Archival rescue 70 ~ Iraq ABC

An ABC transcript relating to Private Kovco and Juso Sinanovic's body swap, archives 68 and 69.

Bosnian man's body returned home following defence bungle
Josie Taylor
PM - Friday, 12 May , 2006 18:34:00 ABC

MARK COLVIN: The family of the Bosnian carpenter whose body was mistakenly flown to Australia from Iraq say the Australian Government never contacted them throughout their ordeal.

Juso Sinanovic died of a brain haemorrhage in Baghdad nearly one month ago.

His 21-year-old daughter Jasmina says that during that time, no one from the Australian Government or the Defence Force made contact with her family.

In an interview with a Melbourne based investigative journalist, Jasmina Sinanovic said her father's funeral could now be held, after his body finally arrived in Bosnia.

Josie Taylor reports.

JOSIE TAYLOR: Very early this morning, on a crackly phone line from Sarajevo, 21-year-old Jasmina Sinanovic spoke for the first time to an Australian about her father's death.

She said the sole reason carpenter Juso Sinanovic left home to work in Iraq, was to provide for his children.

Jasmina Sinanovic spoke to investigative journalist Tess Lawrence, from Melbourne's community radio station RPH.

JASMINA SINANOVIC: He was a nice person, he was kind, he just wanted to help everybody, and the only reason he went to work in Iraq was just to get a better future for us, for his kids, and that's the only reason because all his life the only thing that he was doing, everything that was doing was just for us and because of us.

JOSIE TAYLOR: But while he was working as a carpenter for Halliburton subsidiary Kellog Brown and Root, Juso Sinanovic died of a brain haemorrhage.

Instead of his body being returned straight home for a Muslim burial, in Kuwait it was mistaken for that of Australian solider Private Jacob Kovko and flown to Australia.

Jasmina Sinanovic says that bungle has caused her family immense distress.

JASMINA SINANOVIC: They took the body and they transported it to Australia. It was really, really hard for us. It's hard to explain the feelings, the emotions, that all this time that we have been through is very hard.

You just don't have any kinds of words to express what you are feeling. It's very hard and painful.

JOSIE TAYLOR: The 21-year-old says the company that employed her father in Iraq has been in constant contact with her family, and sent an employee to speak to the family personally.

But she told Tess Lawrence, at no stage has the family heard from Australian authorities.

JASMINA SINANOVIC: No, nothing. They didn't contact us at all, nobody. Even the ambassador or… nobody.

TESS LAWRENCE: Nobody has called you?

JASMINA SINANOVIC: If you can believe, nobody.

TESS LAWRENCE: Am I the first person that's called you?

JASMINA SINANOVIC: Yes, you are.

In some way I was surprised when I heard that you say that you are from Australia, because nobody called us, nobody contacted us, so we didn't expect anybody to.

JOSIE TAYLOR: Jasmina Sinanovic said her father's body has now arrived back in Bosnia, and a funeral service will be held as soon as possible in her father's home town of Jurjevic.

MARK COLVIN: Josie Taylor.

A spokesman for the Defence Minister Brendan Nelson told PM that a senior defence official was in constant contact with Bosnian officials in Australia throughout the process of repatriation.

Archival rescue 69 ~ Iraq, ABC

An ABC report, related to SMH archive 68.

Defence groups welcome Kovco report
Saturday, July 8, 2006. 7:20am (AEST) ABC

The nation's major defence bodies have backed moves to overhaul the repatriation of Australian soldiers who are killed overseas.

An inquiry into the return of Private Jake Kovco's body from Iraq has identified a series of mistakes.

Private Kovco's body was confused with that of a Bosnian carpenter, and the wrong coffin was brought to Australia from Iraq earlier this year.

The inquiry found the wrong body was brought home, despite being clearly labelled as another man.

Defence chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, says the mistakes will not be repeated.

RSL national president Major General Bill Crews says he hopes that is the case.

"Of course nobody can make iron-clad guarantees in this respect but I think this will overcome certainly the difficulties that arose in this case," he said.

In the future tighter regulations will mean the return of bodies will take longer.

The Defence Association's Neil James says commonsense should be applied.

"We think it's probably more important they get back quickly, than necessarily they need to come back just in a RAAF aircraft," he said.

Mr James says he is pleased disciplinary action will not be taken against the soldier who made the wrong identification.

