The Ben Roberts Smith defamation trial, high level command responsibility and the International Criminal Court - a thread🧵

Following 'national security' vetting by #auspol government officials over the weekend, Justice Besanko's written ruling on the BRS vs Nine defamation… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Command responsibility in war is poorly understood in the community and has received scant if any serious or sustained media attention in Australia.

The law of command responsibility is laid down in Article 28 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, aka 'Rome Statute… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Crucial testimony from @DVASecretary Liz Cosson at Thursday's Veteran Suicide Royal Commission @roycommDVSRC hearing.

Unnecessary #auspol govt delays to URGENT LEGISLATIVE REFORM (ID'd in previous reviews) are contributing to the the HIGH #VETERAN SUICIDE RATE.

Thread ⬇️ 1/25 Background. Numerous media reports on the RC (& previously) have highlighted lengthy delays in @DVAAus claims processing times as a significant factor contributing to veteran suicides. Seriously injured/disabled veterans too oftem wait years for help. 2/25
abc.net.au/news/2022-02-1…

“This exemplifies a clusterf*ck of Shakespearean proportions on the part of the #auspol govt. We’ve got the wrong people in the wrong places making the wrong decisions.”

He cleared landmines for Australian troops. Now he’s stuck in Kabul crikey.com.au/2021/07/01/he-… via @crikey_news There are countless examples of people like Sameer, who have waited years to hear about their visa applications. There’s the bureaucratic triangulation between various Canberra-based departments that delays things and puts lives in the hands of distant decision-makers.

My piece in today's @canberratimes:

"The farcical, in-country visa paper-shuffling exercise inflicted upon these [Afghans at risk of reprisals] by our diplomats & Defence chiefs must end today."

This is no time for bureaucracy: the Taliban are closing in canberratimes.com.au/story/7320624/… As the first country to suspend it's diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, this decision not only precipitated an undignified rush to the exits but paved the way for the continued slaughter of Afghan civilians who we are obliged to protect under IHL, at the hands of the Taliban.

@TheRedT @MarisePayne @dfat @AusAID Actually at least 9 from this project have been killed by the Taliban. I won't put dates here publicly. I just forwarded you a voice recording from this man. Seems likely he will be killed now so you will have a voice from the dead. @TheRedT @MarisePayne @dfat @AusAID Transcript of voice message from 'Sayed' (name changed), the locally employed (funded by @AusAID) project manager:

"Good evening Sir. These are those people who were killed by the Taliban. They were my employees, and we were working together. I was acting as site manager." 1/-

In this tweet, @RSLNSW President @captainbrown & the RSL shred their little remaining integrity in relation to Australia's mefloquine & tafenoquine veterans. He has blocked most of us but you are welcome to read & RT this thread as to why & how.
#TafenoquineRC #OzVeteransVote Mefloquine & tafenoquine have been given to around 5,000 ADF personnel, mainly during a series of unethical drug trials involving 2,850 ADF troops in Bougainville & East Timor from 1999 to 2002.
vimeo.com/239093288

The day before @DVAAus announces a program to treat veterans poisoned by tafenoquine (known to be more neurotoxic than mefloquine), the distributor @BiointelectInfo boasts about the arrival of the first tafenoquine shipment in Sydney.
#TafenoquineRC #OzVeteransVote @DVAAus @BiointelectInfo The Managing Director of Biocelect (Australian distributor of tafenoquine) appears to have removed his LinkedIn profile. Please see below contact details for inquiries regarding the tafenoquine story.
#TafenoquineRC #OzVeteransVote
au.linkedin.com/company/biocel…
biocelect.com/contact

Also talking to 2 of the 1 RAR #tafenoquine Study 033 subjects from Timor 2000-2001 who are *still serving* in the @AustralianArmy & need urgent medical help. Shoukd I contact SGADF @TheWarriordoc or @ChiefAusArmy or @MarkBinskin_CDF? do you think any of them will bother helping? One of them is currently in in-patient psychiatric care, never been referred to ABI rehab specialists. The other has been subjected to bullying and accusations of malingering. Gross negligence in both cases. Won't be a good look when these #tafenoquine stories go to the media.