from today's sydney morning herald .....

‘New evidence claiming five young Australian journalists were executed by Indonesian troops in 1975 was hearsay and might not be accepted in court, says an Indonesia expert.

A statement from a leading lawyer, George Brownbill, contravenes the official line that the five were killed inadvertently by crossfire while reporting on Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.

Mr Brownbill said that in 1977 he was shown an Australian intelligence report of monitored Indonesian military communications in which a senior Indonesian officer said the five had been shot in accordance with instructions.

The Blick inquiry was prompted by the book Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra by Des Ball and Hamish McDonald, which suggested the government knew in advance from intelligence intercepts that the five would be killed.

Nine Network cameraman Brian Peters, 29, and reporter Malcolm Rennie, 28, Seven Network reporter Greg Shackleton, 27, cameraman Gary Cunningham, 27, and sound recordist Tony Stewart, 21, all died at Balibo on October 16, 1975.

Shirley Shackleton, the widow of Greg Shackleton, said there'd long been a coverup and she hoped the truth would come out at last.

"It is not a surprise because this whole horrible incident has been surrounded by lies from our own politicians since day one," she said.

"This is a blot on successive Australian governments over 31 years of lies. I'd think they would want to wipe the record clean."

New Balibo Evidence Hearsay: Expert

As we all know, hiding skeletons is the common, everyday business of governments, politicians & their diplomatic lackeys.

Given the often giddy challenge of maintaining positive relations between uneasy neighbours, perhaps the Australian government is happy to appease Indonesia, by not pursuing the truth behind the murder of the Australian journalists in East Timor in 1975, in return for the Indonesian government not pressing Australia to complete its ongoing secret investigations into allegations that members of the SAS tortured & murdered Indonesian militia prisoners in 1999? ( see my blog muddy boots )

Whilst it is also perfectly natural & understandable for editors & journalists to pursue justice on behalf of murdered colleagues, there is a danger that their behaviour could be seen to be hypocritical, if they do not apply the same level of energy to exposing equally dastardly crimes, when allegedly committed by their own nation’s armed forces.