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Local author’s dismay as families of Malaysian 'massacre' victims lose fight for official probe
“We all make mistakes. The healing process requires a grain of remorse,” says Cyprus-based veteran of Malayan emergency.
A BRITISH author has expressed his dismay after campaigners seeking a judicial inquiry into the killing of 24 male villagers in Malaya by British troops over 60 years ago lost their fight at London's High Court earlier this week.
The allegations relate to an incident that took place in 1948, when a patrol from the Scots Guards allegedly shot dead 24 unarmed men before setting fire to their village.
On Tuesday, British judges upheld a government decision not to hold a public hearing into the alleged massacre in the former colony.
Larnaca-based author Barry Wynne, 84, who was an infantry platoon commander in Malaya at the same time, told the Sunday Mail that the ruling will come as a bitter blow for those that have campaigned for an apology.
“Really, beyond any doubt, the incident at Batang Kali was absolutely unlawful, for whatever reasons, the suspected insurgents were definitely unarmed, whichever version you consider. It seems to me that there should be some kind of apology - an official apology,” he said.
Wynne has been in frequent contact with John Halford, a solicitor representing the relatives, providing background information into conditions in the country at the time.
Accusations of an act of appalling brutality by the British on that fateful day in 1948 refuse to vanish. At the time, Malaya was Britain's rubber and tin rich colony and the authorities faced a brutal guerrilla war in the jungle from Mau-backed Chinese communists, fighting to overthrow their rule.
It was estimated that during the late 40s more than 7,000 battle-hardened Communist guerrillas were active all over Malaya, killing some 3,000 unarmed citizens and 2,000 police and soldiers.
Many of the young British conscripts argue they were sent to a ‘kill or be killed’ situation, with the uncertainties of jungle warfare ranging from subversion to sabotage, from booby traps to base infiltration and the constant threat of sniper fire.
What happened in Batang Kali was different. Witnesses maintain that British troops entered their village, separated the adult men from the women and children and then marched the men into the dense jungle and shot them dead.
The British version of events was different.
They claimed the men were Chinese terrorists and were gunned down trying to escape. This version was accepted by the British authorities which stated two weeks after the incident: “After careful consideration of the evidence and a personal visit to where the incident occurred, the Attorney general is satisfied that the suspects would have made good their escape had the security forces not opened fire. It is not proposed to take any further action in the incident.”
Wynne was several hundred miles away deep in the jungle on the day of the shootings, but says all British troops were experiencing pretty intense jungle fighting, often at extremely close quarters.
“I was shot at three times in 24 hours at less than ten paces, which was stimulating,” Wynne remarked wryly.
In his latest book A King’s Shilling, which covers much of the Malayan crisis, he states that just days after the incident, rumours were rife that something untoward had happened at Batang Kali.
“It was no longer being claimed as a victory. Looking back, the alleged massacre at Batang Kali, over sixty years ago, has not been satisfactorily resolved. It occurred at a highly stressful time only months after the demobilisation of Britain's wartime army, which had been replaced by a new, mostly conscript soldiery, now operating over a huge territory comprising mountain ranges rising to six thousand feet and four fifths covered in virgin jungle. It took place exactly coincidentally even to the week, when I was leading a patrol of the Devon Regiment, we were desperately searching for our lost patrol,” Wynne wrote in his book.
The alleged incident was the subject of two separate investigations at the time, one by the military authorities and one by the civil authorities in Malaya. An additional Scotland Yard inquiry in 1970 into the incident was dropped, with critics describing the probes as being a cover up.
“The Foreign Office have for years been very carefully trying to dodge the issue, and the reason for that is because one can well understand that the many cans of worms from Kenya and other situations could prove very embarrassing once these incidents start being examined in retrospect,” Wynne added.
The deadly game of hide-and-seek continued in the Malayan jungles into the 1950s, with the battle against Communists costing the British 150,000 dollars a day. The country finally gained independence from Britain in 1957, but Wynne insists that even though so much time has elapsed since Batang Kali, an apology should be forthcoming.
“The Republic of Malaysia is an esteemed member of our Commonwealth,” he said. “Is it too much to expect that our Mother of Parliaments, with all its personal failings at present, might not advise Her Majesty the Queen, on their behalf, to issue a Royal Proclamation to simply say, 'Please forgive us this incident. We are deeply sorry'. And pay nominal compensation as requested by the petitioners.
“We all make mistakes. The healing process requires a grain of remorse… and a plea for forgiveness. Without that element there is no future for humanity.”
After Tuesday's ruling, a British government spokesman said: "This was clearly a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our sympathy to the families and survivors for the loss of life and suffering.
"We have always said that a public inquiry would not be able to reach any credible conclusions given the length of time passed.”
John Halford, a solicitor representing the relatives called on the government to "do the right thing" and "end the ongoing injustices at the heart of this case".
A King’s Shilling by Barry Wynne is published by Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie and is available in book shops and online retailers.