Balibo Five

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The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian television networks who were based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor who were killed on October 16, 1975 by Indonesian troops mounting incursions, prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor on December 7 that year.^[1]

1 The group
2 Advocacy
3 2007 Inquest into death of Brian Peters
4 Proposed feature film
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] The group

The group was made up of two Australians, reporter Greg Shackleton, 27, and sound recordist Tony Stewart, 21, and a New Zealander, cameraman Gary Cunningham, 27, for HSV-7 (Seven Network) in Melbourne, and two Britons, cameraman Brian Peters, 29, and reporter Malcolm Rennie, 28, working for TCN-9 (Nine Network) in Sydney.^[1]^[2]^[3]

While the men were aware that Indonesian troops were to mount an attack on the town, they believed that as Australian journalists, they would not be considered military targets. Greg Shackleton was filmed painting an Australian flag and the word 'AUSTRALIA' on the wall of a house.^[1] Other footage shows the journalists shirtless and consuming alcoholic drinks, brought by them in an esky, in a town already deserted by the East Timorese – circumstances indicating more than a dangerous complacency.

The Indonesian military justified its killing of the camera crews on the grounds that they were 'communists', and sympathisers with the FRETILIN party in Portuguese Timor; however most historians think they were killed to prevent them exposing the Indonesian incursions. The men's remains were taken to Jakarta for burial, without the consent of their families.

[edit] Advocacy

Greg Shackleton's widow, Shirley, became an outspoken supporter of East Timor's fight for independence in Australia. Other relatives were so traumatised by the event that for many years they did not pursue the matter any further. It was not until 1994, that Brian Peters' sister, Maureen Tolfree, became involved with the East Timor issue, having heard of a demonstration in her home town of Bristol against the sale of BAE Hawk fighter jets to Indonesia.^[4]

Malcolm Rennie's mother, Minna, later became involved with the issue until her death, as did his cousin Margaret Wilson.^[5]

In 2006, the International Press Institute sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to express concern that UN investigators had failed to fully investigate the deaths of the Balibo Five, as well as 3 other journalists killed in Timor-Leste in 1975 and 1999, and to request that the UN reopen their investigations.^[3]

[edit] 2007 Inquest into death of Brian Peters

This section documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

On 5 February, 2007, the NSW Coroner's Court began an inquest into the death of Brian Peters.^[6] Prior to the start of the inquest, in January, 2007, there was media debate regarding some Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) documents that appear to suggest the then Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, gave approval to the Indonesian military for the killing of the journalists. Mr Whitlam denies this.

On the first day of the inquest, Yunus Yosfiah, former Minister for Information in the Habibie Government in Indonesia in 1998 and 1999, was alleged to have led the attack in Balibo, in 1975. Allegations of the journalists' bodies being placed, after death, into military uniforms and posed with weapons to make them appear active in the fighting were raised by counsel assisting Dorelle Pinch, the deputy state coroner. Media reports claim that an Indonesian military radio communication, "As directed or in accordance with your instructions, five journalists have been located and shot", was intercepted by DSD in 1975 and will be presented by two witnesses^[6].

An eyewitness account describes seeing the men with their arms raised before shots were fired (by Indonesian special forces).

"At this point Indonesian Army Captain Yunus Yosfiah and his team shot the journalists who were unarmed with their hands in the air," a police witness statement said.

"I saw them shoot. A lot of them were firing. They fired towards the white people."

According to the evidence, the fifth Balibo victim locked himself in a bathroom but was stabbed in the back with a special forces knife when he emerged.

[edit] Proposed feature film

A feature film about the killing of the men, to be called The Balibo Five, is under development by Arena Films in Australia, with Robert Connolly as director and David Williamson as screenwriter.^[7] The film is to be based on Cover-Up, by Jill Joliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed. The book has been a source of controversy because of its criticism of some of the people involved in the campaign for justice.^[8]