's most unforgettable moments. His confrontation with Vader, culminating in a chilling demise, remains etched in the memories of countless fans, a testament to Culver's ability to captivate audiences with his presence. Beyond his intergalactic exploits, Culver's talents graced a multitude of productions, including notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army, and even appearing in two James Bond movies – From Russia With Love and Thunderball – in uncredited roles. His versatility and dedication to his craft earned him admiration and respect from peers and audiences alike. Yet, Culver's contributions extended beyond the realms of entertainment; in the early 2000s, he shifted his focus to political activism, leveraging his platform to advocate for causes close to his heart. Despite bidding farewell to the limelight, Culver's legacy endures through the countless lives he touched and the memories he forged on stage and screen. An extended message on the Alliance Agents Facebook page, who represented Culver, read as follows: "We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver. A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise. Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000's to concentrate his efforts into his political activism. It's been an honor to have represented Michael for for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the best Star Wars events in the UK and Europe. A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him. We worked with Michael just 3 weeks ago at his last home signing with our friends at Elite Signatures. Michel died on Tuesday 27th February at the age of 85." "We miss him." His passing leaves a void in the hearts of fans and colleagues, a reminder of the fleeting nature of life's curtain call. As we reflect on his remarkable journey, let us celebrate the life and legacy of Michael Culver, an actor whose talents transcended galaxies and whose spirit will continue to inspire generations to come. In his memory, let us heed the timeless words of Captain Needa himself: "We shall double our efforts." Rest in peace, Michael Culver. The force will always be with you. Images: IMDB / Wookiepedia

Caring

War in Ukraine affected wellbeing worldwide, but people’s speed of recovery depended on their personality

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-smillie-7502">Luke Smillie</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> The war in Ukraine has had impacts around the world. <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/ripple-effects-russia-ukraine-war-test-global-economies">Supply chains</a> have been disrupted, the <a href="https://news.un.org/pages/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GCRG_2nd-Brief_Jun8_2022_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=United+Nations&utm_medium=Brief&utm_campaign=Global+Crisis+Response">cost of living</a> has soared and we’ve seen the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/hk/en/73141-ukraine-fastest-growing-refugee-crisis-in-europe-since-wwii.html">fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II</a>. All of these are in addition to the devastating humanitarian and economic impacts within Ukraine. Our international team was conducting a global study on wellbeing in the lead up to and after the Russian invasion. This provided a unique opportunity to examine the psychological impact of the outbreak of war. As we explain in a new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44693-6">Nature Communications</a>, we learned the toll on people’s wellbeing was evident across nations, not just <a href="https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-023-00598-3">in Ukraine</a>. These effects appear to have been temporary – at least for the average person. But people with certain psychological vulnerabilities struggled to recover from the shock of the war. <h2>Tracking wellbeing during the outbreak of war</h2> People who took part in our study completed a rigorous “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773515/">experience-sampling</a>” protocol. Specifically, we asked them to report their momentary wellbeing four times per day for a whole month. Data collection began in October 2021 and continued throughout 2022. So we had been tracking wellbeing around the world during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war in February 2022. We also collected measures of personality, along with various sociodemographic variables (including age, gender, political views). This enabled us to assess whether different people responded differently to the crisis. We could also compare these effects across countries. Our analyses focused primarily on 1,341 participants living in 17 European countries, excluding Ukraine itself (44,894 experience-sampling reports in total). We also expanded these analyses to capture the experiences of 1,735 people living in 43 countries around the world (54,851 experience-sampling reports) – including in Australia. <h2>A global dip in wellbeing</h2> On February 24 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a sharp decline in wellbeing around the world. There was no decline in the month leading up to the outbreak of war, suggesting the change in wellbeing was not already occurring for some other reason. However, there was a gradual increase in wellbeing during the month after the Russian invasion, suggestive of a “return to baseline” effect. Such effects are commonly reported in psychological research: situations and events that impact our wellbeing often (<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237535630_Adaptation_and_the_Set-Point_Model_of_Subjective_Well-BeingDoes_Happiness_Change_After_Major_Life_Events">though not always</a>) do so <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7062343_Beyond_the_Hedonic_Treadmill_Revising_the_Adaptation_Theory_of_Well-Being">temporarily</a>. Unsurprisingly, people in Europe experienced a sharper dip in wellbeing compared to people living elsewhere around the world. Presumably the war was much more salient for those closest to the conflict, compared to those living on an entirely different continent. Interestingly, day-to-day fluctuations in wellbeing mirrored the salience of the war on social media as events unfolded. Specifically, wellbeing was lower on days when there were more tweets mentioning Ukraine on Twitter/X. Our results indicate that, on average, it took around two months for people to return to their baseline levels of wellbeing after the invasion. <h2>Different people, different recoveries</h2> There are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31944795/">strong links</a> between our wellbeing and our individual personalities. However, the dip in wellbeing following the Russian invasion was fairly uniform across individuals. None of the individual factors assessed in our study, including personality and sociodemographic factors, predicted people’s response to the outbreak of war. On the other hand, personality did play a role in how quickly people recovered. Individual differences in people’s recovery were linked to a personality trait called “stability”. Stability is a broad dimension of personality that combines low neuroticism with high agreeableness and conscientiousness (three traits from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/big-five">Big Five</a> personality framework). Stability is so named because it reflects the stability of one’s overall psychological functioning. This can be illustrated by breaking stability down into its three components: <ol> <li> low neuroticism describes <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2212154120">emotional stability</a>. People low in this trait experience less intense negative emotions such as anxiety, fear or anger, in response to negative events </li> <li> high agreeableness describes <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-63285-010">social stability</a>. People high in this trait are generally more cooperative, kind, and motivated to maintain social harmony </li> <li> high conscientiousness describes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112331">motivational stability</a>. People high in this trait show more effective patterns of goal-directed self-regulation. </li> </ol> So, our data show that people with less stable personalities fared worse in terms of recovering from the impact the war in Ukraine had on wellbeing. In a supplementary analysis, we found the effect of stability was driven specifically by neuroticism and agreeableness. The fact that people higher in neuroticism recovered more slowly accords with a wealth of research linking this trait with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10573882/">coping difficulties</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428182/">poor mental health</a>. These effects of personality on recovery were stronger than those of sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender or political views, which were not statistically significant. Overall, our findings suggest that people with certain psychological vulnerabilities will often struggle to recover from the shock of global events such as the outbreak of war in Ukraine.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224147/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-smillie-7502">Luke Smillie</a>, Professor in Personality Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-affected-wellbeing-worldwide-but-peoples-speed-of-recovery-depended-on-their-personality-224147">original article</a>.

Mind

War veteran loses $18,000 to Netflix scam

Shane Arnold, 71, was left with nothing after he fell for an elaborate Netflix scam, allegedly run by a teenager. The war veteran was robbed of $18,000 when he thought he was entitled to a refund after receiving a fake Netflix email. After he entered his personal banking details, the accused scammer allegedly used this information to call Arnold the following day claiming to be a security officer from Commonwealth Bank. "(It was) extremely convincing," Arnold told 9News. "He spoke in a posh English accent." Arnold was allegedly told by a 19-year-old, whose voice had been disguised with AI, that his account had been compromised and ordered to put his bank cards in a bag, to be collected by a driver. Hours later, the accused teen who is from Braybrook, Melbourne allegedly withdrew thousands of dollars from ATMs in Braybrook and West Footscray, and purchased dozens of gift cards from Kmart. He also allegedly filled up on fuel, bought a new iPhone, and some strawberry milk and ice cream. The teen has since been charged over the incident, but Arnold is still fighting hard to get his money back. "I've worked for 50-odd years to get that money," he told the publication, adding that he felt "like my heart had been ripped out". The senior also claimed that the bank was partly to blame, and has lodged a report to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) who are currently managing his case. Arnold added that Commonwealth Bank had only offered to reimburse him $1000, and said that everyone who'd been scammed deserved to have their money returned to them. "I hope all those people get their money back," he said. "None of them deserved to be scammed and none of them did anything wrong." Images: Nine News

