Former investigator: Indonesian army ordered 1975 deaths of journalists in East Timor

A former Australian government official said Thursday he saw an Indonesian military document in 1977 reporting that five foreign newsmen were killed under orders during Indonesia's invasion of East Timor two years earlier.

The deaths of the five newsmen in the town of Balibo has been a point of contention between the two nations for decades, with numerous official inquiries failing to end speculation that foul play was involved and that the Australian government knew it.

A New South Wales state coroner is currently hearing testimony about the death of one of the men, Brian Peters, after his family claimed he was murdered and sought a formal inquest.

George Brownbill told the inquest on Thursday that in 1977, when he was part of an Australian government investigation into the deaths, he had seen a message from Indonesian forces in East Timor to their superiors that had been intercepted by Australian intelligence services.

The first portion of the document "was a report that `as directed' or `in accordance with your instructions we have killed the five journalists,"' Brownbill said.

"The second was that it had happened at the back of a shed, or room, or behind a house. The third element of the message was seeking instructions as to what was to be done with the bodies and personal effects."

It was not clear what happened to the document.

Reporter Greg Shackleton and sound recordist Tony Stewart, both Australians, New Zealander Gary Cunningham, and two Britons, Peters and Malcolm Rennie, were killed during an attack by Indonesian special forces on Balibo on Oct. 16, 1975.

The newsmen were in East Timor to cover the expected invasion by Indonesia after Portugal withdrew from its former colony, which lies just north of Australia. The full invasion came in December 1975.