INDONESIA: An Australian wife of one of the "Balibo Five" testifies in Indonesian court

Record ID: 555845

  • Title: INDONESIA: An Australian wife of one of the "Balibo Five" testifies in Indonesian court
  • Date: 9th July 2010
  • Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JULY 8, 2010) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE OF FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ) EXTERIOR OF STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT AT EAST JAKARTA WHERE THE COURT TOOK PLACE SIGNAGE OF STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT SHIRLEY SHACKLETON AT WAITING ROOM SHACKLETON WEARING HAT SHACKLETON'S HAND COURT VISITORS SHACKLETON ENTERING COURT ROOM AND SIT IN FRONT OF PANEL JUDGES COURT SESSION CHIEF JUDGE GURUH JAYA SAPUTRA SHACKLETON SITS SIDE BY SIDE WITH HER INTERPRETER SHACKLETON SHACKLETON AND HER INTERPRETER IN FRONT OF PANEL JUDGE SHACKLETON PANEL JUDGE TO SHACKLETON COURT VISITORS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHIRLEY SHACKLETON, WIFE OF GREG SHACKLETON SAYING "Justice is not about vengeance, it is about accountability. That the justice I want..accountability." SHACKLETON SURROUNDED BY JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHIRLEY SHACKLETON, WIFE OF GREG SHACKLETON SAYING "What ever is decide will really convince the world that Indonesia really had the chance to be better because I see chance to better every where, but this is really important to establish democracy alive and well in Indonesia." ENDING OF COURT SESSION JUDGES LEAVING COURT ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) TEJO BASKORO, A DEFENDANT SAYING "That can not be a film that reveals the truth only from one side and no other information resources as a balance, so if indeed the film is to clarify like what witness said I think it needs balance information from both side." END OF COURT SESSION
  • Embargoed: 24th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA5KWZ39Z7CJSZ3QQ7FLMMUAT1
  • Story Text: The wife of an Australian reporter who was reportedly killed by Indonesia military in East Timor in 1975, appeared in a Jakarta court Thursday (July 8) to testify in a hearing over the Indonesian government's decision to ban a film on the topic.
    Shirley Shackleton's husband, journalist Greg Shackleton, along with four other Australia-based reporters were killed in an incident in the East Timor town of Balibo during the Indonesian invasion there 35 years ago.
    Shackleton testified at a hearing in the State Administrative Court claiming that her husband and the four other men, collectively known as the "Balibo Five", were not accidentally killed in crossfire, but rather killed by Indonesian forces.
    The film, entitled "Balibo", premiered in Melbourne in July 2009, but has been banned in Indonesia.
    A group of journalists called the Alliance of Independent Journalists have launched a legal challenge against the banning and asked Shackleton to testify.
    "Justice is not about vengeance, it is about accountability. That's the justice I want...accountability," Shirley Shackleton said to journalists before the start of the hearing.
    Indonesia has always maintained that the journalists got caught in crossfire as Indonesian soldiers fought with East Timorese rebels.
    "Whatever is decided will really convince the world that Indonesia really had the chance to be better because I see chance to better every where, but this is really important to establish democracy alive and well in Indonesia," Shackleton said.
    Shackleton who was accompanied by her interpreter said she considered the court hearing to be much more important simply a matter of censorship.
    But defendants said that the film itself was one sided.
    "That cannot be a film that reveals the truth only from one side and not the other information resources as a balance, so if indeed the film is to clarify like what witness said I think it needs balance information from both side," Tejo Baskoro, a defendant said to journalists after the hearing.
    "Balibo," was the first feature film ever made in East Timor.
    At least 100,000 East Timorese lost their lives through fighting, disease and starvation during the brutal Indonesian occupation, which ended with a bloody vote for independence in 1999.
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