Legal

Aussie love story from WWII immortalised in the war memorial

An Australian couple's love story that defied the odds of time and distance has been immortalised in the war memorial. The Australian War Memorial is calling for volunteers to help transcribe thousands of love letters sent from soldiers in the war, to their loved ones back at home. Launching on Valentine's Day, the project will see the digital release of hundreds of thousands of personal letters, diaries and other handwritten documents kept safe for decades. Among those stories is the tale of Mac and Dot, two lovebirds separated by World War II. Their love story began in 1939, when Mac was 17 and Dorothy was 14. Dorothy - or as Mac referred to her, his Darling Dot - was forbidden to go on a date with Mac after her father refused to give his blessing. "He kept on asking me to go out but my father wouldn't let me," Dorothy laughed as she told Ally Langdon on A Current Affair. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3Rj4g9vjIS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3Rj4g9vjIS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by A Current Affair (@acurrentaffair9)</a> </div> </blockquote> Mac was soon off to war, but his plan was always to return home to Dot. "He said to me, 'When I come back home...Will you come out with me then?'" Dorothy reminisced. "I said, 'Of course I will, Mac!' And then he gave me a kiss and went to war." The young couple then continued to write each other letters every week for five long years, until Mac was captured by the German army and held as a prisoner of war. Despite his capture, Mac held onto every letter Dot had ever written him, as he remained determined to get home to his beloved. "I hated him being away, and when the letters came back oh gee they were wonderful," Dorothy said. "A letter meant he was still alive, you see, so it was so exciting." In April 1945, Dot received the best letter of all: Mac had escaped and was coming home. "Hello my darling. What does one say in a moment such as this?" Dot wrote on April 30th 1945. "I have butterflies in my stomach, love in my heart and few words that make sense in my mind. Well Mac, it's really coming at last. You're almost home". And Mac wrote back to that, "Hello darling. I miss you more now than ever." "Unfortunately I can't find a boat to take me back to you. If they don't hurry I guess I'll just have to pinch a rowing boat and see what I can do!" When Mac returned home, he brought with him half a decade's worth of those love letters from Dot, as well as a portrait of himself painted by another prisoner of war. It hangs proudly at the end of Dorothy's bed and is the first thing she sees when she wakes. Now Robyn Van Dyke and Terrie-Anne Simmonds from the Australian War Memorial are sifting through thousands of donated love letters, including Mac's and Dorothy's. "He not only managed to escape, but he managed to take all her letters with him and that blows me away because it's not a small amount of letters," Robyn said. The team is looking for <a href="https://transcribe.awm.gov.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">volunteers</a> to help ensure those stories, and all that love, live forever. Dorothy, who is now 101 years old, had more than 70 wonderful years with Mac before he died in 2014. "He was nearly 90, you know. And me I just kept on going and going and going!" she said. "He'd be up there watching every minute I bet. We had such fun. Oh dear we did have fun. We laughed a lot and we cried a lot." "But we lived - and that was the main thing." Image credits: A Current Affair <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 24px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.333; font-family: 'Proxima Nova', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: #333333; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.25px;">

Relationships

"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke

Jetstar has been forced to apologise after posting a "racist joke" on their Facebook page, in which they poke fun at the Vietnamese currency. The Aussie airline mocked the currency of the Southeast Asian country in a post, saying, "Sorry but Vietnamese money being called Dong is objectively funny." "And a million Dong is $65 and I basically have $65 which means I'm a millionaire," it wrote. The post was flooded with comments from many of their 782,000 followers, resulting in the post being deleted. One person wrote, "No more Vietnamese will fly with Jetstar. Racial hatred." "I'll never choose Jetstar until they issue an official apology to the Vietnamese people," another declared. A third comment read, "A tone deaf joke. Just a reminder — racial hatred is illegal in Australia. Just because you delete the post doesn't mean it's OK." One commenter slammed the joke for being "unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable". "Ensure understanding of cultural respect and sensitivity before making culturally disrespectful joke on such a formal airline page." Jetstar responded to some of the comments made about the post, with one response saying, "You are totally right, and that's why we've deleted the post. We're really sorry for any offence caused." Another apology added, "We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it was removed earlier today." One flyer shared a personal apology message she received after contacting the airline through its official Facebook page to complain about the post. "We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it has been removed. We're really sorry for any offence caused," the Jetstar spokesperson wrote." 'Please be assured that this incident was in no way related to Vietnamese nationality or race." "You have my absolute assurance that Jetstar will not tolerate discrimination on ethnicity, race or any other unlawful grounds." Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Trouble

After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-parmeter-932739">Ian Parmeter</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> The 19th century German war strategist and field marshal Helmuth von Moltke famously <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/strategy-9780199325153?cc=us&lang=en&">coined</a> the aphorism “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. His observation might well be applied to the tragedy we are witnessing in Gaza. Three months after the current conflict began, civilians have borne the brunt of the violence on both sides, with the deaths of more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,200 Israelis. Some 85% of Gazans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-03-2024-3b77b0c36bf2cd9922b7a484234bef5f">have also been displaced</a> and a quarter of the population is facing a famine, according to the United Nations. The conflict still has a long way to run and may be headed towards stalemate. From a geopolitical perspective, here’s where the main players stand at the start of the new year. <h2>Israel: limited success …</h2> Israel has so far failed to achieve either of its primary war aims: the destruction of Hamas and freedom for the remainder of the 240 Israelis taken hostage on October 7. Hamas fighters continue to use their tunnel network to ambush Israeli soldiers and are firing rockets at Israel, albeit in much lower volumes: 27 were <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-stroke-of-midnight-hamas-attacks-israel-with-heavy-new-year-rocket-barrage/">fired</a> at the start of the new year, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-9500-rockets-fired-at-israel-since-oct-7-including-3000-in-1st-hours-of-onslaught/">compared</a> with 3,000 in the first hours of the conflict on October 7. There are still around <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/12/20/israel-isnt-sure-what-to-do-about-the-hostages-in-gaza">130 Israelis</a> being held hostage, and only <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/12/five-potential-next-steps-for-the-hostage-situation.html">one hostage</a> has been freed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), as opposed to releases arranged through Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Israeli society is divided between those who want to prioritise negotiations to release the hostages and those who want to prioritise the elimination of Hamas. Israel achieved an important symbolic success with the apparent targeted killing of Hamas deputy leader <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-lebanon-hamas-saleh-al-arouri-fears-widening-regional-conflict/">Saleh al-Arouri</a> in Beirut on January 2. Though Israel has not formally claimed responsibility, there is little doubt it was <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/02/hamas-saleh-arouri-killed-beirut-hezbollah-israel-gaza">behind</a> the killing. But the two Gaza–based Hamas leaders Israel most wants to eliminate, political leader Yahya Sinwar and military leader Mohammed Deif, are still at large. Israel still has US support in the UN Security Council, which has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/22/politics/un-security-council-resolution-israel-gaza-resolution/index.html">managed to pass</a> only one toothless resolution since the war began. But the Biden administration is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-oct-7-44c4229d4c1270d9cfa484b664a22071">publicly pressuring</a> Israel to change its tactics to minimise Palestinian casualties. <h2>…and facing a ‘day after’ conundrum</h2> The Israeli government is also divided on how Gaza should be run when the fighting stops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-777731">said</a> he won’t accept Gaza remaining “Hamastan” (Hamas-controlled) or becoming “Fatahstan” (ruled by the Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by the secular Fatah party). US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-says-palestinian-authority-should-ultimately-govern-gaza-west-bank-2023-11-18/">prefers</a> a Gaza government led by a reformed Palestinian Authority, but Netanyahu has rejected this and has not articulated an alternative plan. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant this week <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallants-post-war-gaza-plan-palestinians-to-run-civil-affairs-with-global-task-force/">outlined</a> what seems to be his own plan for Gaza, involving governance by unspecified Palestinian authorities. His plan did not immediately have Israeli cabinet approval and has been <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4391112-dangerous-ideas-about-the-day-after-in-gaza/">slammed</a> by hard-right ministers. Two of these, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben–Gvir, have <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/likud-minister-slams-smotrich-ben-gvirs-unrealistic-call-for-gazan-emigration/#:%7E:text=Ben%20Gvir%20hit%20back%20at,will%20protect%20the%20IDF%20soldiers.%E2%80%9D">called</a> for a solution that encourages the Palestinian population to emigrate and for Israeli settlers to return to the strip. That would be <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240103-us-condemns-far-right-israeli-ministers-call-for-palestinians-to-emigrate-from-gaza">unacceptable</a> to the Biden administration. Israel’s massive bombing campaign has also slowly turned international opinion against it, as expressed in the UN General Assembly <a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-assembly-israel-palestinians-hamas-vote-resolution-bffc37b2ecc444d906492008cde0aaf6">vote</a> last month in which 153 of the 193 member states called for a ceasefire. Are Netanyahu’s days now numbered? The current issue of The Economist <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/01/03/binyamin-netanyahu-is-botching-the-war-time-to-sack-him">features a headline</a> that reads “Binyamin Netanyahu is botching the war. Time to sack him”. Whether or not that’s a fair judgement, it’s clear that internal divisions and indecision within his government are hindering Israel’s prosecution of the war. <h2>Hamas – still standing</h2> The militant group has obviously been hurt. Israel claims to have <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-latest-hamas-war-sky-news-blog-12978800?postid=6736630">killed or captured</a> between 8,000 and 9,000 of Hamas’ approximately 30,000–strong fighting force – though it has not explained how it calculates militant deaths. Hamas’ main achievement is that it is still standing. To win, the militant group does not have to defeat Israel – it needs merely to survive the IDF onslaught. Hamas can claim some positives. Its attack on October 7 has put the Palestinian issue at the top of the Middle East agenda. Citizens in the Arab states that have signed peace agreements with Israel are clearly angry. And an Israeli-Saudi agreement to normalise relations between the countries, which had been imminent before the conflict, is off the table for now. Opinion polling also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514">shows support</a> for Hamas has risen from 12% to 44% in the West Bank and from 38% to 42% in Gaza in the past three months. If it were possible to hold fair Palestinian elections now, they could produce results Israel and the US would not like. <h2>United States – weakness in dealing with Israel</h2> Biden embraced Netanyahu immediately after the Hamas attack, but US efforts since then to influence Israel’s war plans have not yielded any results. Secretary of State Antony Blinken failed in his effort to persuade Israel to end the war by the start of the new year. His <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-turkey-israel-greece-gaza-hamas-jordan-36e5e1be205d5200916fd447c8c8e455">current visit</a> to the region is unlikely to yield any major changes. Moreover, divisions in the US may hurt Biden in the lead–up to the presidential election in November. Young, college–educated progressives, who tend to vote Democratic, have taken part in demonstrations against Biden’s public support for Israel’s right to defend itself, if not its way of doing so. These progressives won’t vote for the almost–certain Republican candidate, Donald Trump. But they could stay home on election day, handing the election to Trump. US support for Ukraine has also become a casualty of the war. Republicans, taking their cue from Trump, are prioritising support for Israel and stopping the flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border. They are losing interest in Ukraine – which clearly benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those benefits will be reinforced if Trump wins the presidency again. <h2>United Nations – irrelevant</h2> The UN has also failed in its mission of maintaining world peace. The only Security Council resolution on the war meant nothing, as Russia was pleased to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/22/un-security-council-gaza-aid-00133112">point out</a>. The recent UN General Assembly resolution illustrated Israel’s growing isolation, but has done nothing to change the course of the war. UN Secretary–General Antonio Guterres has been powerless to influence either Israel or Hamas. <h2>Iran – watching for opportunities</h2> The Hezbollah militant group will do a lot of huffing and puffing over the killing of al-Arouri in a Hezbollah-controlled part of Beirut. But it takes its orders from Tehran, which still shows no sign of wanting to become directly involved in the war. That said, Iran appears to have no problem with its proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-yemens-houthis-are-getting-involved-in-the-israel-hamas-war-and-how-it-could-disrupt-global-shipping-219220">Houthis in Yemen</a> – providing token support for Hamas through limited rocket, drone and artillery attacks. Iran is likely to be reinforced in this approach by the bombings at the tomb of former Quds Force commander <a href="https://theconversation.com/iran-vows-revenge-for-soleimanis-killing-but-heres-why-it-wont-seek-direct-confrontation-with-the-us-129440">Qassem Soleimani</a> last week, which killed almost 100 Iranians. The bombings have been claimed by the Islamic State, which will likely make Iran more focused on its internal security than on assisting Hamas.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220644/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-parmeter-932739">Ian Parmeter</a>, Research Scholar, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-3-months-of-devastation-in-the-israel-hamas-war-is-anyone-winning-220644">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

