Judicial inquiry sought

Judicial inquiry sought

We believe that the time has come for a full judicial inquiry,
with broad terms of reference, into the murder of the Balibo Five
journalists, Gary Cunningham, Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Greg
Shackleton and Tony Stewart, on Oct. 16, 1975, and Roger East,
killed in Dili seven weeks later.

The lives of East Timorese are valuable. Many have died, and
East Timorese are still dying in camps inside Indonesia. The
reason we believe the Balibo murders in particular must be
resolved is to bring to account those within our own political
system responsible for the collusion with the Soeharto regime
detailed in Hamish McDonald's and Des Ball's recent book. Death
in Balibo, Lies in Canberra.

The killing of the journalists was pivotal, locking our
foreign policy into what was already a pro-Jakarta line, still
promoted by Richard Woolcott and the Jakarta lobby.

Now, as in 1975, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
works outside democratic control. If the future is to be
different, with fewer terrible derelictions in foreign policy,
there must be a full judicial inquiry into the Balibo Five and
Roger East killings.

STEPHEN LANGFORD

Secretary

Australia East Timor Association

NSW, Australia