PM Transcripts

ii AUST ALIA
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MIEDIA TUESDAY, 28 AUGUST 1979
LORD LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN
Lord Louis Mountbatten gave a lifetime of service to the
United Kingdom. He joined the Royal Navy in 1913 and
ended his military career as Chairman of the Chiefs of
Staff Committee in 1965, spanning more than half a century.
During the Second World War he was commander of forces which
played a major role in the liberation of South East Asia
and Burma.
Lord Louis Mountbatten was, however, more than a military
commander. He was a most distinguished servant of peace and
of the modern Commonwealth. He negotiated the independence
of India for the United Kingdom and remained to become
India's Governor-General. Until very recent times he was
President of the United World Colleges. The objective of the
United World Colleges is to bring young men and women of
different nations together for the last years of schooling,
the purpose being to create understanding between peoples
and between nations, to avoid the fear and hatred that
can lead to war.
He was a great military commander. He understood the ultimaLe
futility of war and the need to try and build a more
secure world. I doubt if any man has given greater service
to the United Kingdom or to the wider cause of mankind during
the last half century. That Lord Louis Mountbatten and
his grandson should be murdered in a violent and callous act
of terrorism is a stark and horrible reminder of the total
ruthlessness and indiscriminate terror with which modern
political murderers pursue their cause.
That somebody who had done so much could be killed towards the
end of a long and constructive life emphasises the futility
and barbarity of violence. Lord Louis Mountbatten had done
so much for peace. On behalf of the Government and people
of Australia I convey my deepest sympathy and sorrow to
his family, to her Majesty the Queen and to the British people.
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