What exactly is a ceasefire, and why is it so difficult to agree on one in Gaza?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marika-sosnowski-1415833">Marika Sosnowski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Barely a week after Hamas’ attack on Israeli soldiers and civilians on October 7 and the subsequent airstrikes by the Israeli Defence Force on the Gaza Strip, talk of a ceasefire had already begun. More than five weeks into the war, calls for a ceasefire have only grown louder. Visiting the White House this week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/14/indonesian-president-joko-widodo-urges-biden-to-help-end-gaza-atrocities">said</a>, a “ceasefire is a must for the sake of humanity.” Israel has thus far <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-11-2023-d4d272416107c02e63dabd9548395026">refused</a> to discuss a ceasefire without the release of the 240 hostages being held by Hamas. But what exactly is a ceasefire, and how do they work? And what sort of arrangement would be most effective in Gaza? <h2>Different terms, different meanings</h2> Virtually as old as conflict itself, a ceasefire is an ancient way of formalising a halt to armed violence between warring parties for a certain period of time. Historically, the terms truce and armistice were used as synonyms. Perhaps surprisingly, international humanitarian law has <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/humanitarian-pauses-and-ceasefires-what-are-differences">no provisions</a> relating specifically to when ceasefires should be negotiated, what they need to contain or how they need to be applied. It is only in the last 50 years or so that a range of new terminology has become commonplace to describe the phenomenon of a “<a href="https://beyondintractability.org/essay/cease-fire">ceasefire</a>”. These include: <ul> <li> <a href="https://ru.usembassy.gov/joint-statement-russian-federation-united-states-syria/">cessation of hostilities</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2017/12/04/un-calls-humanitarian-pause-yemen-conditions-capital-deteriorate">humanitarian pauses</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.peaceagreements.org/viewmasterdocument/2093">de-escalation areas</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/un-call-days-tranquility-bears-fruit-more-five-million-children-have-been-vaccinated">days of tranquility</a> (pauses in fighting to allow for immunisation of children) </li> <li> <a href="https://kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/files/Policy_brief_Creating_safe_zones_and_safe_corridors.pdf">safe zones</a> and safe corridors </li> <li> <a href="https://osce.org/stories/osce-mirror-patrols-windows-of-hope-eastern-ukraine">windows of silence</a> (one name given to the 2014 ceasefire in Ukraine). </li> </ul> Many of these terms have been used in the Gaza conflict. For instance, in late October, the UN General Assembly <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/ga12548.doc.htm">adopted</a> a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to cessation of hostilities”. In the Security Council, the US has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67320520">called</a> for “humanitarian pauses”, but not a “ceasefire”. Russia, meanwhile, has <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142427">demanded</a> a “humanitarian ceasefire”, but is unhappy with a “truce” or “pauses”. This week, Hamas said it is willing to <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231113-%F0%9F%94%B4-live-more-gaza-hospitals-halt-operations-as-israeli-assault-continues">release</a> 70 hostages in exchange for a five-day “truce”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/04/gaza-ceasefire-talks-ongoing-despite-israeli-pm-rejecting-pause-says-us">rejected</a> a “temporary truce”, but under pressure from the US, has agreed this week to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/will-israels-humanitarian-pauses-mean-much-for-gaza-no-say-experts">implement</a> daily four-hour “humanitarian pauses”. While there have been <a href="https://ukraine.un.org/en/174777-glossary-humanitarian-terms-pauses-during-conflict">attempts</a> to differentiate between these terms, states continue to place different emphasis or apply different meanings to them in ad hoc ways. This makes finding common ground difficult. <h2>What could be achieved in Gaza instead</h2> So, if we have no common definitions as a starting point, how do parties come to any useful or enforceable agreement on a ceasefire? Thus far in Gaza, the answer has mostly been they don’t. It may be simplistic to say that words are what we use as humans to make sense of and order the world, but in this context, specifics matter. Arguably, in focusing so squarely on getting to a halt in fighting (whatever we want to call that), we lose sight of many other important factors and actions that may or may not fall under the broad and open-to-interpretation umbrella term of “ceasefire”. For example, Israel and Hamas might find agreement if negotiators focused on more specific details or issues, such as: <ul> <li> the amount of ordnance being used by both sides on a daily basis, and what kind of ordnance </li> <li> where or what is targeted by both sides </li> <li> the number of aid convoys allowed into Gaza, where they would come from, where they would go and what they would be carrying </li> <li> the number and/or nationality of hostages to be released and at what regularity. </li> </ul> I am not a negotiator and this is not an exhaustive list. What it hopes to illustrate is that efforts for a grand-bargain-type ceasefire should not be prioritised over more nuanced, and perhaps tangible, efforts for other types of lulls in fighting. <h2>How ceasefires can be problematic</h2> At the same time, it should not be forgotten that ceasefires can have unintended consequences. Often these consequences are far from beneficial, positive or humanitarian – the kinds of things we expect from a ceasefire. For example, in Syria, local <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/18/do-ceasefires-syria-work-we-checked-data/">ceasefires</a> and reconciliation agreements have been used during the civil war to allow for the evacuation of citizens from their homes in places like <a href="https://paxforpeace.nl/publications/no-return-to-homs/#:%7E:text=The%2520report%2520'No%2520Return%2520to,cities%2520and%2520neighbourhoods%2520in%2520Syria.">Old Homs</a> and <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/besiege-bombard-retake-reconciliation-agreements-syria">Daraya</a>. Subsequently, a raft of presidential decrees were enacted that enabled the Syrian regime to permanently reappropriate their properties. State-backed <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/beyond-fragility-syria-and-the-challenges-of-reconstruction-in-fierce-states/">reconstruction</a> and development projects such as Basila City (which ironically means “Peace City” in old Aramaic), Marouta and Homs Dream were then built on the land acquired via the ceasefire agreements. Likewise, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/evacuation-route-offered-fleeing-ukrainians-mined-1685418">humanitarian corridors</a> were implemented that allowed people from the besieged city of Mariupol to evacuate. Shortly afterwards, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://www.novinite.com/articles/214156/Zelensky+accused+Russia+of+Mining+Humanitarian+Corridors">accused</a> Russia of laying landmines within the corridors to thwart civilians’ ability to flee. In another example, humanitarian corridors that Russia <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/top-wrap-1-ukrainians-trapped-besieged-city-fighting-blocks-evacuation-efforts-2022-03-07/">proposed</a> setting up would not lead civilians to safety, but rather into Russia or its close ally Belarus. Israel has similarly announced “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-16/israel-announces-another-safe-passage-for-gazans-to-move-south">safe corridors</a>” enabling <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/will-israels-humanitarian-pauses-mean-much-for-gaza-no-say-experts">mass displacement</a> of civilians from the north to the south of the country. The relocation is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/israel-hamas-war-latest-gaza-residents-told-move-ground-assault">supposedly</a> for civilians’ own safety, despite the fact airstrikes are killing civilians there, too. Many also <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/egypt-israeli-safe-zones-gaza-prelude-displacement">fear</a> the supposed “safe corridors” could lead to a permanent displacement of Gazans. Israel has reportedly also canvassed support for a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/world/middleeast/israel-egypt-gaza.html#:%7E:text=Israeli%2520leaders%2520and%2520diplomats%2520have,the%2520border%2520in%2520neighboring%2520Egypt.">humanitarian corridor</a> that would direct Palestinians towards the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, in effect making them an Egyptian problem with little possibility of return. The idea has unsurprisingly been rejected by both the Palestinians and Egypt. <h2>A ceasefire is only the beginning</h2> Despite all this, ceasefires are perhaps the best-formalised tools humans have so far devised to halt the violence of armed conflict for a time. Therefore, given the suffering of civilians on both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict, it is imperative some form of ceasefire happens. However, we should not be blinded by calls for a ceasefire (whatever terms are used), but stay alert to the hazards that ceasefires can themselves create. In any case, a ceasefire that stops violence for four hours, four days or four months will only be the beginning of the more challenging work that needs to be done to bring meaningful and long-term security and stablity to both Palestinians and Israelis.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217683/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marika-sosnowski-1415833">Marika Sosnowski</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-a-ceasefire-and-why-is-it-so-difficult-to-agree-on-one-in-gaza-217683">original article</a>.

