Indonesian officials believe a new probe into the deaths of the Balibo Five could damage relations between the archipelago nation and Australia. It was announced yesterday that Australian Federal Police would launch a war crimes investigation into the 1975 killing of five Australian-based newsmen at Balibo in East Timor.
Television journalists Greg Shackleton and Malcolm Rennie, cameramen Gary Cunningham and Brian Peters and sound recordist Tony Stewart died in October 1975 after trying to film Indonesian troops as they invaded the former Portuguese colony.
Robert Connolly's film Balibo released last month, reignited community passion about the tragic episode.
The families of the newsmen were notified about the new investigation on Monday.
The probe comes nearly two years after a 2007 NSW coroner's report into the death of Peters found Indonesian troops murdered the newsmen.
NSW deputy coroner Dorelle Pinch found that the men were captured and then executed in the border town of Balibo on October16, 1975, by Indonesian special forces to stop them from revealing details of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.
Ms Pinch said the five men were killed deliberately on orders transmitted through the Indonesian military chain of command. There was strong circumstantial evidence the orders came from the head of Indonesian Special Forces, Major-General Benny Murdani to Colonel Dading Kalbuadi, Special Forces Group Commander in Timor, and then to Captain Mohammad Yunus Yosfiah.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times.
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