Indonesia sensitive to Balibo

Australian-Indonesian relations will remain strong despite a planned Australian Federal Police investigation into the Balibo killings, according to Murdoch University’s Indonesia specialist Professor David Hill.

Five Australian-based journalists were killed on the border town of Balibo during the initial Indonesian-East Timor conflict in 1975.

The issue has been revived recently by the release of a feature film Balibo based on the murders, and that of an additional Australian journalist Roger East.

Those thought to be responsible for the Balibo killings include a former Governor of Jakarta and a former Minister of Information in the first post-Suharto cabinet.

“While both have now retired from the military, any attempt by an outside body to summons them would undoubtedly meet with stiff resistance from the current Indonesian government,” Professor Hill said.

“In 1975 Indonesia was ruled by an authoritarian government headed by former general Suharto. The military was the dominant force.

“That is a far cry from the fledgling democratic state that is emerging after Suharto’s overthrow in 1998.

“Indonesia now enjoys all the cut-and-thrust of open political debate, so we can expect that some political interests will use the revival of interest in the Balibo killings for their own domestic purposes.

“Australia will get some stick over this ‘interference’, but that’s to be expected.”

Professor Hill said he believed that while the Balibo issue will inject a new tension in the government-to-government relationship, and may generate some temporary heat for the Australian government, it is unlikely to damage the bilateral relationship.

“With very few exceptions, the vast majority of Indonesians view Australians with affection. It’s something travellers and students from Australia comment upon. It’s not seriously eroded by occasional negative incidents.”