Legal

Can Israel and Hamas be held to account for alleged crimes against civilians?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609">Amy Maguire</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/ihl/">International humanitarian law</a> – the law of armed conflict – aims to constrain how wars are fought. It is designed to protect noncombatants and limit the means of warfare. As each hour brings news of further horror in the Israel-Hamas conflict, what role should international law be playing? And does it actually have any capacity to constrain the behaviour of the combatants? <h2>A humanitarian nightmare is unfolding</h2> On <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/16/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-week-2-mime-intl/index.html">October 7</a>, the Hamas militant group launched thousands of rockets against Israel in advance of a ground attack. Militants <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516#:%7E:text=ABC%20News%20Chief%20Global%20Affairs,war%20in%20Israel%20and%20Gaza.&text=At%20least%201%2C400%20people%20have,7%2C%20Israeli%20authorities%20said.">killed</a> more than 1,400 people and wounded 3,400 others in towns and kibbutzim across southern Israel. It was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/deadliest-day-for-jews-since-the-holocaust-spurs-a-crisis-of-confidence-in-the-idea-of-israel-and-its-possible-renewal-215507">deadliest day</a> for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Most of those killed were civilians, including many <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/horror-israeli-authorities-show-footage-hamas-atrocities-reporters-notebook/story?id=104015431#:%7E:text=It%20was%20part%20of%20the,injured%20in%20Israel%2C%20authorities%20said.">children</a> who were shot, blown up or burned to death. Hundreds of young people were also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/08/israel-festival-attack-gaza-militants/">massacred</a> at a music festival, and Hamas took around 200 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/former-hamas-chief-meshaal-says-israeli-captives-include-high-ranking-officers-2023-10-16/">hostages</a> back to Gaza. Israel is responding to this attack with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516#:%7E:text=ABC%20News%20Chief%20Global%20Affairs,war%20in%20Israel%20and%20Gaza.&text=At%20least%201%2C400%20people%20have,7%2C%20Israeli%20authorities%20said.">airstrikes</a>, which have to date <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestinians/card/latest-death-tolls-in-gaza-and-israel-xJRhBt04VQMocRuYUtsA">killed</a> at least 4,000 people in Gaza and injured thousands more. The vast majority of these casualties are Palestinian civilians. Israel has also rapidly mobilised around <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/10/israel-military-draft-reservists/">360,000 reservists</a> in preparation for an anticipated ground offensive on Gaza. In recent days, a blast at a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/world/middleeast/gaza-hospital-explosion-israel.html">Gaza hospital</a> killed hundreds, including patients and displaced people seeking sanctuary. Hamas and several Arab states have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/israel-faces-blame-from-regional-allies-over-gaza-hospital-deaths">blamed</a> Israel for the explosion, while Israel has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/world/middleeast/islamic-jihad-gaza-hospital-israel.html">blamed</a> Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The situation in Gaza is dire for people with urgent needs, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-18/israel-gaza-war-live-updates-october-18/102989182?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web#live-blog-post-55243">5,000 women</a> due to give birth this month and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/world/middleeast/gaza-evacuation-twin-babies-hospital.html#:%7E:text=The%20babies%2C%20Nuha%20and%20Fatin,of%20an%20Israeli%20ground%20invasion.">newborn babies</a> whose families cannot find drinking water to prepare formula. Meanwhile, Israel has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/12/no-power-water-or-fuel-to-gaza-until-hostages-freed-says-israeli-minister">cut off</a> water, electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza and ordered a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-is-being-strangled-why-israels-evacuation-order-violates-international-law-215787">total siege</a> of the territory. Israel has also ordered residents of northern Gaza to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/16/why-israels-gaza-evacuation-order-so-alarming">evacuate</a> to the south. Aid agencies have been unable to provide desperately needed <a href="https://time.com/6324539/israel-gaza-humanitarian-aid-egypt-border/">humanitarian assistance</a> to civilians through the border crossing with Egypt. Prior to this latest horrific escalation, Gaza was already entrenched in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-has-been-blockaded-for-16-years-heres-what-a-complete-siege-and-invasion-could-mean-for-vital-supplies-215359">humanitarian crisis</a>. The situation now is beyond comprehension. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/gaza-610/102983118">Léo Cans</a>, the head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Palestine, said hospitals are being overwhelmed and hundreds will die without electricity being restored: "This is something that is known and could be prevented just by letting fuel and supplies inside Gaza. What is ahead of us is beyond words […] at the end of the road it’s a big wall, and this big wall is full of dead people." <h2>Principles governing the conduct of war</h2> International humanitarian law is a pragmatic body of law. Its existence acknowledges the inevitability of armed conflict and it aims to mitigate war’s impact on people. International humanitarian law is not, in itself, concerned with the justifications for why combatants engage in war. It applies even in situations where a state is entitled to act in self-defence under broader international law. We are witnessing gross violations of fundamental humanitarian law principles in the conflict. Here are some examples: Distinction between civilians and combatants Attacks are considered <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-51">unlawful</a> if they are: <ul> <li> directed specifically against civilians </li> <li> launched indiscriminately without distinction between civilians and combatants </li> <li> or directed at military targets but anticipated to cause harm to civilians disproportionate to the military advantage being sought. </li> </ul> Methods of warfare It is <a href="https://casebook.icrc.org/law/conduct-hostilities#iii_1">unlawful</a> to conduct war in a manner that causes unnecessary suffering. Attacks targeting civilians are fundamentally unnecessary and, therefore, illegal. Collective punishment The fourth Geneva Convention prohibits <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-33">collective punishment</a>: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited." This prohibition reflects the idea of <a href="https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/collective-punishment/">individual criminal responsibility</a> under international criminal law. Prosecutions for breaches of humanitarian law are directed towards individuals who can be proven responsible, rather than against states or populations. Humanitarian protection Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions requires <a href="https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions/overview-geneva-conventions.htm">humane protection</a> for all people in enemy hands. It prohibits murder and hostage-taking. It also requires the provision of humanitarian assistance to all people without distinction. Obligations of occupying powers It is arguable Israel is a de facto occupying power of the Gaza Strip because it has such a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-is-being-strangled-why-israels-evacuation-order-violates-international-law-215787">high level of control</a> over people’s lives. For example, it has the ability to shut off supplies of essential life services. The argument Israel is occupying Gaza will be strengthened should Israel launch a ground invasion. As such, the rules of international humanitarian law on occupiers are also relevant. These include an obligation to <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/hague-conv-iv-1907/regulations-art-43#:%7E:text=Regulations%3A%20Art.-,43,in%20force%20in%20the%20country.">protect</a> civilians from attacks and <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/commission-general/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights-human-rights-your#:%7E:text=opinions%20without%20interference.-,2.,other%20media%20of%20his%20choice.">respect their human rights</a>. <h2>Hamas and humanitarian law</h2> International humanitarian law applies to all combatants, whether they are state or non-state actors. UN independent experts say Hamas has clearly committed <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians">war crimes</a>, including the murders and hostage-taking of Israeli civilians. Hamas also put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-tells-gaza-residents-stay-home-israel-ground-offensive-looms-2023-10-13/#:%7E:text=Eyad%20Al%2DBozom%2C%20spokesman%20for,your%20homes%2C%20and%20your%20places.">telling them</a> not to evacuate to southern Gaza, as ordered by Israel. The group has a history of using civilians as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-laws-of-war-apply-to-the-conflict-between-israel-and-hamas-215493">human shields</a> as a <a href="https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/hamas_human_shields.pdf">strategic tool</a> in conflicts with Israel. However, holding Hamas accountable for violating international humanitarian law is very challenging. As a non-state actor, Hamas is not a member of forums like the United Nations, where pressure may be brought to bear on member states. If individual Hamas militants are apprehended, they could be charged with <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/2023/10/17/how-have-israel-and-hamas-broken-laws-war">war crimes</a> and tried in Israeli courts or the International Criminal Court. Even though Hamas is a non-state actor, <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/state-palestine">Palestine</a> has accepted the court’s jurisdiction. In fact, the International Criminal Court opened an <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/where-does-the-icc-palestine-investigation-stand">investigation</a> into alleged war crimes in Palestine in 2021. The current Gaza conflict would fall within the court’s mandate and could lead it to direct greater energy to that ongoing investigation. The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said on October 13: "We have jurisdiction for any Rome Statute crimes […] committed by Palestinians in Israel and also we have clear jurisdiction for any crimes committed by the forces of Israel in Palestine." <h2>Israel and humanitarian law</h2> Israel and its allies also have a complex relationship with international humanitarian law. One key issue is Israel’s right to self-defence in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. International law confirms a state may use force to <a href="https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/self-defence#:%7E:text=Self%2Ddefense%20in%20international%20law,Charter%20and%20customary%20international%20law.">defend</a> itself in response to an armed attack. Israel, the United States and other allies <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/10/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-2/">contend</a> the Hamas attack triggered Israel’s <a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/speech-senate-hamas-attacks-israel-senate-motion-parliament-house">right to self-defence</a>. But there is a distinction to be drawn between a state’s right to self-defence and what that right permits, in the sense of how war is conducted. For example, UN independent experts have <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians">condemned</a> Israel’s “indiscriminate military attacks” against Palestinian civilians: "This amounts to collective punishment. There is no justification for violence that indiscriminately targets innocent civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces. This is absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime." Neither <a href="https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-international-criminal-courts-failure-to-hold-israel-accountable/">Israel</a> nor the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/02/qa-international-criminal-court-and-united-states">United States</a> is a party to the International Criminal Court. Neither state would accept the court’s jurisdiction over its nationals. Indeed, the United States has <a href="https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-opposes-the-icc-investigation-into-the-palestinian-situation/">condemned</a> the court’s decision to open its investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestine. In time, the court may seek to hold Israeli nationals accountable for war crimes, but its capacity to do so seems very limited. <h2>What about the United Nations?</h2> UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/un-s-guterres-denounces-collective-punishment-of-palestinians/7315616.html">called</a> for an immediate ceasefire. He said the grievances of the Palestinian people after more than 50 years of occupation do not “justify the acts of terror committed by Hamas”. And he said the Hamas attack on October 7 does not “justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has also <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/un-human-rights-lead-warns-of-consequences-for-breaching-humanitarian-law-amid-israel-hamas-war-1.6605453">warned</a> all parties that violations of humanitarian law will have consequences, and those who commit war crimes will be held accountable. But the <a href="https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/#:%7E:text=The%20Security%20Council%20has%20primary,to%20comply%20with%20Council%20decisions.">UN Security Council</a>, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has yet to agree on a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142467">statement</a> on the conflict. The <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/4-members-favour-5-against-security-council-rejects-russian-federations-resolution-calling-immediate-humanitarian-ceasefire-israel-palestine-crisis">debate</a> in the council since the latest escalation in this perpetual conflict demonstrates the deep diplomatic fault lines between the key global players and the warring parties. At this point, a sad reality is that international law and global institutions can do little to constrain the actions of the combatants on both sides or provide assistance to the millions at grave risk of harm.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215705/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609">Amy Maguire</a>, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-israel-and-hamas-be-held-to-account-for-alleged-crimes-against-civilians-215705">original article</a>.

