New insurgent leader claims 'changes nothing' for Operation Burnham, co-author Nicky Hager says

Thursday, 20 June 2019

One of the authors of the book that criticised a NZ SAS raid in Afghanistan, Jon Stephenson, has retracted one of the key claims.

A revelation that insurgent commanders were present in villages raided by SAS troopers changes nothing, Hit & Run co-author Nicky Hager says.

The confirmation from the Taliban commanders, published by Stuff and Hit & Run co-author Jon Stephenson on Wednesday, contradicts an account from Afghan villagers that no insurgents were present during the Operation Burnham raids.

But both Hager and villagers' lawyer say the new information confirms the allegation that six civilians were killed and 15 injured in SAS-led raids.

The new information comes two days after the Afghan villagers withdrew from a $7 million Government inquiry inspecting the claims, having lost faith in the process.

Lawyers for Afghan villagers confirm their clients want to end their part in Operation Burnham investigation.

* New Zealand Defence Force conducting untruthful 'PR job' at Operation Burnham inquiry - Hager

* Hit & Run inquiry blasts Nicky Hager and lawyers for holding back witnesses

Hit & Run co-author Nicky Hager arrives at the inquiry into Operation Burnham. (file photo)

* The US government will give inquiry access to key Afghan evidence

* Chief Ombudsman backs NZDF's refusal to release information about Operation Burnham**

In interviews with Stuff, both Qari Miraj and Maulawi Naimatullah said they were in or around the village of Naik during the night raid, which was led by the SAS with US and Afghan allies.

Miraj, Naimatullah, and another senior insurgent, Abdullah Kalta, were wanted by the SAS for their role in the attack on a New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) patrol in Bamiyan three weeks earlier, which killed Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell and injured other soldiers.

The raid first targeted village Khak Khuday Dad, where it is alleged the civilians were killed, before Naik. The commanders are said to have escaped without firing, and confirmed the account that civilians were killed.

Hager said the presence of the commanders in the neighbouring village only confirmed the civilians killed and injured in Khak Khuday Dad were not insurgents themselves.

'It adds to the story of what happened, and it actually reinforces the central allegation of the book, which is about the civilian casualties.

'It was always possible that we didn't have the full story. We were also given the wrong bend of the river for where the villages were.'

The villagers had been emphatic there were no insurgents present, Hager said.

'Jon Stephenson, who was dealing with the villagers, all his sources were in the other village [Khak Khuday Dad] - not the one that [the commanders] were staying in.

'There's two possibilities: one is that they just didn't know, and the other is that they were scared to talk about it.'

Maulawi Naimatullah admitted to being in or around the village of Naik during the night raid.

The lawyer for the Afghan villagers, Deborah Manning, said her clients and their family were killed and injured in Khak Khuday Dad, so the presence of commanders in neighbouring Naik changed nothing.

She could not comment on the inconsistency between the villagers' and commanders' account, without speaking to her clients.

'These are all matters that should have been properly dealt with in an effective inquiry process, so it's beyond me why this is in the media now.'

Attorney General David Parker said it came as no surprise that insurgent commanders have admitted to being in the villages, as he knew 'all was not peaceful' when he ordered the inquiry.

'These are the issues that the inquiry has to get to the bottom of … I think that the accusations that have been made against the armed forces are serious and that it's important that the public have confidence and know what happened.'

A spokesperson for the Defence Force said it would continue to work with the inquiry.

Deborah Manning, representing the former residents of Khak Khuday Dad and Naik villages, during her submissions at the Operation Burnham Inquiry at the High Court in Wellington. (file photo)

Qari Miraj: 'On the night of the operation, I was at Maulawi Naimatullah's house [in Naik] with two of my bodyguards until 11 o'clock.'

The inquiry has been contacted for comment.

AFGHAN VILLAGERS WALK AWAY

On Tuesday, the Afghan villagers walked away from the inquiry, with veteran human rights lawyer Rodney Harrison QC saying they were 'completely disillusioned' with the process.

The inquiry had initially decided not to hear evidence from the villagers before appearing to change its mind and have the villagers travel to Kabul to give evidence by audio-visual link.

That 'flip-flop' further eroded the villagers' trust in the process, lawyers saying they lived below the poverty line and travelling within Afghanistan carried risk.

The Human Rights Foundation said the villagers' decision to pull out was a sad indictment on the way the inquiry had been run.

'It is not for next of kin and family of the villagers who died to beg for New Zealand justice and the right to be heard,' it said.

The inquiry on Tuesday said it remained confident it would 'get to the truth' of what happened in Afghanistan in August 2010.