(Observer Network News) The 78-year-old Australian diplomat who once served the country could not have imagined in any case that the retired self wanted to exert his residual heat to offer advice and suggestions, and he would be "forked" by his prime minister's bodyguard one day.
According to Australian SBS TV reported on the 12th local time, Trevor Sofield, a former diplomat of Australia in the Solomon Islands (hereinafter referred to as "the country"), angrily complained that he tried to reflect to Australian Prime Minister Morrison in person the mistakes made by the government in handling diplomatic relations with the country, and was "rudely blocked" by security personnel. Video from the scene showed the emaciated old man being caught between the left and right by a number of tall and strong bodyguards, and almost fell down between pushes and shoves.
This happened at a time when Morrison was canvassing for the election, and it quickly set off the anger of Australian netizens, and the "#IHateMorrison" (I hate Morrison) hashtag was quickly swept up in the country's Twitter hits.
According to the latest news from the British media Sky News Network on the 13th, Morrison excused himself that he did not see Trevor at all, nor did he know that the other party had diplomatic work history in the host country, and he was just following the instructions of the security team, "When they said I should leave, I would leave." ”
Trevor Sofield
According to Australian media reports such as SBS TELEVISION and the Sydney Morning Herald, the incident occurred at Morrison's campaign rally in northern Tasmania on the 12th, when he was making the final canvassing sprint for the Australian election to begin on the 21st. Seeing the situation, Trevor stepped forward to exchange views with him on the issue of diplomatic relations between the Australian government and the host country.
Trevor Sofield, who served as High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands from 1982 to 1985, was one of Australia's first representatives in the host country and one of the first to develop the country's diplomatic strategy toward the host country, not only experienced but also well versed in the local situation.
Ever since China and the Solomon Islands signed a "Bilateral Cooperation Framework Agreement" to help the latter maintain social order, protect local Chinese expatriates, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response to the country, Australia and the United States, which are accustomed to hegemony in the South Pacific region, have always regarded the cooperation between China and the Two countries as a "threat" and even threatened to take measures against the country to force them to cut off cooperation with China.
But in Trevor's view, the country made this decision precisely because the Australian government made a big mistake in handling diplomatic relations with the country - ignoring the voices of many South Pacific countries, including the country, for peaceful and stable development.
However, the retired veteran diplomat, before he could say this, "died before he could get out of the army" - he was strictly guarded by the security personnel, and he could not get close to Morrison's body, don't submit it for talks, and the latter did not even return to his head.
Pushed and shoved, Trevor nearly tripped over a rock on the side of the road
Video from the scene showed the emaciated old man being caught between the left and right by a number of tall and strong bodyguards, and almost fell down between pushes and shoves.
Trevor later described the scene to the media, saying that he had only taken a few steps in the direction of Morrison when he was surrounded by two tall men. The other party grabbed him and pushed him away, forcing Trevor to ask helplessly: "I want to talk to the prime minister, what do you push me to do?" I just wanted to have a word with the Prime Minister. ”
Just like this from the room all the way to the parking lot, Trevor finally looked at the long motorcade and was angry, directly to the reporter at the scene, complaining that Morrison's security team had almost committed a crime because the incident was in a public area, and he thought that these security personnel should not be so arrogant to prevent him from reflecting his views to Morrison.
Trevor said: "I am very disappointed by the rough behavior of morrison's security team, and [what just happened] really disturbs me. He stressed that australia, now losing its position in the South Pacific, can provide experience and insight as one of the architects of its former diplomatic strategy towards the host country.
"It should be a free country, and if that's what our democracy is like, that's a really sad thing." Australian media said Trevor was almost trembling with anger when he said this, "An ordinary citizen cannot talk to a prime minister who is visiting voters, which kind of election is this, and what kind of country is this?!" ”
After calming down a bit, Trevor also confided in reporters about Australia's foreign policy, saying bluntly that he would not vote for Morrison and the Liberal Party he represented because they had messed up Relations between Australia and the Solomon Islands.
Trevor criticised Australia for ignoring the needs of South Pacific countries, including its own countries, not only visiting them often, but also reducing its aid there, "Foreign Minister Payne has not been since 2019." He noted that even though Australia announced a large aid program in 2016 to support countries in the region, the project came too late and very little was actually given to countries.
He also revealed that he had sought help from Australia before the outbreak of the epidemic in his country, but was refused. When learning about the situation, the head of the Australian side gave Trevor a sentence at that time, and the other party actually said, "We are not interested in helping those annoying small countries, they can take care of themselves." ”
What struck Trevor most incredibly was that the administration was so "incompetent" that it was completely unaware of cooperation, "We didn't know in advance what happened in the Solomon Islands this time, and it couldn't have happened before." ”
He argues that Australia should restructure its relationships with South Pacific countries, redesign ways of working with very different people and different aid programs, and sit down to listen to people who truly understand the South Pacific.
The incident immediately set off the anger of Australian netizens, and the relevant news and the hashtag of "#IHateMorrison" (I hate Morrison) were quickly swept up in Australia's Twitter hot trend, and the overwhelming scolding was accusing Morrison of abusing public power to "bully" the old diplomat.
According to the latest news from the British media Sky News Network on the 13th, Morrison, who held a campaign rally in Melbourne on the same day, could not escape public criticism, but he exonerated that he had not seen Trevor at all, and did not know that the other party had diplomatic work history in the host country before this, claiming that he was taken away from the venue only to comply with the safety instructions of the security team, "When they said I should leave, I would leave." ”
Pressed further on "whether this is the way the prime minister treats a former national servant" and whether he can clarify "whether security guards work to protect them from personal danger or from political embarrassment," Morrison sidestepped the question of disrespectful treatment of former diplomats, stressing only the importance of complying with safety protocols and that his security team was professional.
Morrison then addressed Australia's diplomatic relations in the Pacific, referring to his first meeting with Fijian Prime Minister Mbaynimama. He said he admitted to him that Australia had behaved like a "colonial ruler" in the Pacific in the past, did not respect the people of the Pacific region, and would continue to work with Pacific leaders to solve national security issues in the future.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.