Soldier hero Willie Apiata is unlikely to return soon to New Zealand despite his identity being revealed as one of the army's elite Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers in Afghanistan.
Apiata was photographed on the streets of Afghanistan capital Kabul after Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the city this week.
The New Zealand soldiers were helping Afghanistan forces restore and keep order.
The photograph of a bearded Apiata and another New Zealand soldier was taken by photographer Philip Poupin and published in The New Zealand Herald today.
Apiata's identity was confirmed by Prime Minister John Key, but he said no decision had been made on whether the two soldiers would leave Afghanistan now.
"I think it's unlikely that Willie Apiata would return to New Zealand before the end of this rotation. At the end of the day, people knew he was in the SAS and there was always the chance people might take the view that he might be back there," he said.
With the notable exception of Apiata, the army fiercely protects the identities of its elite SAS troops to prevent them from becoming special targets - but there is no law preventing the news media from publishing or broadcasting images.
Instead the media has observed an unwritten convention, refraining from identifying SAS personnel.
The acting editor of the Herald wouldn't be interviewed on camera, but told 3 News the photograph was published because it was in a public place, and the only reason the paper hadn't already published identifiable pictures of the SAS in action was because it had never before had the opportunity.
The British news media are legally prevented from identification of special forces troops, but there is no plan for a similar system here.
"I don't think we would go that far… and we'd obviously actively encourage the media to show editorial discretion and to be sensible about what pictures they publish, because these are the real lives of New Zealanders that we're concerned about," says Mr Key.
"Certainly if he wanted to come home now, we would allow him to.
"He's probably the most high profile New Zealand member of the SAS and his face has been plastered across the world's media.
"When we sent the SAS back to Kabul, it was always going to be a much more high profile deployment. On that basis, they were much more likely to be seen and to be photographed. We were aware of that when we made that decision but we were comfortable with it.
"A high level of secrecy around the SAS is needed. The Taliban and al Qaeda were always aware they were there so there was no secret that the New Zealand SAS were in Kabul. But we don't want them to know the names and individual identities of members of the SAS because of the nature of some of their operations, and they would be at a greater risk if they can be identified," Mr Key added.
The publication of the photograph put Apiata's life and the lives of other SAS soldiers at risk, he said.
Mr Key said it was a poor editorial decision by the Herald.
"I'm very disappointed about The New Zealand Herald's decision to publish the photograph of New Zealand SAS soldiers. It would have been preferable if they'd taken a decision to black out their faces," he told reporters in Auckland today.
"People were aware that Willie Apiata chose to stay on in the SAS, that was a decision he made after he was awarded the Victoria Cross, and the quite considerable publicity that he got as a result of that tremendous honour.
"We gave Willie Apiata the choice about whether or not he wanted to return to Afghanistan, and he made it quite clear that he did want to return and was one of the first to go back to Afghanistan," Mr Key said.
He added that he thought Apiata and the other soldier pictured would be aware that the photographs had been published.
He said there had been considerable discussions with the New Zealand Defence Force today.
3 News / NZPA
source: newshub archive
