|
The Batang Kali massacre was the killing of 24 unarmed villagers by British troops on 12 December 1948 during the Malayan Emergency. The incident occurred during counter-insurgency operations against Malay and Chinese communists in Malaya – then a colony of the British Crown. It was described as "Britain's ''My Lai''" in Christopher Hale's ''Massacre in Malaya: exposing Britain's My Lai''. Despite several investigations by the British government since the 1950s, and a re-examination of the evidence by the Royal Malaysia Police between 1993 and 1997, no charges were brought against any of the alleged perpetrators.〔 ==Background== After World War II, the British returned to Malaya to recover control from Japanese military forces. During the war the British government supported guerrillas that continued to fight in its colony against the Japanese forces. But following VJ Day in August 1945, many resistance units did not completely disband. These groups became the foundation for the independence movement against British rule in Malaya. Some guerrillas turned from agitation to communism and began targeting British commercial interests in the colony by attacking rubber plantations and tin mines. By June 1948, escalating violence and the assassinations of several prominent British landowners led colonial authorities in Malaya to declare an "Emergency". This gave the Malay police and government greater powers and flexibility in combating the insurgents. Although the British had extensive experience in jungle warfare, most recently in the Burma Campaign during World War II, military leaders had not formalized this experience into a specific jungle warfare curriculum.〔(The Other Forgotten War: Understanding atrocities during the Malayan Emergency ), digitalcommons.csbsju.edu; accessed 18 November 2015.〕 As the Malayan conflict continued, the British Army refined its military tactics in jungle conditions. But training, especially in the early days of the Emergency, exposed many British soldiers to the harshness of combat in tropical environments, and they received almost no training about observing the laws of war. The Basic Military Training curriculum in Malaya focused on 'drill, weapons training, gas training, physical training, education, health and religious training'. The newly founded United Nations was mentioned but no discussion of international protocols on the treatment of non-combatants. Even in documents about officer training there is no mention given to civilians. Michael Gilbert, a member of the Suffolk Regiment, said his training "() teaching you how to march, how to handle a rifle, and how to behave in a soldierly manner." Raymond Burdett, another member of the Suffolk Regiment, reflected on his experience; he said the trainers sought "to get us to follow instructions, not to question commands." Basic training for these troops focused on infantry skills, not their ability to judge the appropriateness of orders in the context of international law.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Batang Kali massacre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|