The latest in a VERY long saga of injustice

In the 1988 film "A Cry in the Dark" (also called "Evil Angels"), Lindy Chamberlain was played by Meryl Streep

Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton wants her daughter Azaria's death certificate to record how she died - and not the open finding that remains 30 years to the day since she was taken by a dingo.

In an emotional letter to what she calls "Open-Minded Australians", Lindy wants the Northern Territory government to have the courage to finally record a cause of death and let Azaria rest.

She says that it is Azaria who has been denied justice. "Our family will always remember today as the day truth was dragged in the dirt and trampled upon, but more than that it is the day our family was torn apart forever because we lost our beautiful little Azaria," she says in the letter released by her agent, Lauren Miller Cilento. "She will always ever be what this ongoing fight for justice has been all about. She deserves justice.

"In light of all the evidence before the commission this should be reflected on her death certificate and not the open finding that is there now."

Despite three inquests, a trial, Lindy's conviction for murder that was overturned and the country's first Commission of Inquiry, the death of Azaria remains officially unsolved. The police file is still officially open, the last inquest in 1995 recorded an open verdict, finding the cause of death as "unknown".

The 1987 commission, headed by Justice Trevor Morling, exonerated the Chamberlains. Their daughter was taken by a dingo from the family's tent while the family camped at what was then known as Ayres Rock - now Uluru.

"It is not like the eyewitnesses are dead or that there was not a recommendation from the Royal Commission and the NT Supreme Court who quashed our convictions," says Lindy, who is currently overseas. "It would not take more taxpayers money to do it. These courts were exhaustive, why not adopt their recommendations and stop wasting everyones time, money and intelligence?

"Lindy or a dingo was the NT claim. Their own Commission proved it was not me, as I had told them all along, so why don't they accept their own claim now? It makes one wonder are they really after the truth, or just too stubborn or proud to admit that a mistake has been made.

"Who knows the reason, but most of all please do not forget that a beautiful little girl died tragically on this date thirty years ago."

Convicted by a nation before even a trial had been held, Lindy says people should get a backbone and stop their obession with gossip. She says she has forgiven "everyone involved in creating the fiasco of the last thirty years and the public so willing to believe the worst and spread nasty rumours", including the police and politicians.

But despite that, she's still tough on those who believed in her guilt. "Come on Australia. Surely you cannot be proud of the fact that you can let yourself be duped again and again and come back for more of the same," she says.

"We used to be a proud nation who saw through corruption and were willing to give a fair go. How many times do you have to be hoodwinked and led along by the nose before you demand something better from our courts, police force, politicians and media?"

Original report here



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