If Whitlam was so keen, to, not have, a basket case, failed state, on our doorstep, in the form of East Timor? Then, why, the huge rush to get out of PNG? Despite extensive aid to PNG, it has been a hopeless, corrupt, mess, ever since, independence, and is equally in danger of being taken over now, by Asian, colonial, powers like Indonesia or China?

Of all the dirty, disgusting wars Australian military personnel, have been sent to? The WW2, pacific front, and East Timor in 1975, are probably, the only ones, where we should, have been involved.

Let's not kid ourselves .We did not go into East Timor to save the Timorise.It was all about getting the oil.It is often Corporate greed that premotes these wars.The reason we are in Afghanistan is the oil/gas in Turkmanistan etc.They want to build an oil pipeline through Afghanistan to the sea.

The USA is run by the Corporates and Obama just does their bidding.

Well, check out this site after you’ve seen the film and see what you reckon:

http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/hass/Timor/

Also:

JP: Australian intelligence had known 12 hours in advance that the journalists in Balibo faced imminent death, and the government did nothing.
CF: No evidence of this has ever surfaced.

JP: This criminal connivance is documented in Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra, by Desmond Ball, a renowned intelligence specialist, and Hamish McDonald.
CF: Discredited at the 2007 Coronial Inquest.

JP: In eight of sixteen drafts of his screenplay, David Williamson, the distinguished Australian playwright
CF: Can't say anything about this.

AUSSIE LEFT BLAME MUM AND DAD

Just as the American Left blame all world disasters on their own country (usually the CIA) anything to do with East Timor brings out the Australian Left against Australian "authorities".

So where were the righteous revolutionaries of East Timor when the killing of the Balibo Five happened?

After the sainted Portugese dumped East Timor sectarian fighting mainly between the ethnic mixed Portugese elite (who now rule) started in Dili.

The official East Timorese Government website describes the time
http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl/AboutTimorleste/history.htm :

"On August 11, 1975, the more conservative Timor-Lesteese parties launched a coup in an attempt to seize power from the Portuguese and prevent the ascendancy of the left-wing Frente Revolucionária do Timor Leste Independente (Fretilin). Clashes between the two main Timor-Lesteese contenders escalated into violence resulting in more than 2,000 deaths...on December 7 1975 Indonesian troops invaded. "

The East Timorese forces had no idea of protecting their own border - least of all taking the usual responsibility for 5 white journalists. The journalists put themselves in the likely Indonesian invasion path - the main road between West Timor and Dili.

Like many journalists the 5 took risks hoping for a scoop - even though Whitlam had told one of them before - that they were going into danger - and that they couldn't be evacuated if they got themselves into trouble.

Basically Australia was not going to intervene in territory contested between a infighting East Timorese revolutionaries on one hand and fascist Indonesian troops on the other.

But the Australian of Left only remember the total of 6 dead whites during that time not 2,000 dead East Timorese.

Tells you about how we compare lives lost and the ongoing political agendas of the ignorant doesn't it?

Pete
http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2009/07/east-timor-potted-history.html

I really take exception to those, such as plantagenet who, seek to hold the murdered journalists in any way responsible for their own fate.

I think journalists who are prepared to put themselves in harm's way in order to reveal the truth to the world as the Balibo 5 did should be revered as heroes and not dismissed as reckless headline seekers as plantagenet has attempted to do.

It is almost certain that they would have lived had the Australian Government not so shamefully colluded with the Indonesian Government.

If the journalists had lived and had been allowed to tell the world the truth of the invasion and the pre-invasion incursions that occurred around Balibo and if the Australian Government had used its voice on the international stage to support the right of the East Timorese to self-determination (as many US congressmen wanted them to do), it is likely that the political cost of the invasion may have proven too high for the Indonesians to pay.

Instead, because of the murders and the cover-up Indonesia was able to get away for years afterwards with feeding the world the fiction that it was pro-Indonesian Timorese and not the Indonesian Army that had taken over East Timor.

---

Also I think the issue of allowing the truth about East Timor to be heard should be separated from the issue of whether or not Australia should have intervened militarily.

As I believe I have shown, simply allowing the truth to have been told would have, in all probability, made that unnecessary.

I'd like to say 'Thank You,' to John Pilger
for consistently having the courage to
tell us the truth. If journalists don't
insist on letting the public
know the full story of events - who will?
Unfortunately, it seems that there aren't too many
journalists of his calibre. What a shame that the
film 'Balibo,' does not give us the full picture
of what really happened.

Perhaps, in time - another film will be made by
a different generation - with the courage of
their convictions - that will tell the full story,
in memory of all those who perished.

In the meantime - to John Pilger - all I can say
is a humble - "Thank You Sir."