Claims of Execution and Torture By Australian Army
According to Australian government records and PNG citizens who survived World War II, the Australian Army occasionally coerced and intimidated the local people into compliance.
A video report by the Australian Broadcasting Commission's Foreign Correspondent TV programme entitled "PNG Digger Hangings" claims execution and torture were used to control villages unsupportive of the Australian Army. The report claims the Army deceived the Australian Government inquiry that followed the executions, grossly understating the number of executions carried out by the Australian Army.
Backed by experts, such as Professor Hank Nelson (an eminent historian on the Second World War in PNG), reporter Trevor Bormann stated: "When Federal Cabinet was told of the hangings, it put a stop to them and directed that another fifty Papuans on death row should not face the noose.... Then in their explanation of what happened, field commanders fudged the figures on the number of men who had already been hanged."
According to historian Maclaren Hiari, the victims and families of victims do not want compensation. They only want "acknowledgement or any kind of apology to the people."
Read more about this topic: Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels
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