"It was a badly lit morgue, the digger in question was emotionally affected, the surname of both Private Kovco and the Bosnian fellow are not dissimilar, they both had head injuries," he said.

"I mean, tragic though the mistake was, I think we can all understand how it happened and sympathise with the digger in question and certainly the Kovco and Small families don't hold it against him."

Private Kovco was the first Australian soldier to die during the deployment to Iraq.

Another inquiry, into how he died, resumes on Monday.

Archival rescue 68 ~ Iraq

A dog ate our tag.

Kovco mix-up: they missed the name tag
Cynthia Banham Defence Reporter
July 8, 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

THE botched repatriation of the body of Private Jake Kovco could have been avoided if anyone had bothered to check the cardboard tag attached to the corpse and presented to the Australian Army for identification.

On that tag was written the name "Juso Sinanovic" - the Bosnian whose body was flown to Australia by mistake - and Sinanovic's passport number.

The Australian Defence Force yesterday released the final seven-page executive summary, findings and recommendations of an inquiry by Brigadier Elizabeth Cosson into the mix-up, which followed Private Kovco's death from a gunshot wound to the head in Baghdad on April 21.

Brigadier Cosson found the army had tried to get the body home too quickly to meet the wishes of Private Kovco's family, so used a commercial mortuary and aircraft rather than military ones. The Americans take eight days; the Australians were trying to do it in four.

It was also out of practice in repatriating bodies, because so few Defence Force members have died in recent years, and its doctrine covering the use of foreign mortuaries was out of date.

The brigadier found the incorrect body was placed before Private Kovco's platoon sergeant by mortuary workers, who then wrongly identified it for a number of reasons, including poor lighting and crowding. The platoon sergeant also had too close a relationship with Private Kovco, and was not in the right "state of mind" to be doing the task.

However, she said: "Against these factors, it is unfortunate that no one examined the body with sufficient care to notice a cardboard tag attached to the hand bearing the name Juso Sinanovic and his passport number."

The Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said he had accepted all of Brigadier Cosson's 28 recommendations, and would implement them alongside changes already made in repatriation procedures.

He said he had not recommended disciplinary action against either the platoon sergeant - whose name he asked not be published, because the man had "suffered enough" - or the brigadier. The sergeant should not have been put in such a difficult position, and "if we had our time over again we would obviously use a different individual".

Of Brigadier Cosson - who mislaid her report in an airport in May, with its early contents then being broadcast on radio - the chief said he had referred her case to a senior army officer, who would "decide what action to take".

He said he was "totally confident she has got a career in the army. I see this as a human error, I see this as something she has apologised for. She is really upset about the fact this happened".

The Defence Force does not plan to release the full report until after the completion of a military board of inquiry into Private Kovco's death.

Archival rescue 67 ~ Iraq

Not an SMH article, an AP one. I'm archiving it here because it relates to something I am following, including an article I archivily rescued in February 2005.

Britain confirms security in Muthana to be handed over
Australia and Japan will also transfer responsibility in Iraqi province

June 28, 2006 21:14 (KST) London The Associated Press (apwire)

Britain, Australia and Japan will hand over responsibility for security in Iraq's southern Muthana province to Iraqi forces, Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said Monday.

Blair's official spokesman did not specify when the handover would occur, but said Iraq would take control of both civil institutions and security in the province as troops from Australia, Britain and Japan continue moving toward a support role.

"It is a significant step on the way to Iraq taking control of its own destiny, and therefore we welcome it," the spokesman said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy.

Britain has about 170 troops in the province. They may be redeployed to other areas of Iraq rather than brought home when they leave Muthana, the Ministry of Defense said.

Japan has about 600 troops doing humanitarian work in Muthana's capital, Samawah, and they are guarded by about 460 Australian soldiers.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne has acknowledged that Maysan province, where Britain has 1,000 troops, is likely to be handed over soon after the transfer in Muthana.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced shortly after taking office on May 20 that Iraqi security forces would start assuming full responsibility for some provinces and cities this month, beginning an 18-month process leading to the eventual withdrawal of all coalition forces.

News reports in Japan said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would announce the withdrawal of the country's troops from Iraq on Tuesday, but he says he has not yet decided when to bring Japanese soldiers home.

BETH GARDINER
2006 OhmyNews