Legal

Boomer calls out young Aussie's "war on oldies"

A baby boomer has called out Australia's "war on oldies", as millennials have a "growing resentment" to the older generation. Former political reporter David Jones wrote that millennials are making boomers “feel they’re a looming burden” on the country in an opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph, saying they have "drawn the battle lines" in an intergenerational war. Jones, the self-proclaimed boomer, wrote, “Make no mistake, there is a ‘war on oldies’ happening in Australia, with growing resentment directed at the nation’s ageing baby boomer population.” “It is happening in subtle and not-so-subtle ways but the underlying message is the same." “Baby boomers, you’ve had it too good for too long and now that you’ve reached your dotage, it is time to pay for your’ sins’ of affluence – and hard work.” Jones went on to argue that millennials' anger at the older generations is misplaced, especially when they had “actually contributed a lot” to building modern Australia. “Are baby boomers really as bad as people think? No we’re not,” he continued. He wrote that boomers were Australia's "finest generation", and had grown up appreciating the struggles of their childhoods as their parents endured the Great Depression and two world wars. Jones admits his generation was “born into the halcyon days of full employment and a seemingly endless economic boom” when recruitment was easy. Employers “recruited us on the quadrangles of Sydney’s high schools”, Jones said. “The lingering insinuation is that the ‘boomers’ are too self-satisfied and electorally powerful for their own good." “They own too many properties, they’ve occupied too many rungs on the career ladder, they don’t have mortgages and looking after them in their old age will be a burden on the state and the generation to come.” Jones concedes that millennials have “good reason to be resentful about a number of things” – from the cost of living and housing crisis, sky-high interest rates, even stagnant career opportunities – “but the blame doesn’t rest at the feet of baby boomers”, he said. Instead, he said the anger belongs on the shoulders of politicians for making “dumb decisions” in government. “In defence of baby boomers, we shouldn’t be held responsible for the catastrophic failure of all levels of government to allow home housing in sufficient numbers to satisfy demand for purchase and for rent." “We didn’t … feel comfortable about the orgy of government spending and borrowing during Covid that put Australia on the road to high inflation and economy crippling interest rate hikes." “Nor did we have a choice about getting older.” Image credits: Getty Images

Retirement Life

"You've been bumped": Vietnam vet slams Qantas for booting him from business class

Qantas has come under fire for booting a Vietnam war veteran from his paid seat in business class so that a young Qantas "tech" – later revealed to be a pilot – could travel in the luxury seat in his place. Stephen Jones, 78, and his wife were travelling home to Adelaide after a holiday in Christchurch. Their flight was passing through Melbourne on its way to their home in Adelaide, and the pair were enjoying coffee in the Melbourne airport lounge – just 30 minutes before they were set to continue their journey – when they were given the bad news by Qantas staff. "I went up to the desk and the Qantas employee there said, 'I've got some bad news for you, you've been bumped'," Mr Jones told Melbourne’s <a href="https://www.3aw.com.au/vietnam-war-veteran-booted-from-business-class-for-younger-qantas-employee/">3AW</a> radio program with Ross & Russ. "It didn't register at first," continued Mr Jones. "I wasn't quite sure what 'bumped' meant... I said, 'What?', and she said, 'Yes, I'll have to re-issue your ticket for economy class. We have a tech who's flying to Adelaide and his contract states that he must fly Business Class." Mr Jones then explained that while he retreated to his economy seat, the Qantas employee was seated next to his wife up in business class, and that "he wouldn't even look at her". Mr Jones went on to explain that, after filing a letter of complaint, he was offered 5000 Frequent Flyer points in return for the downgrade and an apology. Mr Jones, who served in Vietnam in a combat unit in the 1960s, claimed he turned down the offer of 5000 points, saying, “I don’t think anything is going to change until there’s ramifications for Qantas, or costs for Qantas when they upset their customers.” Justin Lawrence, Partner at Henderson Ball Lawyers, later told the 3AW radio show hosts that there’s little customers can do about such a move by the airline and said it was “standard operating procedure”. “Unfortunately, their terms of carriage allow them to do this sort of thing – this happens so often they’ve actually got a term for it, buckle up, they call this 'involuntary downgrading,'” he said. “They’ll overprescribe business class or first class, they will need to bump someone out, and they’ll do it almost immediately prior to the flight – not just Qantas, they all do it." “Any time you go to a travel agent or online to Qantas to buy a seat, and we think we’re buying a seat in a particular class, there are no guarantees that when that plane takes off, you’ll be sitting in that class.” Mr Jones said he understood that Qantas pilots were entitled to rest comfortably on their way to another flight, but the ordeal was “unsettling and made me a little irritable”. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Trouble

