AFP launches Balibo war crimes probe

The Balibo Five case is closed and should remain closed, the Indonesian government
says.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Wednesday announced it had begun a formal war
crimes investigation into the deaths of the five Australia-based newsmen, who were
killed in the East Timor border town of Balibo in October 1975.
The AFP probe comes almost two years after a coronial inquest concluded Indonesian
forces deliberately killed the journalists to cover up their invasion of East Timor.
The inquest dismissed claims by successive Australian and Indonesian governments
that Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart, Britons Brian Peters and Malcolm
Rennie and New Zealander Gary Cunningham were accidentally killed in crossfire.
But it's a line the Indonesian government is still sticking to.
Foreign Affairs Spokesman Teuku Faizasyah on Wednesday said the case should not be
resurrected.
"In our view, this case is closed and should stay closed," he told AAP.
"We will not reopen this case.
"And we want an explanation from the Australian government.
"What is meant by this investigation? What is the purpose of investigation? How will
it be conducted?"
Theo Sambuaga, an influential Indonesian MP who heads up a parliamentary commission
that oversees security and foreign issues, said the AFP investigation would be "a
waste of time".
"What Australian police do by reopening this case is worsen the relationship between
Indonesia and Australia, both its people and governments," he said.
"It's hurtful because Indonesian people will think Australia is looking for
something that does not exist."
Deputy NSW Coroner Dorelle Pinch linked several former senior Indonesian military
personnel to the deaths.
Sambuaga said Indonesia was unlikely to cooperate with the AFP probe.
"It depends on what's being requested," he said.
"But if they want us to hand over our people, to agree to any extraditions,
certainly not."
In November 2007, the NSW deputy coroner Dorelle Pinch released her findings into
the death of Mr Peters and referred the matter to the federal attorney-general.
The Attorney-General's Department referred the matter, involving the deaths of all
five men collectively known as the Balibo Five, to the AFP on the attorney-general's
behalf in January 2008.
"Allegations of war crimes committed overseas give rise to complex legal and factual
issues that require careful consideration by law enforcement agencies before
deciding to investigate," the AFP said in a statement.
The AFP started its investigation on August 20, 2009.
Robert Dubler, the lawyer for Brian Peters' sister Maureen Tolfree, told AAP there
appeared to be a lack of political will to pursue the Balibo case.
Mrs Tolfree lodged a submission with Attorney-General Robert McClelland early last
year requesting the matter be investigated and, if appropriate, extradition warrants
be sought.
"It's taken two years for the AFP to even announce that they're going to open an
investigation," Mr Dubler said.
"This is something that's been investigated by Australian police while they were
part of the United Nations administration in East Timor and has been investigated by
the coroner.
"To take two years to announce an opening of an investigation doesn't show they're
moving very quickly or necessarily that there's a lot of political will behind it."
The government wasn't commenting on the investigation on Wednesday.
At the time of the coronial inquest, Kevin Rudd, who was then opposition leader,
said those responsible for the killings should be held to account.
"I believe this has to be taken through to its logical conclusion. I also believe
that those responsible should be held to account," he said on the day of the
findings.
Since then, however, the government has made it clear it is up to the AFP to decide
whether the matter is pursued.
The findings were made just days before the 2007 federal election.
The AFP says it will refer a brief to the Commonwealth Director of Public
Prosecutions if its current investigations uncover enough information or evidence of
criminality.
A veteran observer of the Balibo case says the AFP probe is a big step towards
justice and should not hurt Australia's relations with Indonesia.
Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who has been covering East Timor for decades
and wrote a book about the Balibo killings, applauded the move.
"I think it's quite a big step towards justice," Jolliffe told AAP.
"It's recognition by Australia, finally, that this is a serious issue that deserves
to be treated properly, that due process should be applied to it."
Deputy NSW Coroner Dorelle Pinch linked several former senior Indonesian military
personnel to the deaths, two of whom are still alive.
Former army captain Yunus Yosfiah is now a politician based in Jakarta, while
then-soldier Christoforus da Silva is believed to be living in West Timor.
"If there is found to be substantial prima facie evidence, then that's the obvious
next step - to request their extradition," Jolliffe said.
The investigation should not damage Australia's relationship with Indonesia,
Jolliffe said.
"It's 34 years down the road. We should be able to be free of all the emotional
baggage, and political baggage, that came before."