Challenge of investigative reporting for Indonesian journalists

Challenge of investigative reporting for Indonesian journalists

Insiden Balibo 1975, Terbunuhnya Lima Wartawan Itu (Balibo
Incident 1975, the Killing of Five Journalists); By James Dunn;
Introduction by George Junus Aditjondro; Translator: Nug Katjasungkana;
Editor: Irawan Saptono; ISAI and Fortilos, 1999; 76 pp; Rp 6,000

JAKARTA (JP): Two options have been offered by the government
in the case of East Timor: either broad autonomy, or freedom
(independence). This is the climax of a controversy that has been
going on since 1975.

Under Soeharto's government, the public was always informed
that the integration of East Timor was the wish of the East
Timorese themselves. The fact that all that time many East
Timorese continued to struggle for independence was not
considered as a big problem. Those who intended to maintain
sovereignty, in fact, were labeled as GPK (Movement to Disturb
Security). Disinformation came into circulation through licensing
journalists from the Antara news agency, and other nonindependent
media.

During the early days of the military operation under the
leadership of Gen. Benny Moerdani, with the architect Ali
Murtopo, the world community, as well as the Indonesian
government, did not seem to care much about what really happened
there. But now, they have started to open their eyes, thanks to
the persistence of foreign journalists who tracked their way
through the dark haze that was intentionally cast over the former
Portuguese colony.

But this effort to shed light on the situation in East Timor
was not without victims. On Oct. 16, 1975, during an Indonesian
military attack on Maliana -- a regional center that was quite
important at the time, five journalists from two Australia
television stations were killed within less than an hour of each
other. They died after taking shelter in a house that was marked
with the word Australia and a crude picture below of the national
flag in the subdistrict called Balibo -- a target on the way to
Maliana.

Unfortunately, the scandal received no serious attention from
the international community. There are at least three reasons why
this incident was simply covered up.

First, the Cold War was still going on. The U.S. government,
which would normally make an issue of something of this nature,
increasingly closed its eyes -- in fact, a leaked portion of a
secret document mentions that the CIA knew all about the planned
attack described above. For the U.S., supporting Soeharto's
government as an ally in the war against communism (associated
with Fretilin) was much more important than questioning military
violations involving attacks on civilians.

Second, the Australian government itself, especially under
Gough Whitlam, apparently prioritized its economic relationship
with the Indonesian government over fighting for the journalists
who were killed. (Though it should be noted that among these five
journalists, only two were Australian citizens -- Greg Shakleton,
29, and Tony Stewart, 21. The others were Gary Cunningham, 27,
from New Zealand, and Malcolm Rennie, 28, and Brian Peters, 29,
both from Great Britain. But they all worked for the Australian
television stations HSV-7 and the Nine Network). The political-
economic relationship between Jakarta and Canberra was considered
much more important than making an issue of the occupation of a
small area which Australia also once invaded, in 1942.

Third, the Indonesian government's political campaign was
effective in convincing the public that the journalists were
killed in crossfire between Fretilin forces, which were trying to
hold Balibo against the anticommunist Timor Lorosae forces. Their
deaths were then often referred to as an episode in a "civil war"
-- the terminology is misleading because it neglects the fact
that there was intense interference from Indonesia's intelligence
and military.

This does not mean, however, that efforts to uncover the truth
about the killing of this group of journalists simply ceased.

Many journalists, such Hamish McDonald and David Jenkins (who
was later barred from entering Indonesia) from the Sydney Morning
Herald daily newspaper, as well as diplomats such as James Dunn,
worked hard to gather information. Through interviews with
eyewitnesses, and "reconstructing" the scene, a strong suspicion
developed that the five journalists were not killed in the
crossfire of a "civil war", but rather were killed deliberately
to cover up the fact of Indonesia's military invasion.

Tragically, the deaths of these five journalists (or six, if
we include another journalist, Roger East, who was shot dead on
Dec. 7, 1975, on a Dili pier), provoked no protest whatsoever
from the Australian government. In fact, the Australian
government -- through official intelligence -- actually had
detailed knowledge of Indonesia's military operation that had the
potential to endanger the lives of this group of journalists who
intended to cover events there.

An opportunity did emerge for the Indonesian press to take up
the issue on Oct. 20, 1988, when, at the end of his testimony
(broadcast on ABC television), East Timorese activist Olandino
Guterres implicated Yunus Yosfiah (who, at the time, was acting
operational commander but is now the minister of information), in
the killing. But the efforts to reopen this case have,
apparently, already been stifled.

A delegation from the Brussels-based International Federation
of Journalists had earlier met Yunus to confirm this case. Just
as he had answered to ABC TV reporters, Yunus stated he knew
absolutely nothing about the shooting of the five journalists.
Nevertheless, various international organizations, such as the
Committee to Protect Journalists (New York), still regard this
incident as something suspicious that must be investigated
openly.

This translated book, originally titled East Timor: The Balibo
Incident in Perspective, provides the Indonesian public with a
more comprehensive understanding of this event that the
government had covered up for the past 24 years.

-- Heru Hendratmoko

The reviewer is a member of the Alliance of Independent
Journalists.