Not just a youth movement: history too often forgets older protesters

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/effie-karageorgos-453765">Effie Karageorgos</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Recent sustained anti-coal action by Blockade Australia in the Hunter Valley has brought public protest back into the news cycle. Activists have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-21/coal-protests-block-rail-lines-to-newcastle-port/102504056">occupied trains, railway lines and machinery</a> in an attempt to obstruct coal production and broadcast their message about the climate crisis. Under recent <a href="https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/commentary/explainer-what-are-your-rights-to-protest-australia#:%7E:text=In%202022%2C%20Tasmania%20passed%20anti,%E2%80%9C%E2%80%A6">anti-protest legislation</a> in New South Wales, which has been matched by similar laws in other states, some protesters have been charged by police for their activism. Internationally, protesters faced with arrest have devised new ways to protest. Recently, Iranian activists have started engaging in “<a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/international-relations-security/civil-upheaval-iran-why-widespread">micro-protests</a>”, which are small-scale protests over a shorter period of time, to evade arrest. My historical research into the infrastructure of protest, using the anti-Vietnam War campaign in New South Wales as a case study, has found that many Australians who did not or could not actively or publicly protest similarly found “quieter” ways to express their opposition to the conflict. <h2>The youth are revolting</h2> In the popular Australian imagination, it seems the protester is a young person creating a public spectacle – holding up a sign, occupying a building or marching down a city street, even though older activists regularly play a part in protest movements. Many might think of figures like <a href="https://theconversation.com/lidia-thorpes-mardi-gras-disruption-is-the-latest-in-an-ongoing-debate-about-acceptable-forms-of-protest-at-pride-200713">Lidia Thorpe</a> disrupting the 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade or ongoing protests by <a href="https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/">School Strike 4 Climate</a>, which have shown how willing young people are to agitate for their collective futures. But, in fact, one of the two anti-coal activists charged on last month for occupying a train in Singleton, New South Wales, is <a href="https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/news?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGZWJpenByZC5wb2xpY2UubnN3Lmdvdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGMTA3MTc3Lmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D">64 years old</a>. My research shows our public memory of protest doesn’t come close to capturing everyone who used their energies to protest Australian involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, so we need to shift our idea of both protest and the protester to understand the potential scope of activism. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Thm03IUiJ6U?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Quiet protest</h2> Vietnam War-era protest organisations, such as the Association for International Cooperation and Disarmament, Save Our Sons, Youth Campaign Against Conscription and the Vietnam Moratorium Campaign, were aware of how important “quiet protest” was to the wider movement. They <a href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1JkmeexY">continually appealed to supporters</a> for help selling buttons, putting up posters, selling raffle tickets, filling envelopes, leafleting and other clerical work. These were all carried out by people who were opposed to the war, and are all considered acts of protest. Social movement theorists agree that time and availability are crucial in drawing people to protest. As far back as 1974, the sociologist <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002188637401000206">Anthony Orum</a> wrote: "Without people who have time on their hands, great revolutions would probably never get off the ground." <h2>Time and capacity</h2> But what of those who did not have the time or capacity to march on streets, but who still saw themselves as part of the anti-Vietnam War movement? The <a href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1l4dPbX1">administrative records</a> of protest organisations held in the <a href="https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/">State Library of New South Wales</a> let us into the lives of such people. These include Ian Robertson, a full-time Macquarie University student, whose parents had banned political activity because they feared it would disrupt his studies. Another silent protester was a Mrs Thomson, who was too busy organising her daughter Sue’s wedding to participate in anti-Vietnam protest activities. Public servants were also not permitted to publicly support the movement. Most such records come from elderly members of the movement. In November 1969, Mabel Wilson, who in her words was “six years an octogenarian,” sent $5 to the <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C96428">Committee in Defiance of the National Service Act</a>, writing: "I admire your courage and am completely in sympathy with your ideals. Alas! I am very old […] As you can see I can be of practically no use to you – or anyone […] My heart is with you all the way." Similarly, on March 21 1970, Doris J Wilson of Asquith sent a donation to the Northern Districts Vietnam Moratorium Group with a letter saying: "I am past the age where I can do very much more than be just a voice." On September 14 1970, L.T. Withers sent the same group a letter saying: "Congratulations for what you have accomplished. I feel rather guilty at being so useless […] myself and my wife are not as energetic as we used to be as the years are catching up on us a bit. I have enclosed a small donation to your local funds […] I would also be grateful if you could keep me informed of your activities." Ruth Fryer of Hornsby sent a letter on February 9 1971 with a $3 donation: "Sometimes you wish you were young & strong again! But the hard work seems to be left to the young ones." These Australians, among many others, were interested in the anti-Vietnam campaign and wanted to be involved as much as they could, given their limitations. <h2>The infrastructure of historical protest</h2> Studying the infrastructure of historical protest organisations shows us that we need to expand our idea of what a protest movement is and who it includes if we want to achieve the present-day goals of activist campaigning. These findings are exciting because they capture a larger group of Australians in the protest tradition, and move past a limited, and often ableist and ageist, vision of protest to incorporate many others who feel just as strongly about the issues governing their lives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208472/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/effie-karageorgos-453765">Effie Karageorgos</a>, Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-just-a-youth-movement-history-too-often-forgets-older-protesters-208472">original article</a>.

Legal

"We cannot judge": Nat Barr's frank question on war crimes for Army veteran

Sunrise host Natalie Barr surprised viewers when she confronted a war veteran after he referred senior Australian Defence Force leaders to the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan. Glenn Kolomeitz, a military lawyer and army veteran, signed the referral alongside Senator Jacqui Lambie. The referral to The Hague had the criminal court examine the country’s high commanders “through the lens of command responsibility”. Kolomeitz and Lambie claimed senior commanders have avoided investigation over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. “I've got to ask you. This is a question I get asked every time we discuss this general issue,” she said. “We trained these people to kill, and we trained them to operate in a war setting. None of us as civilians have any idea what that's like and we cannot judge them for when they go over there to war. What do you say to that?” Kolomeitz insisted that defence force personnel, regardless of rank, must be investigated if they’ve committed or covered up a criminal act. “I worked with these guys on a couple of rotations, and quite frankly, they are amazing advocates for our country, but if they've done the wrong thing, they must be properly investigated, and they must be vigorously prosecuted. That's the reality,” he said. “You can't ignore the commanders. You vigorously investigate and prosecute those who have done the wrong thing, including those with command responsibility.” The TV presenter then asked if an investigation was necessary for the chief of the defence force, Angus Campbell. Kolomeitz replied, “Every joint task force 633 commanders in that job during the period of the enquiry.” The army veteran drafted the letter that would be sent to the International Criminal Court. “If Australia does nothing about it, the ICC can potentially assume jurisdiction over the higher command and excise the higher command investigation from the ongoing investigation of junior soldiers,” he said. The 2020 Brereton report found “credible” evidence that 25 current or former Australian SAS soldiers unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2005 and 2016. The report strongly recommended administrative action be taken against ADF personnel where there is credible evidence of misconduct, but not enough for a criminal conviction. It ruled that senior commanders were not criminally to blame for the alleged crimes. Senator Lambie noted leadership had not been held to account for their actions. “The government is no doubt hoping this will all just go away,” she told the Senate. “They're hoping 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. "Well, we don't forget. I won't forget. Lest we forget. “There is a culture of cover-up at the highest levels of the Australian Defence Force. It is the ultimate boys' club.” Image credit: Instagram/LinkedIn

No apologies: Ben Roberts-Smith breaks silence

Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has returned to Australia for the first time since losing his defamation case against Nine newspapers. Roberts-Smith touched down in Perth on June 14 and said he was shattered by the outcome of his defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times. This is the first time he has spoken out publicly since the landmark ruling. "It was a terrible result and obviously the incorrect result. We will look at it and consider whether or not we need to file an appeal," Roberts-Smith said after landing in Perth. "There is not much more I can say about it ... we just have to work through it and I'll take the advice as it comes.” He was spotted checking into business class with his girlfriend in Queenstown, New Zealand prior to touching down in Perth. Roberts-Smith rules out apologising to families of the victims impacted by his actions in Afghanistan. "We haven't done anything wrong, so we won't be making any apologies," he said. As he was collecting his luggage at Perth airport, he was approached by a man who voiced his support for the former soldier. Roberts-Smith's return comes on the same day as reports that an Australian Federal Police investigation into his alleged war crimes had collapsed. The decision by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute Roberts-Smith based on evidence collected by the AFP has led to a new joint task force being assembled to investigate alleged executions. The task force is comprised of detectives from the specialist war crimes agency, the Office of the Special Investigator and a new team of federal police investigators not related to the abandoned AFP probe. Roberts-Smith did not appear in the Federal Court when a judge found allegations he murdered or was complicit in the killing of four unarmed Afghans while deployed overseas were "substantially true” in a bombshell defamation ruling. The former soldier insists there was never any foul play. Image credit: A Current Affair

