Afghan war crimes report on frontline of new Australian display

A redacted copy of an inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan will go on display at the Australian War Memorial as part of a major redevelopment.

Under the museum’s half-a-billion dollar expansion, the report will be included among 1,200 items in a new Afghanistan gallery set to officially open in June, INDAILY reported. 

The Brereton Report, publicly released in late 2020, found credible information that Australian special forces soldiers murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners in 23 incidents. One redacted case was described as “possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia’s military history”.

Speaking in a documentary on SBS about the memorial’s redevelopment, director Matt Andersonsaid the Afghanistan gallery would include the more “difficult elements” of Australia’s involvement in the conflict.

“The Australian memorial must acknowledge the fact of the Brereton report,” he said.

“I know from my own time in Afghanistan — 18 months of my life — that some of those I served with say, ‘mate, you can’t put it in here’, because it will cloud their service and sacrifice.

“I’ve had others who say they won’t visit the memorial if I don’t include it, so what I need to do is put it into context.”

Anderson said the inquiry also found the Special Operations Task Group had overwhelmingly served with skill and courage.

“I want people who visit the galleries to understand that outcome of the Brereton report, and to understand the nature of that service over those 20 years — and as a nation and as a veteran to be justifiably proud of that service,” he said.

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has been charged with five counts of war crime murder, allegedly committed during his service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He denies the accusations and remains on bail.

The Afghanistan gallery is the last to be completed in the renovated Anzac Hall and does not include any altered display relating to Roberts-Smith following his arrest.

However, a panel in the memorial’s Hall of Valour — accompanying his uniform and medals — now includes information about his arrest, noting the “legal process is ongoing”.

The Brereton report will be displayed alongside a copy of the Geneva Conventions, which set out humanitarian standards in conflict, as well as materials outlining rules of engagement for Australian troops, including the lawful use of force and detention.