Domovina Urednistvo
Autor knjige koja donosi istinu o ‘Croatian Six’, poznati novinar Hamish McDonald, prošlog je tjedna održao uspješne Promocije u hrvatskim klubovima u Melbourneu i Geelongu. Prva je stanica bio klub u Footscrayu, na zapadu Melbournea, gdje se pred iseljenicima pojavio ne samo autor knjige , već i Ian Cunliffe, jedan od članova tadašnje državne administracije.
Tijekom događaja, Ian Cunfliffe se ispričao Maxu Bebić zbog svega što je ovaj morao proživjeti. Max je detaljno opisao muke koje je prošao u zatvoru, a to je neke u publici dovelo do – suza. Slijedeća Promocija je 19.5. u Wollongongu, u 13 sati, odmah poslije mise.
Last weekend ‘Reasonable Doubt’ author Hamish McDonald went to Melbourne and Geelong in the final legs of his national launch book launch tour.
First stop was the Croatian Club in Footscray in Melbourne’s west where a crowd of almost 50 people listened intensively to not only Hamish talk about the book and its contents and the challenges of writing it, but they also got treated to something special – an intriguing insight from Ian Cunliffe, one of the most important legal officers’ and high-ranking bureaucrats in the Fraser federal government during the late 1970s.
Cunliffe’s long and distinguished career over-lapped with the Croatian 6 case and as someone who tried very hard to warn and alert NSW Police that this was all a set up staged by the Yugoslav government, he at times got emotional about what he considered was his own personal failure to prevent this miscarriage of justice.
His heartfelt apology to Max Bebic was one of the more touching moments of the night, while Max’s description of his time in prison brought many more to tears.
Regardless, the night was a success, not least of which was due to the huge amount of support, guidance and help we got from Melbourne Croatian Club President Ante Jurica and all his staff.
The following night, the book launch moved to Geelong where a similar-sized crowd at the AHD Stepinac club sat and listened to Hamish explain how he came about to write the book and what he thinks are the next steps to try and overturn the decision of the court way back in 1979.
Overall, some 140 books were sold across Melbourne and Geelong, with many people buying up multiple copies for their friends and family.
A special thank you needs to go out Pejo Maric, AHD Stepinac club president Paul Saric and everyone at AHD Stepinac for the their kindness, help and courtesy.
Lastly, a massive thank you needs to be given to Miro Zanic who has been an important enabler of all of these national events and has given not only myself and Hamish McDonald unwavering support, but has been a huge help to Max Bebic at all the book launch events.
Next stop for the Reasonable Doubt book launch will be the Croatian Catholic Church hall in Figtree (Wollongong) this coming Sunday, May 19 at about 1pm after the Mass.
Branko Miletic
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