CANBERRA, Australia, March 1 (UPI) -- A woman told the Australian parliament in Canberra Monday her 19-year-old son killed himself to escape army teasing about his Aboriginal background.
Donna Palmer testified before a Senate committee investigating the death of her son, Damien, who hanged himself at an army base in August 1999.
"Could Damien's life have been saved? I will never know," the mother said, adding her pain was made worse by the difficulty of getting information from the army about her son's death, the Australian reported.
She said her son, who enlisted through an indigenous recruitment program, was singled out for humiliation by a senior soldier. She said the senior soldier told him not to expect any handouts in dealing with the taunts of recruits.
Gen. Peter Cosgrove, defense force chief, told the panel the responsibility for military justice should remain with the armed forces. He said it was through the chain of command young leaders learned the link between responsibility and accountability.
