豪軍がアフガン人３９人を「違法に殺害」、豪司令官

【キャンベラＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリアのアンガス・キャンベル国防軍司令官は19日、同軍の特殊部隊がアフガニスタンの民間人と捕虜少なくとも39人を違法に殺害した確かな証拠があると認め、検察が戦争犯罪として捜査するべきだと提言した。（写真は資料写真）
　オーストラリア国防軍のアフガニスタン駐留中の行動に関する長年にわたる調査の結果が発表されたことを受けて、キャンベル氏は「複数の見回り担当の兵士が法律を私物化し、ルールを破り、話をでっち上げ、うそをつき、捕虜を殺害した」と述べた。
　キャンベル氏は、「オーストラリア国防軍を代表してアフガニスタン国民に素直に心から謝罪する」と述べ、特殊部隊員２５人が犯した不法行為２３件は、部隊だけでなく、国防軍とオーストラリアの面目を失わせたと語った。
　不法行為の中には、見回りを担当する新兵が捕虜の射殺を強要されたケースもあった。「ブラッディング」と呼ばれる慣行で、新兵に初めての殺しを経験させるためのものだという。
　キャンベル氏は２００７～２０１３年にアフガニスタンで従軍した特殊部隊員に授与された勲章の一部を無効にするよう求めた。
　２００１年９月１１日の米同時多発攻撃の後、オーストラリア兵２万６０００人超がアフガンに派遣され、米主導の連合軍の一員として、旧支配勢力タリバンや国際テロ組織アルカイダ、その他イスラム過激派組織と戦った。
　オーストラリア国軍が２０１３年にアフガンから撤退して以来、自宅にいた６歳の子どもを殺害したというものから、ヘリコプター内のスペースを空けるために捕虜を射殺したものまで、特殊部隊の蛮行に関する報告が相次いでいる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/11/20-14:00）

Australia's top military officer on Thursday admitted there was credible evidence his special forces unlawfully killed at least 39 Afghanistan civilians and prisoners, recommending the matter be taken up by a prosecutor investigating alleged war crimes.
Some patrols took the law into their own hands, rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told and prisoners killed, said Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell.
His comments came as the result of a damning years-long investigation into the military's behaviour in Afghanistan were published.
Campbell sincerely and unreservedly apologised to the people of Afghanistan and said the 25 Australian special forces accused of wrongdoing in 23 incidents had brought a stain on their regiment, on the armed forces and on Australia.
This shameful record includes alleged instances in which new patrol members were coerced to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve that soldier's first kill, in an appalling practice known as 'blooding'.
Campbell called for some distinguished service medals awarded to special operations forces who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013 to be revoked.
After the September 11, 2001 terror attacks more than 26,000 Australian uniformed personnel were sent to Afghanistan to fight alongside US and allied forces against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups.
Australian combat troops left the country in 2013, but since then a series of often-brutal accounts have emerged about the conduct of elite special forces units.
They range from reports of troops killing a six-year-old child in a house raid to a prisoner being shot dead to save space in a helicopter.
The military has long been revered in Australia, and its campaigns -- from Gallipoli to Kokoda -- have played a crucial role in fostering the country's identity as independent of colonial power Britain.
Australia's government attempted to cushion the blow of the report, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison telling Australians last week to brace for the honest and brutal truths contained within the redacted document.
Morrison also called his Afghan counterpart Wednesday to foreshadow some disturbing allegations that the government was taking very seriously.
The office of President Ashraf Ghani had a different interpretation of the conversation -- saying in a series of tweets that Morrison had expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct -- a characterisation that was strongly disputed by Australian officials.
Last week Morrison announced the appointment of a special investigator to prosecute the alleged war crimes, a move aimed at forestalling any prosecution at the International Criminal Court.
An independent panel was also set up to drive cultural and leadership changes within the armed forces.
Australia's government had previously spent years trying to suppress whistleblower reports of the alleged wrongdoing, with police even investigating reporters involved in bringing those accounts into the light.
The matter first came to public attention in 2017 when public broadcaster ABC published the so-called Afghan files, which alleged Australian troops had killed unarmed men and children in Afghanistan.
In response, Australian police launched an investigation into two ABC reporters for obtaining classified information -- even raiding the broadcaster's Sydney headquarters last year, before dropping the case.