Police come knocking: Veteran questioned amid burning of service medal
A veteran has been questioned by police before he burnt his service medal in protest against the government’s treatment of Afghan interpreters.
About 100 interpreters and their families are waiting on Australian visas, after assisting troops and diplomats during the war, as the Taliban sweeps across the country.
Retired Major Stuart McCarthy led the campaign, burning his Afghanistan campaign medal before delivering it to the office of his local MP.
Mr McCarthy told Ben Fordham police paid him a visit after a complaint from a federal MP.
“They told me that I was some kind of security threat.
“So I was being questioned on my front verandah … in front of my neighbours, about my mental health, and whether or not I was some kind of terrorist threat to exactly the same country I served almost 30 years of my life.”
He says, “I felt relieved watching that thing go up in flames”.
“I consider it would be a badge of shame to wear it.”
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— Stuart McCarthy (@StuartMcCarthy_) July 19, 2021
Image: Twitter