Veteran burns medal in protest of Australia’s abandoned Afghan interpreters

A war veteran incinerated his medal and delivered the remains to his local MP’s office. Then the police came knocking.

An Australian war veteran has set fire to his Afghanistan Campaign Medal in protest of the federal government‘s sluggishness in granting refuge status to hundreds of Afghans employed by the Australian Defence Force.

Retired army major Stuart McCarthy incinerated his medal and delivered the remains to his local MP Julian Simmonds’ office on Monday

“I felt relieved watching that thing go up in flames,” he told 2GB radio on Tuesday.

“I consider it would be a badge of shame to wear it.”

pic.twitter.com/fwBJ8SVEaA

— Stuart McCarthy (@StuartMcCarthy_) July 19, 2021

Australia’s final troops left Afghanistan on June 30, putting an end to a 20-year mission in the war-torn country.

But the war is not over for those left behind. The Taliban continues to gain ground in the country, threatening the lives of millions of Afghan civilians.

An estimated 1000 Afghan allies and their families still remain in the country, with many living in fear of the Taliban punishing them for their alliances with Australia.

“I am in daily contact with a number of these civilians who have already had their colleagues brutally murdered,” Mr McCarthy told 9 News.

“We need to show the government to get on with this job, get it done, and bring these people to safety.”

But after Mr McCarthy delivered his burnt medal to Mr Simmonds’ office, the police came knocking,

At 6.30pm on Monday, Brisbane police arrived at Mr McCarthy’s doorstep and began questioning him about his mental health, suggesting that he was potentially a terrorist threat to Australia.

“(They questioned) whether I was some kind of terrorist threat to the same country that I served for almost 30 years,” he said.

“This government waffles on about how much they care about veterans and this is how we get treated: They send the police after us.”

Brisbane police arrived at Stuart McCarthy's door on Monday night, questioning his mental health and status as a terrorist threat.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has insisted Afghans who worked with Australian forces are being “prioritised” among visa applicants.

However, this is not happening fast enough for Afghan families who are under threat daily in a country becoming increasingly dominated by the violent Taliban.

Mr McCarthy was quick to point out that he was not the first veteran to burn his medal in disgust at the government’s treatment of the Afghan allies.

“A number of soldiers including Special Forces soldiers have told me that they’ve quietly gone and done this in their own backyard, so I thought I’d do it publicly displayed on their behalf,” he told 2GB.

The retired army officer called on the government to evacuate the Afghan helpers immediately and relocate them to a safe country where they could receive Australia’s relevant security vetting.

Despite the withdrawal of Australian troops, the war continues in Afghanistan. Picture: Banaras Khan / AFP