Balibo -- The Film -- Banned in Indonesia...

The decision of the Indonesian Film Censorship Board (Lembaga Sensor Film / LSF) to ban the screening of the film Balibo is hardly one for the surprising column. It pretty much was expected, and even more so when the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club and the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFF) both indicated that they were going to screen the film. It certainly was a case of upping the ante.

Well, the LSF responded as expected and banned the film because of the political nature of it, and probably because the film conveys a position that the Indonesian government considers to be lies, a complete fabrication, and a distortion of the truth in the extreme. All of those things mean essentially the same, but they needed repeating in slightly different forms to highlight how seriously the Indonesian government would have been working the LSF to ensure that a ban was forthcoming.

The simple reality here is that the Indonesian position is that the five journalists, who became known as the Balibo Five, were killed in crossfire between Indonesian and Fretilin troops. Whereas, in stark contrast to the official Indonesian position, the film depicts the five being murdered by Indonesian troops under the immediate command of Captain Yunus Yosfiah who went on to reach the rank of general, become a minister, and serve time as a parliamentarian.

These actions were found by the Coroner's Court in NSW to be tantamount to war crimes and worthy of further investigation, and ultimately prosecution.

The Australian Federal Police are committed to completing a war crimes investigation into the deaths of the Balibo Five. So, bilateral tension seems certain to escalate over this matter at some point in the future.

A final point on the issue of censorship. I think the majority of Indonesians are ready enough to cast a critical eye over the film and make judgments as to the content. The idea that the LSF is banning this film because Indonesians are not mature enough to watch and determine for themselves the validity of this film is an insult to all Indonesians.

Oh well.

(Photo from here)

A Test Of The Australian and Indonesian Relationship...

The latest development in the Balibo Five case is sure to be a tester of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. The latest development is that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have decided to launch a war crimes investigation into the events surrounding the deaths of five journalists in the East Timorese township of Balibo. To be fair the enquiry must also include the execution of Roger East as well who was ultimately captured and executed on the foreshore of Dili.

It goes without saying that when the investigation became public knowledge that the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond positively. The Indonesians have considered this case a closed one pretty much from the time it happened. The response went along the lines of case closed and we will not be cooperating in any investigation.

Nevertheless, the AFP were between a rock and a hard place considering the findings of the 2007 NSW Coronial Inquest into the deaths which in essence concluded that there was a case to answer, at least for Yunus Yosfiah, and referred the matter to the AFP for investigation.

For Indonesia, and for many in Australia as well, the idea of letting bygones be bygones and focusing on developing a mutually beneficial relationship going forward is more important. Bygones can never truly be bygones until there is at least a sense that justice has prevailed. The Balibo Five and Roger East have not had any justice and neither have their families. In the end justice might in fact reveal that the Balibo Five were the unfortunate victims of an incident where they were caught in the crossfire between Indonesian and Fretilin troops. If that is the case, then so be it. However, if it turns out that the Balibo Five were the victims of an execution that was aimed at preventing them from getting the story of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor out to the world, then justice would entail that the perpetrators of the execution who remain alive must be brought to trial.

For me, there is no reason why a mature bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia cannot survive this investigation. The idea that the era of Soeharto has passed, which would seem pretty obvious now the man is dead, and that Indonesia is a different place to what it was in 1975, albeit true, does not hold water when it comes to justice. What happened in East Timor and the Balibo Five needs to be known, just because Soeharto is dead and Indonesia is a different place does not mean that the truth of these events should be swept under the carpet. The tribunals in Cambodia are testament to the need for justice to be given a chance.

In many ways there are arguments beyond just the Balibo Five that what occurred in East Timor, the now independent Timor Leste, were crimes of such a magnitude that an international tribunal is warranted. There are arguments to be made for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, Even though the genocide of the East Timorese might be debatable and may not be on the scale of the holocaust of the Jews during the second world war, a genocide is a genocide on whatever scale.

The allegations must be pursued until the truth is determined.

I will undoubtedly write on this subject again as it contains all the issues that are important to me both personally and professionally; Australia, Indonesia, and the pursuit of justice.

Prospective Prosecutions

Will Indonesia prosecute based on the findings of the NSW Deputy State Coroner? Not likely! As far as the Indonesian government is concerned, it is case closed. And to all intents and purposes it probably is. But that does not belittle the work of the coroner in exposing the cover-up of events of that fateful 16 October 1975.

The cover-up was not only one-sided and to this end the Australian government was complicit in allowing events to unfold as they did and any failure to acknowledge this fact would see an inaccurate alternative history continue to be perpetrated. The findings of the coroner clearly show that this was not simply a case of being caught in the cross-fire but rather a case of cold, calculated, and brutal murder of civilian journalists.

Despite Indonesia's claims that the process was one-sided, the insinuation here being the proceedings were biased against Indonesia, the fact remains that there was considerable eyewitness testimony without the need for any appearance by Yunus Yosfiah. There was ample testimony available to reconstruct the alleged events of that day. It must be remembered that the NSW Coroner's Court is a court for the purposes of inquiry. Inquiries generally occur where the death is violent, unnatural, unusual, or suspicious or the circumstances surrounding the death are unclear.

