Vietnam Veterans Day on Thursday, August 18, will take on even more significance this year, being the 50th anniversary since the Battle of Long Tan.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is now trying to make contact with his counterpart in Vietnam, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has also sought out Vietnam’s foreign minister to complain.
Small groups will still be able to access the site on Thursday.
The anniversary has become Australia’s official Vietnam Veterans Day.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Labor was “bitterly disappointed” at Vietnam’s decision and supports the Turnbull government for registering “its deep concerns”.
Exact numbers of North Vietnamese losses have never been released but estimates based on conversations between veterans of both sides suggest more than 600 were killed in the action.
The ceremony at the Long Tan Cross site was scheduled for 3.30pm on Thursday.
Tehan said he was bitterly disappointed at the decision which he said “should not have occurred”.
Mr Tehan said the government was of the view that the decision was not linked to any other issue in the relationship between Vietnam and Australia.
“For us to be given such short notice of the cancellation is, to put it in very frank terms, a kick in the guts”, Mr Tehan told reporters in Canberra.
Today the courage and determination shown by the men of D Company, and the many who rallied to their support, has come to represent all who fought in the war. “That’s why, for 18 months, we’ve been working with you – to make sure that those sensitivities were addressed”.
“When they hear this news, and tomorrow, there’s going to be some fallout from it”, he said. We always treated them with dignity.
Dennis Humphrys said the anniversary of the Battle was a time for all people affected to come together, commemorate and mourn.
It’s not just a sense of closure that is bringing Vietnam War veterans back to the country, others have decided that the relaxed culture in Vietnam is more aligned to their lifestyle needs and wants, especially as they begin to feel left behind by a rapidly changing society in Australia.
Vietnamese counterpart but it was not yet know if this discussion would take place.
Advertisement
He said it was understood Ms Bishop’s request to speak to the Vietnamese Foreign Minister had been approved.
