Sydney – An Indonesian military commander who later became a government minister opened fire on a group of Australian-based journalists killed in East Timor in 1975, an inquest heard Tuesday.
The inquest at Sydney's Glebe Coroners Court is examining the death of Brian Peters, one of five journalists killed by Indonesian troops in the Timorese border town of Balibo in October 1975.
Jakarta maintains the so-called "Balibo Five" were killed in crossfire during a skirmish ahead of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor but their families insist they were murdered and there was a cover-up.
The inquest, set up after a request from Peters' sister, heard evidence from an East Timorese witness who said he saw the men being shot.
The witness, known by the codename "Glebe 2," said he had trained with the Indonesian military and was with special forces troops when they went into Balibo in October 16, 1975.
He identified captain Mohammad Yunus Yosfiah as the first soldier to open fire on the five journalists before his colleagues joined in.
Yosfiah, who rose to hold the post of Indonesia's information minister in the late 1990s and is now a retired general, has admitted leading the attack on Balibo but denied involvement in the deaths of the journalists.
The witness told the inquest there had been no shooting from the house where the journalists were staying before the attack.
He said the journalists' bodies were set on fire and military officials warned him not to tell anyone about the shooting, describing it as "top secret."
The witness said he had lied to Australian investigators about the incident, but finally told the truth to an Australian journalist in 1999.
"Because in East Timor I saw a lot of injustice and massacres and as an East Timorese I couldn't support that anymore," Glebe 2 said.
Yosfiah denied the allegations and said that as captain he could not have been at the forefront of the attack.
"This is not the first time – and I do not think it will be the last time either – that they are attacking me. My answer remains unchanged," Yosfiah told AFP in Jakarta, adding that he had "never seen those journalists."
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) hailed the inquest as a chance to learn what happened in the lead up to Indonesia's invasion of the former Portuguese colony a month after the killings occurred.
"This new investigation 30 years after the events offers an historic opportunity to shed light on the death of five reporters who were key witnesses of the Indonesian army's invasion of East Timor," RSF said in a statement issued in Jakarta.
"The occupation and subsequent liberation of this former Portuguese colony were marked by serious human rights violations, including the deaths of journalists."
RSF called on the Indonesian army to provide information on those suspected of being responsible for the deaths.
Peters and fellow Briton Malcolm Rennie were working for Australia's Channel Nine in East Timor when they were killed, while Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart and New Zealander Gary Cunningham were working for Channel Seven.
RSF said the inquest would also examine whether Australian authorities and former Labour prime minister Gough Whitlam were aware of an order to kill the journalists after Indonesian army communications were intercepted.
"All that we learn about Brian will help us to shed light on the other four.... The families have been calling for a special inquest into this case for the past four years. The arrival of a new coroner helped to get things going," Shackleton's widow Shirley said in the RSF statement.
Indonesia in 1976 declared the country its youngest province, but in the face of persistent armed resistance. East Timor achieved full independence only in 2002, four years after Indonesia relinquished control of the territory following a UN-sponsored self-determination ballot.