Ali Alatas, the former Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister, has written an interesting account of his time as the Foreign Minister and the fact that East Timor was like a pebble in Indonesia's shoe. The analogy suggests that the 'issues' surrounding Indonesia's occupation and integration of East Timor were a distraction more than an all consuming focus. Similarly, for the Australian government what happened in Balibo is perhaps a similar distraction. This is not to lessen the tragedy of either but rather the point is to highlight why these matters have been allowed to go on with so little governmental action. Yet, the findings handed-down in this case are an opportunity for both the Indonesian and Australian governments to remove any further distractions from the bilateral relationship once and for all.

What is likely to complicate things for the Indonesian government is that it is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and the characterization of the murders of Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Greg Shackleton, Tony Stewart, and Greg Cunningham as a war crime in effect demands that Indonesia follow-up on the allegation. The Geneva Conventions would provide for Indonesia to either extradite the alleged perpetrators to Australia for trial or conduct the trials within Indonesia.

Will Indonesia extradite? Simply, No! Will Indonesia prosecute the still living alleged offenders, Simply, No! Even if Indonesia were to further investigate the risks are great as any further investigation will lead to two possible outcomes; the case really is closed and there is no additional information to be uncovered or the investigation will reveal a 30-year cover-up that exposes a whole range of other military and government officials, perhaps on both sides of the Timor Sea.

Yet, even if a prosecution was to go ahead the likely outcome based on previous experience would seem the perpetrators being acquitted. The direct referendum in Timor Leste, the violence that occurred in the immediate aftermath, and the subsequent trials held in the Central Jakarta District Human Rights Court suggest that convictions are unlikely for serving or retired Indonesian military personnel.

The way forward would see Indonesia finally giving a full account of what occurred, accepting responsibility where required, and really closing this matter once and for all. The positives for Yunus Yosfiah in this scenario are limited but in contrast the positives for the Indonesian government are numerous. The most prominent of these would be wide-spread and global recognition of Indonesia's coming of age as a democracy committed to the ideals of justice and humanity in addressing its past.

Indonesia is not the only country that needs to address its past. Australia must also revisit and address its failures in this matter and hopefully the findings of the NSW Deputy Coroner will provide the impetus for this to happen.

Australian & Indonesian Relations

Trying to escape the past is never easy and anyone who thinks it is should look at the recent findings of the NSW Deputy State Coroner in the inquest examining the deaths of five journalists in Balibo (Timor Leste) in 1975. It may have been some 32 years ago, but wilful killing is wilful killing and to tolerate it lessens us as human beings and to try and justify it must expose us for our lack of humanity and desire for justice.

The findings will not provide closure to any of the parties concerned and neither does Indonesia's insistence that the case has been closed and there is nothing to revisit in the matter mean that the case is in fact closed. To the contrary, the findings by the coroner provide a means of proceeding to formal charges of the perpetrators of the alleged crimes. Interestingly, the crimes have been characterized as being international war crimes and as such this means that the issue of universal jurisdiction arises.

The language of the findings was blunt and state that the killings were wilful and not in the heat of battle, suggesting a deliberateness and premeditation that would be a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. The coroner has stated in unequivocal terms that the five newsmen "were shot and or stabbed deliberately, and not in the heat of battle."

Now that the findings have been handed-down it will be a diplomatic challenge for the Australian government to handle the fall out, irrespective of whether the reigns of Australian government change from Liberal/National to Labor on 24 November 2007. Nevertheless, the Labor Party has upped the ante, so to speak, with the Party leader suggesting that not only are the allegations and findings serious but that a Labor government would allow war crimes prosecutions to proceed.

Even though Australia has not prosecuted under the provisions of the Geneva Conventions directly, it has though prosecuted under domestic legislation that has relied on the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and other international legal instruments.

However, the problem is not only Australian here as there will now clearly be a ratcheting-up of pressure on the Indonesian government to be more serious in its approach to seeing justice done for alleged abuses of the past. Particularly, there will be pressure to see that any truth and reconciliation or friendship commissions do not provide blanket immunities for perpetrators of alleged human rights abuses.

An Indonesian fear that this may just be a precursor to more international trials is reasonable. But, from a justice perspective; you do the crime you need to do the time. In other words these are allegations that need to be tested in a court of law and not only in the court of public opinion. we cannot let bygones be bygones in this case because if the evidence that arose in the coronial inquiry suggests that there is a case to answer here. Nevertheless, Australian government officials have already begun to suggest that the findings are the first step in a long road that will take considerable time.

In terms of prosecutions, the most recognizable of the alleged perpetrators is Yunus Yosfiah, a former general and one-time government Minister for Information. The givers of the orders Moerdani and Kalbuadi are dead so prosecutions are not possible against them. Yet, the Indonesian government seems confident that the not is the case closed, but that the Australian government will tread very carefully in pursuing any action in this case.

Despite the insistence from both sides that the coroner's findings will not rock the boat it is premature to say this with any conviction. Right now with the only issue being the findings, then this may be true; the boat will sway a little but it will not rock! Yet, if the Australian Federal Police pursue further investigations and this matter then proceeds to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, then the little sway may soon develop into a full-scale rocking of the boat.

It would not be long before Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives and other members of the community started a call to suspend diplomatic relations with Australia. Will Australian and Indonesian relations survive an attempt to bring this matter forward to prosecution, probably, but there will be certainly elevated levels of tension for the duration.

The wait continues!