British embassy lied over East Timor, fate of journalists

British embassy lied over East Timor, fate of journalists

John Aglionby, Guardian News Service/Jakarta

British diplomats in Jakarta and the UK Foreign Office lied about
their knowledge of Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor and
worked with the U.S. and Australia to cover up details of
atrocities committed by Jakarta's troops during the attack,
declassified documents have revealed.

The duplicity led relatives of two British journalists killed
by Indonesian troops in East Timor in the run-up to the invasion
to intensify their demands, on Wednesday, for a judicial inquiry
into their deaths.

British officials knew well in advance that Jakarta was almost
certain to attack the former Portuguese colony, and determined
that it would be in London's best interests to let it proceed,
the documents indicate. They also detail how the British embassy
in Jakarta and the UK Foreign Office lied about their knowledge
of atrocities, particularly the killing of three Australian and
two British newsmen in a house in the town of Balibo shortly
before the main invasion.

The documents include a top secret telegram from the embassy
in October 1975, two months before the attack, assessing that an
invasion was inevitable. It continues by saying: "The American
ambassador said ... Timor was high on (secretary of state Henry)
Kissinger's list of places where the U.S. do not want to comment
or get involved. I am sure we should continue to follow the
American model."

On Dec. 24, 1975, the ambassador in Jakarta, John Ford, said
in a secret telegram that invading forces had gone "on a rampage
of looting and killing". He added: "If asked to comment on any
stories of atrocities, I suggest we say that we have no
information."

Relatives of the British journalists, Malcolm Rennie and Brian
Peters, were told they were killed in crossfire.

In a telegram to London, Ford said: "We have suggested to the
Australians that, since we, in fact, know what happened to the
newsmen it is pointless to go on demanding information from the
Indonesians which they cannot, or are unwilling to provide.

"Their embassy are inclined to agree but are apparently under
pressure from Canberra not to let the Indonesians get away with
their bland denials."

Maureen Tolfree, Peters's sister, told the London-based
Guardian newspaper there is now "no reason not to have a judicial
inquiry".

"The Australians and British should apologize for the stress
they've caused and the lies they've told," she said. "But they
still won't have a full judicial inquiry, because too many people
would be embarrassed."

Margaret Wilson, Rennie's cousin, said that establishing who
actually killed the journalists was only half the battle.

"It's also the way it was subsequently handled by the British
government," she told the Guardian.

"We've been told that things won't be handled nowadays in the
way they were then; if that's an apology, then I guess we've got
one."

A British Foreign Office spokesman in London refused to
discuss an apology or an inquiry: "The information is out in the
public domain, and we don't have anything to add to those
historical documents."

East Timor's annexation by Jakarta was never recognized by the
UN and it won its independence in 1999.