Balibo Five
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian commercial television networks who were murdered in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.
[3] After the ruling, newly elected Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd declared "those responsible should be held to account... You can't just sweep this to one side".
The house that the Balibo five resided in was owned by a Chinese family, who had fled across the border as refugees to the neighbouring Indonesian village of Atumbua.
[1][6][7][8] While the men were aware that Indonesian troops were to mount an attack on the town of Balibo, they believed that, as journalists, they would not be considered military targets.
However, in contrast to the Balibo incident, the killing of Roger East:"took place in an urban area with a number of uninvolved persons in close proximity.
In relation to Roger East, I have concluded that it is more likely than not he was summarily executed by an unidentified Indonesian soldier late on the morning of December 8, 1975, in the wharf area of Dili".Shirley Shackleton (1931–2023),[12] widow of Greg, led the campaign for an enquiry into the killings.
[5]In 1994, 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.
[citation needed] Stewart worked as a consultant on the 2009 film Balibo, saying that it was a difficult but rewarding experience, and that it was one that finally presented the truth to the world.
Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Xenophon stated: "Declassified Australian intelligence records show that the Indonesian high command was very alarmed about the international diplomatic consequences of killing the Balibo Five, and called a halt to its military operations for five weeks.
[17] Although he was a British citizen, lawyers for the journalists' families successfully argued that, as Peters was a resident of New South Wales at the time of his death, NSW jurisdiction applied.
Allegations were also raised that the journalists' bodies were dressed post-mortem in military uniforms and posed with weapons to make them appear to have taken an active part in the fighting.
Mark Tedeschi QC, in his closing statement to the inquest, stated, "There is incontrovertible evidence, including eyewitness accounts, that Indonesian troops deliberately killed the Balibo five newsmen.
[18] The NSW coroner investigating held that "The Balibo Five ... were shot and/or stabbed deliberately, and not in the heat of battle" in order to silence them from exposing Indonesia's 1975 East Timor invasion.
[20] Professor Ben Saul, who acted for the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) at the NSW inquiry, said there are "complexities" in the legal situation relating to prosecuting a war crime.
[22] When the War Correspondents Memorial was opened in September 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: "Our democracy depends on a free and courageous press.
[23] A feature film about the killing of the men, called Balibo, was produced in 2009 by Arenafilm, Australia, written by David Williamson and directed by Robert Connolly.
[26][27] The Balibo killings episode was also fictionalised for the opening sequence of the 1982 film Brothers, written by Roger Ward and directed by Terry Bourke.
[29] Coinciding with the play's premiere season, on 20 May 2012, East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta presented Paul Stewart with a medal of merit awarded posthumously to his brother Tony.
