(Post by CAAI News Media)
Mark Dodd | October 14, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wants $2946 for the release of information on the fate of two Australian yachtsmen arrested more than 30 years ago by Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge and then jailed, tortured and executed on suspicion they were CIA spies.
Trudy Wiedman, from Sydney, a family friend of one the yachtsmen, Ronald Dean, says DFAT has been stalling for months on the release of files that might finally shed light on the fate of the two men and bring a measure of comfort to family and friends.
The information is not for personal gain but simply to help bring closure to an unresolved 1978 tragedy, Ms Wiedman told The Australian yesterday.
A UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh has provided some new information on the fate of the men after their yacht, Sanuk, was seized by a Khmer Rouge gunboat in the Gulf of Siam in early 1978.
But Ms Wiedman says she believes DFAT's files of the incident could provide more complete answers.
"They (DFAT) want me to publicly explain the reason for waiving the $2946.32 Freedom of Information fee for information about Ron Dean and David Scott," she said.
"And DFAT is a publicly funded department of a publicly funded government.
"There has been no coroner's inquest and there has been no public government inquiry into what happened to the Australians held in Tuol Sleng (extermination centre), only silence and varying levels of disinterest."
In response to queries by The Australian, DFAT defended its decision to charge thousands of dollars for the release of the files but admitted it was within its powers to provide the material free.
"Under the FOI Act, charges can be waived if the release would be in the public interest, if financial hardship can be demonstrated, or for any other reason," a spokeswoman said.
"The department ensures that FOI applicants are aware that they can apply for the charges to be waived."
The official correspondence file on the yachties comprises more than 500 documents, of which 81 will not be released on the grounds of national security, Ms Wiedman said.
After submitting an FOI application on August 19, she was contacted by DFAT, which demanded confirmation of her relationship to Dean's family, which was provided in the form of a statutory declaration signed by his wife.
"So, thus far, there has been three letters, three telephone conversations, one statement from the family but DFAT continues to delay the process," she said.
Ms Wiedman last week applied for a fee waiver but is yet to receive an answer from DFAT.
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