News

Controversial call on Ben Roberts-Smith

Following the dismissal of Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation trial, politicians and defence experts argue that his belongings should remain in the Australian War Memorial until he is criminally proven guilty. The civil case saw Australia’s most decorated living soldier lose out to Nine newspapers due to claims he had committed war crimes, including a murder while deployed in Afghanistan. Amid the findings, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/australian-war-memorial-urged-to-remove-ben-roberts-smith-s-uniform-from-display" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many have urged</a> Roberts-Smith should be stripped of his medals, including the Victoria Cross, and to have any mention of him removed from the Australian War Memorial. However, Liberal MP and former soldier Keith Wolahan argued that Roberts-Smith should still be featured in the memorial’s commemorations of the war in Afghanistan. He told ACB TVs Q+A program, “It’s a part of our history, but I think it should acknowledge the Brereton report and perhaps this defamation trial,” The Brereton report is the official inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force that found a culture of unlawful killings, horrid initiation rituals as well as cover-ups within the Australian military during his time in Afghanistan. Wolahan said it may not be necessary to include references to the defamation trial until criminal investigations are finalised, saying that politicians should “stay out of criminal proceedings”. “Ben Roberts-Smith still has a right to appeal and there’s a question about whether there’s a criminal charge,” Wolahan said. “He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process, but I think the Brereton report belongs in the War Memorial.” Wolahan is a three-tour veteran of Afghanistan and served as an operations officer, platoon commander and deputy chief of operations. The former captain added that the Australian Army “have to hold ourselves to a higher standard”. “When you look at the Brereton report, you cannot ignore it. Yes, it’s not at the criminal standard and that defamation trial was not at the criminal standard, but you cannot ignore the findings,” he said. The Q+A panel discussed the culture within the armed forces of the West, with war correspondent Michael Ware noting that soldiers must go to a “very dark place” to face war. “It says we’ve all participated in small war crimes, I know I’ve certainly seen my share of them,” he said. “And according to the laws of war, and I have to tell you, this is a harsh reality – we in the West – we kill children. “If an eight-year-old is placing a roadside bomb, a sniper can legally shoot that child.” He then argued that despite that, there is an even worse cultural issue within the Australian Army. “All that said, there is a line you don’t cross, you've got to have a moral compass ... it does appear to me that there was a culture that developed over a period of years within the regiment where this just became a part of the way they operated and Ben Roberts-Smith is not alone.” Image credit: Getty / Instagram

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What should the Australian War Memorial do with its heroic portraits of Ben Roberts-Smith?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kit-messham-muir-129956">Kit Messham-Muir</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a> On Friday, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dismissed-legal-experts-explain-the-judgment-in-the-ben-roberts-smith-defamation-case-191503">Federal Court dismissed</a> Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times. Justice Anthony Besanko ruled the newspapers had established, by the “balance of probabilities” (the standard of evidence in a civil lawsuit), that Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes. Following the ruling, much public debate has focused on what the Australian War Memorial should do with Robert-Smith’s uniform, helmet and other artefacts of his on display. Greens senator David Shoebridge <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidShoebridge/status/1664140665666826240">called for</a> the removal of these objects from public display to correct the official record and “to begin telling the entire truth of Australia’s involvement in that brutal war.” The topic of what to do with Roberts-Smith’s uniform and helmet was debated on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH1oVNVJP1k">ABC’s Insiders yesterday</a>: should the display be removed, effectively cancelled, or changed to tell the full story? <h2>The case of the oil paintings</h2> It is not just these artefacts on display. The memorial also has two heroic oil painting portraits of Roberts-Smith by one of Australia’s leading artists, <a href="http://www.michaelzavros.com/">Michael Zavros</a>. These paintings were commissioned by the memorial in 2014. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Michael Zavros, Pistol grip (Ben Roberts-Smith VC), 2014, oil on canvas, 162 cm x 222 cm. <a class="source" href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092390">© Australian War Memorial</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092390">Pistol Grip (Ben Roberts-Smith VC)</a> is a larger-than-life-sized depiction of Roberts-Smith, camouflage arms outstretched, mimicking the action of holding a pistol. The smaller <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092391">Ben Roberts-Smith VC</a> depicts him in ceremonial military uniform. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Michael Zavros, Ben Roberts-Smith VC, 2014, oil on canvas, 30 x 42 cm. <a class="source" href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092391">© Australian War Memorial</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></figcaption></figure> In an <a href="https://memoreview.net/reviews/the-anti-art-of-war-by-rex-butler-and-paris-lettau">article in arts criticism website Memo</a> yesterday, respected Monash University art historian Rex Butler and arts journalist Paris Lettau weighed into the debate. Butler and Lettau say Pistol Grip is: <blockquote> threatening, over-bearing, macho, hyper-masculine, celebratory, and enormous, like the man himself – some 220 centimetres wide and 160 centimetres high. </blockquote> When Zavros created his large portrait it was a depiction of a soldier doing what he was trained – and venerated – for doing. It is an aggressive pose that, given current developments, can be read in a much more sinister way. It touches on a far bigger question of how national institutions for the public memory of war address difficult and morally ambiguous moments in a national story. <h2>Moral and ethical ambiguity</h2> When the Canadian War Museum opened at its new site in Ottawa in 2005, its new displays included two paintings in their collection by Canadian artist <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-her-powerful-portraiture-military-artist-gertrude-kearns-pays/">Gertrude Kearns</a>. The paintings, Somalia without Conscience, 1996, and The Dilemma of Kyle Brown: Paradox in the Beyond, 1995, dealt with one of the most shameful episodes in Canada’s military history, known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia_affair">Somalia Affair</a>. In 1992, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was deployed as peacekeepers to Somalia. In 1993, 16-year-old Shidane Arone was found hiding in the Canadian base, believed to have been stealing supplies. He was tortured, and soldiers photographed themselves with the semi-conscious boy. Master Corporal Clayton Matchee and his subordinate Private Kyle Brown <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x75xg/remembering-the-somalia-affair-canadas-forgotten-abu-ghraib-moment">were charged</a> with his murder and torture. Somalia without Conscience depicts Matchee posing with the beaten Arone, while The Dilemma of Kyle Brown depicts Brown symbolically holding two potential fates in his hands: a lightly coloured cube in his right hand, and a darkened cube in his left. It addresses an ethical grey area many soldiers face during active service when the hierarchy of command comes into direct conflict with conscience. Following the opening of the new Canadian War Museum, the presence of Kearns’s paintings sparked <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=nltxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT519&lpg=PT519&dq=%E2%80%9Cwas+not+only+telling+the+stories+of+heroism+and+courage+that+most+of+them+expected+to+be+told+but+also+stories+about+failures,+disappointments,+and+human+frailty%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=sfQZw_2qXL&sig=ACfU3U18i4X0ERdbg0wfOKXbnOIe1-5-pA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXw6Sdk6v_AhXGVmwGHbRwDh0Q6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cwas%20not%20only%20telling%20the%20stories%20of%20heroism%20and%20courage%20that%20most%20of%20them%20expected%20to%20be%20told%20but%20also%20stories%20about%20failures%2C%20disappointments%2C%20and%20human%20frailty%E2%80%9D&f=false">intense debate</a>. Curator Laura Brandon received abusive emails from members of the public. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> The museum copped criticism from figures such as the head of the National Council of Veterans Associations, who <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/war-museum-s-paintings-anger-veterans-group-1.546113">called</a> the paintings a “trashy, insulting tribute” and urged a boycott of the opening of the new museum. Discussing this controversy in 2007, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354856507072860?journalCode=cona">Brandon said</a> what upset veteran communities was that “their” museum: <blockquote> was not only telling the stories of heroism and courage that most of them expected to be told but also stories about failures, disappointments, and human frailty. </blockquote> Brandon remained steadfast the museum needed to address the messy ambiguities of war and, despite pressure, kept Kearns’s paintings on display for the duration of the exhibition. <h2>The complexity of contemporary art</h2> Brandon’s curatorial decision to display Kearns’s Somalia paintings strike at the heart of what is special and important about contemporary war art in a national museum. Contemporary art presents ethical and moral complexity, grey zones and a range of perspectives. This is vital in a healthy liberal democracy. While Brandon’s choice to show Kearns’s Somalia paintings attracted criticism, the museum remained committed to telling a story that is difficult, ethically and morally complex, and uncomfortable for Canadians. To remove Zavros’ portraits from display would remove the now-untenable hero narrative that once surrounded Roberts-Smith. But doing so would also rewrite public memory by effectively erasing an important part of why and how Roberts-Smith was revered. These portraits now represent a morally complex story that needs to be addressed by our national war museum. To remove the portraits would miss a valuable opportunity to debate important questions about how we construct hero stories. So, how could these portraits still be shown in future? Zavros’ portraits were already complex works. Following Friday’s announcement, it is more important they are seen in all their additional multi-layered and problematic complexity. The portraits show us how we create the nation through the stories we tell ourselves, and how dynamic that narrative can be. The portraits present a valuable opportunity to show narratives of war – like the stories of our own lives – are never simple, consistent and coherent. The portraits should be displayed in ways that address this complexity, capturing the evolving story of Roberts-Smith in explanatory wall text. There is an opportunity here to not simply “correct” the official record, as Shoebridge suggests, but to have a deeper conversation about the role of hero narratives in diverting attention away from more important public debates about Australia’s involvements in conflicts. Maybe this could be addressed in the art the memorial commissions in future. The most compelling contemporary art works – and the most valuable museum displays in our national institutions – are those that consider our complex stories, raise important and self-reflective questions, and challenge simplistic narratives. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206934/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Image credit: Getty <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kit-messham-muir-129956">Kit Messham-Muir</a>, Professor in Art, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-the-australian-war-memorial-do-with-its-heroic-portraits-of-ben-roberts-smith-206934">original article</a>.

