Slain soldier's mother attacks 'selfish' politicians

By JEREMY REES

The mother of Private Leonard Manning, killed on patrol in East Timor, has written an open letter to the Government saying she is disgusted by politicians who use her son's name to score political points.

In a blunt letter to Defence Minister Mark Burton and Prime Minister Helen Clark, Linda Manning calls for more money for the military, which she says is suffering "archaic equipment and poor wages" while billions of dollars is given to "third generation welfare beneficiaries".

She is also scathing about politicians - whom she does not name - who have used her son's name to score political points in debates about defence spending.

"Politicians who attend military funerals and Anzac parades and then stand in the way of allowing our Government and defence leaders to provide the very best for those who daily continue to risk their lives in the service of this country disgust me.

"How dare they use his name for their own selfish ends and political agendas."

She told the Herald she began the letter after watching a televised debate on the future of defence.

"I couldn't sleep that night. I got up at 4 am and began to write."

The result is a three-page open letter which talks of the pain of losing a son 13 months ago, her anger at the "self-seeking squabbling of ignorant politicians" and the urgent need to re-equip the Army.

She wrote: "I have read and heard the arguments regarding the cost of equipping our defence forces, and have been totally disgusted by the blame-seeking and point-scoring antics displayed by certain journalists, politicians and others.



"In the meantime, our soldiers wait for much-needed vital equipment."

Mrs Manning told the Herald that she had wanted to speak out since her son joined the Army.

"When they are in the Army they can't say anything about the poor pay and the archaic equipment. They can't complain. They are obedient to the Government. They have no one to speak for them.

"Now I can speak out. I can do something for Leonard now that I couldn't do when he was alive."

In her letter she says that while she did not vote for the Labour-Alliance Government she supports it because it is re-equipping the Army.



She tells politicians: "For goodness' sake forget your posturing and blame-seeking and get on with the job of equipping our Army properly and allowing it to get on with the job that it does so well."

Private Manning was killed by militia fighters while on patrol near the West Timor border in July last year during a term as a peacekeeper in East Timor.



In November, the Army will fly the family to East Timor to visit the place where he was killed.



A spokesman for Mr Burton said the minister had met Linda Manning and her husband, Charlie, who live in Waikato.

He said the minister understood their frustration and anger at the politicking over defence upgrades.

LINDA MANNING'S PLEA

Extracts from the letter to Mark Burton and Helen Clark:

"You do not have to listen to the gut-wrenching tears of a mother who hugged her young man goodbye and welcomed him home in a casket a few short weeks later. You do not have to gaze upon a gravestone that says "Killed in Action" and read your own son's name.

"I do have to, because I am that mother and our pain does not go away. It will remain with us for the rest of our lives until we are all reunited again as a family forever. This lifetime anguish is the price Army families must be prepared to pay.

"What price will you pay who stand in the way of providing for the needs of our soldiers and their families? Shame on you who hinder the provision of long-overdue and basic necessities for our armed forces ...

"For goodness' sake forget your posturing and blame-seeking and get on with the job of equipping our Army properly and allowing it to get on with the job it does so well ... "