- I sent this letter to the Sydney Morning Herald on 24 April 2024, but it was not published either:
Rage is best used for matters that can be influenced now and where people can be brought to account (“Lots said on solemn day, but where’s the rage?”April 25). Despite the extraordinary Timorese support of our soldiers in World War II, costing them at least 40,000 lives, our leaders sold them out to the Indonesians in 1975, sat back for 24 years, and then basked in the glow of the Timorese feat of gaining independence. The government then spied on them as they negotiated over the resources of the Timor Sea. Rage? Tell me about it. - I sent this letter to the Sydney Morning Herald on 24 April 2024, but it was not published.
“Kokoda heroes saved our nation” is a compelling headline (Letters, April 23), but it is not completely true. The fall of Singapore and the Japanese southward advance had convinced the government that Australia was in peril of invasion. Australians, including my parents, understandably believed that an invasion was imminent. However, there is now consensus among historians that the Japanese did not intend to invade Australia. The Australian Official War History detailed the lack of Japanese invasion plans as far back as 1957.Alongside gratitude to our brave and skillful soldiers, we could spare a thought for the 15,000 Papua New Guineans who died supporting them on the Kokoda Track. We could also remember the 40,000 Timorese who sided with our men in Portuguese Timor from December 1941 until they left in early 1943. The 700 Australian soldiers were uninvited, unannounced and unwanted, and their presence drew the Japanese to the neutral Portuguese colony. Terrible reprisals were meted out to the Timorese by the 18,000 Japanese who remained until 1945. I do not know of any other nation that lost so many people because of their assistance to Australians in World War II. - Letter published in the Sydney Morning Herald – “Real names, please” – 19 April 2024
- Elliot Hannay – Whitlam’s biggest bull story – Pearls and Irritations – 14 April 2024
Forty-nine years ago, the Australian Prime Minister and the President of Indonesia met in a tiny sugar town in North Queensland and tried to convince the world they were discussing beef cattle exports, and not the invasion of East Timor. -
The ongoing torture of Papuan people
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Gaza
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