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Ben Roberts-Smith’s furious phone call to fellow soldier

A livid Ben Roberts-Smith has berated a fellow soldier he believed had been speaking to the media about war allegations, demanding he “stick to the f**king code”, newly released audio has revealed. Nine’s 60 Minutes played a recording of the exchange between Roberts-Smith and a fellow SAS member known as “Soldier M” in 2018 amid a media frenzy. Soldier M is a relative of Australia’s most wealthy individual, billionaire Gina Rineheart, and prior to the phone call, Roberts-Smith had sent him a threatening legal letter, with the mining magnate CC’d in. “Yeah, it’s RS, mate,” Mr Roberts-Smith says in the audio. “Because I know you’ve talked s**t about me, right? I know that. “I’ve got no ill will towards anyone that has no ill will towards me, it’s real simple. So you know, like, I’m 100 per cent, I stick to the f**king code, mate, 100 per cent, and I have. So all the s**t that’s going on, I’m still probably the only c**t that hasn’t f**king spoken. “I don’t trust you, mate, I haven’t been able to trust you for a long time. You say we’re mates. We used to be actually, but for some f**king reason I’ve just become the centre of all evil for you and the group of people … “You’ve got a young child, I’ve got a f**king family, I want to move on, I’m so sick of f**king army, the unit and all the bulls**t. Just remember I was minding my own business, just trying to do my job, and I get attacked by all these f**king journalists. I haven’t spoken a word about it to anyone in the unit.” On June 1 Roberts-smith lost his lengthy defamation trial against Nine newspapers’ The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times. Following the verdict, The Australian War Memorial has faced calls to <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/australian-war-memorial-urged-to-remove-ben-roberts-smith-s-uniform-from-display" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remove the decorated soldier’s uniform</a> from its display. The 22-week trial saw 32 current and former SAS members provide evidence. One of the 32, known as “Person Y”, who has never spoken to the media, appeared anonymously on 60 Minutes on June 4. “You don’t win insurgencies on body counts, yet here is a guy who thinks he’s going to win the war by killing as many people as possible,” he told the program. “We are not above the law, we are not above the rules of engagement, but I think for him he felt he was above all that, that the rules don’t apply. Many people are having a hard time reconciling the fact that someone they thought was a national hero is in fact the complete opposite, proven to be a bully, a liar and a murderer. “It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially for a country that’s believed the lies for so long. “I think they thought they were above the law, that they were not going to be caught, that it was a free-for-all. “I think I could say on behalf of every guy who took the witness stand that none of us wanted to be there, that’s just not who we are.” One day after the verdict was reached, Seven CEO James Warburton revealed Roberts-Smith had resigned from the network. “We thank Ben for his commitment to Seven and wish him all the best,” he said. Image credit: Getty

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Australian War Memorial urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from display

The Australian War Memorial is being urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from its display after the federal court dismissed the defamation case initiated by Australia’s most decorated living soldier. However, the Australian Special Air Association has argued it was “a very disappointing day” for veterans who had served in Afghanistan, noting the majority who had done the right thing were being “re-traumatised after having gone through a difficult war”. In the defamation case ruling on June 1, Justice Anthony Besanko found that, on the balance of probabilities, Roberts-smith kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff in Darwin in 2012 before ordering a subordinate Australian soldier to shoot the injured man dead. Besanko also found that in 2009, Roberts-Smith had ordered the execution of an elderly man found hiding in a tunnel in a bombed-out compound codenamed “Whiskey 108”, including murdering a disabled man with a prosthetic leg during that same mission, with a machine gun. The majority of politicians in Canberra were hesitant to weigh in on the implications of the ruling, but the Greens described the judgement as “an important win for fearless journalism in the public interest”. David Shoebridge, the Greens’ defence and justice spokesperson said, “If this judgment stands, the first step in correcting the official record is for the Australian War Memorial to immediately remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from public display and to begin telling the entire truth of Australia’s involvement in that brutal war. “This is not justice for the families who lost loved ones or for the communities that have been brutalised by war crimes, but it takes us a step closer.” Shoebridge is also calling on the Albanese government to “urgently progress compensation for families of victims of alleged Afghanistan war crimes, one of the key outstanding recommendations of the Brereton report”. He has urged the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to “step in and end the unjust prosecution of Afghanistan war crimes whistleblower David McBride”. A spokesperson for the defence minister, Richard Marles, said, “This is a civil defamation matter to which the commonwealth is not a party and it would be inappropriate to provide comment.” Speaking to ABC TV, the national chairman of the Australian Special Air Service Association, Martin Hamilton-Smith downplayed the broader significance of the ruling, saying it was not a criminal proceeding. When speaking generally about investigations overseen by the Office of Special Investigator (OSI), he said one person had been charged to date over allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan — and raised concerns that “justice delayed is justice denied”. Hamilton-Smith called on OSI to “get these matters into a criminal court where they can be dealt with properly and the truth can be established”. In 2020, the Brereton report found “credible” information to implicate 25 current or former special forces personnel in the alleged unlawful killing of 39 individuals and the cruel treatment of two others. When asked whether Roberts-Smith should hand over his Victoria Cross, Hamilton-Smith said, “I think the only way you will get the real truth of this is to get it into the criminal court where both sides of the story can be told and beyond reasonable doubt the facts established.” A spokesperson for OSI said defamation proceedings were a “a civil matter between the parties”, adding, “It would not be appropriate to comment on specific allegations or whether they are the subject of investigation.” The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, described the defamation ruling as “certainly significant”, and stated it was a legal process “that deserves to be respected”. However, he said it would be “a difficult day for many” of Australia’s current and former defence force personnel. “Australia is a country that applies a standard, in terms of expectations of our serving personnel and the transparency and accountability, that few other nations in the world apply,” Birmingham told ABC TV. “We should be proud of those standards but we should also be proud overwhelmingly of our personnel, of all who have served.” Birmingham was reluctant to make broader comments about the judgement’s implication for press freedom, adding the outcome would “obviously weigh heavily in terms of what proceedings may be initiated by others in future”. The shadow defence minister and former SAS captain Andrew Hastie was subpoenaed by the newspapers to give evidence during the defamation case but declined to comment. Image credit: Getty

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Melissa Caddick's parents at war with fraud victims

Melissa Caddick's parents are at war with the victims of the deceased conwoman's long-running scam, as they fight over who deserves the biggest cut of her estate. The two parties are locked in a bitter despite over Caddick's penthouse apartment in Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs, where Caddick's parents Ted and Barb Grimley currently reside. The Grimleys claim they deserve a larger share of the proceeds of the sale of the property, despite the penthouse being purchased by Caddick as part of her Ponzi scheme. However, the victims of Caddick's scam are adamant that the proceeds should be evenly divided by those who have suffered at the hands of the deceased conwoman. The apartment was purchased by Caddick seven years ago, when Mr and Mrs Grimley gave their daughter $1 million for a share of the eastern suburbs residence. Despite the hefty share sum, Melissa put the entire apartment in her own name and used her parents' money on new jewellery. The Grimleys have refused to vacate the property, telling the victims during a recent mediation that they would only move out if they were paid $950,000 – effectively getting most of their money back and leaving nearly 60 other investors divvying up the rest of the proceeds and getting back less than half of what they are owed. One of the victims of Caddick's scam, Sarah Steel, said she feels for the Grimleys and what they have been through, but they need to think of the other victims involved. "I feel really terrible for what they've been through," she said. "But it feels to me that they aren't feeling the same for the rest of us going through this same thing." "We're facing a situation where other people are putting themselves forward as a priority to the other investors who were duped." Lawyers for the majority of Caddick's victims are now considering suing the auditors that Caddick hired and who were tasked with casting a critical eye over her finances. Given Caddick ran one of the longest frauds in Australian history, not one auditor over the years ever flagged a problem with her financial accounts. Michael Chapman, the lawyer representing the majority of Caddick's victims, is at a complete loss as to how the auditors couldn't have noticed the fraudulent behaviour. "We feel like they've dropped the ball," he told 60 Minutes. "We feel as though there is a good claim that could be brought forward against the auditors." Lawyers will be seeking $15 million from the auditors in a potential court case, and if they succeed, the victims of Caddick's scamming would be close to getting back all of the money they lost. "I don't discount the pain and the suffering that these people have been through to this point," Chapman said. "It would be a silver lining." Image credits: 60 Minutes

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Controversial call on Ben Roberts-Smith

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Ben Roberts-Smith’s furious phone call to fellow soldier

Australian War Memorial urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from display

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Property tycoon sentenced to death over $27 billion fraud

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Legendary Star Wars and James Bond actor passes away

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War veteran loses $18,000 to Netflix scam

Aussie love story from WWII immortalised in the war memorial

"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke

After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’?

What exactly is a ceasefire, and why is it so difficult to agree on one in Gaza?

Can Israel and Hamas be held to account for alleged crimes against civilians?

Boomer calls out young Aussie's "war on oldies"

"You've been bumped": Vietnam vet slams Qantas for booting him from business class

Not just a youth movement: history too often forgets older protesters

"We cannot judge": Nat Barr's frank question on war crimes for Army veteran

No apologies: Ben Roberts-Smith breaks silence

Controversial call on Ben Roberts-Smith

What should the Australian War Memorial do with its heroic portraits of Ben Roberts-Smith?

Ben Roberts-Smith’s furious phone call to fellow soldier

Australian War Memorial urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from display

Melissa Caddick's parents at war with fraud victims

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