What about Roger
A report that comes in the wake of news this week that the Federal Police are to investigate the 1975 murder of five journalists in East Timor as possible war crimes. Already, Indonesia’s President has warned that the AFP probe could harm ties with this country and East Timor’s Xanana Gusmao has doubts anything will come of it. Meanwhile, East Timor has been the setting for a new movie about the Balibo Five as the journalists who died during the brutal Indonesian invasion have become known. Prompted or otherwise by the movie, 34 years on, hopefully the inquiry by the AFP will finally get to the bottom of how the Balibo Five died. That said,
cards for humanity, Dateline’s Mark Davis says another related mystery remains untold. What happened, not just to the five, but to a sixth Australian journalist who died during the Indonesian invasion?
It’s been 10 years since East Timor traumatically won its independence from Indonesia. The parades and speeches are happening in Dili but for ordinary Timorese villages the event is being marked by something far less formal and more unique a bike race across the country and for the first time, a travelling movie show.
The producer of the film ‘Balibo’ has created a Tetum version as an anniversary gift to East Timor. With his son and one of the film’s actors, Tom Wright, in tow, John Maynard is acting as chief roadie.
JOHN MAYNARD: I mean it’s a fantastic thing to do and here, at Loi Huno, what a place to do it!
The film charts the murder of five newsmen at Balibo in itself a story fairly well known and now with enough known witnesses to propel a formal murder investigation. But the film’s most unique feature is the portrayal of the sixth Australian journalist killed by Indonesian forces, Roger East, virtually forgotten in our history, who was murdered two months after the others during the invasion of Dili.
Until now Roger East’s life, and death, has been almost a blank page. For Australian and Timorese alike the story of East and his murder on the main wharf in Dili is a revelation. And the lack of legal retribution for his death and the others is as perplexing here as it is in Australia.
MAN (Translation): For us, seeing this movie makes us very sad. But for the journalists who died, will there be any justice for them in the future? Is there any law to cover that? We, the ordinary Timorese,
Cards Against Humanity, believe there should be one.
A good question,
crimes against humanity game, partly answered this week by the AFP and one that has clearly driven the film makers, including producer John Maynard.
JOHN MAYNARD: There are thousands and thousands and thousands of Australia people who never gave up and who were outraged, basically, by the behaviour of their respective governments. I’m one of them. And this is one way, if not to sort of atone it, but at least to shove it up the ones who have been so awful about the whole process.
It is a sense of indignation that seems to be shared by lead actor and co producer Anthony LaPaglia in Dili for the Tetum premiere.
ANTHONY LAPAGLIA, ACTOR: I have always been Switzerland politically, in public, but you know, six Australian nationals were murdered that’s confirmed. Nothing’s been done. Why not? You can say anything you want about the movie. You can take it to any level, but there is one clear fact, and nobody is dealing with it they were murdered. What are you going to do? Since when is it OK and acceptable to murder anyone in cold blood?
Six Australians were killed and six Australians are worthy of a murder investigation. The lack of official interest in East, is perhaps not surprising but what is, is the lack of almost any public scrutiny or attention to his case.
REPORTER: I mean Roger East doesn’t appear in the public record at all.
REPORTER: How do you paint a character?
ANTHONY LAPAGLIA It is one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. The first time I tried to do research, you know, I did what everybody does I put him in Google. In relation to Balibo zero. In relation to anything zero. There’s maybe three photos of the guy. There’s like no evidence he ever lived.
REPORTER: But this stuff on Roger East is quite interesting to me because no one knows Roger East. Did you know Roger East before you ventured into this?
JOHN MAYNARD: No, no we didn’t.
REPORTER: Have you contemplated why the hell nobody knows what happened to Roger East?
JOHN MAYNARD: We have and there have been a lot of things buried. A huge amount of things have been buried. They’ve been buried for all sorts of reasons. They have been buried for, dare I say,
stores that sell cards against humanity, professional jealousy, other events overtaking things, and this is just another death it’s an outrageous oversight and a terrible thing that people haven’t ever really discovered this story.
Tonight, the main wharf in Dili Harbour is the setting for a celebration of the 1999 Independence vote. For President Ramos Horta, a colleague and friend of Roger East, it is a bittersweet location.
PRESIDENT RAMOS HORTA: It was here that a lot of ugly things took place in December 7, 1975. Here that Roger East was shot and pushed down.
Scores of East Timorese were also killed here, along with Roger, on the first days of the Indonesian invasion. Ramos Horta has long been troubled by the disappearance of Roger East from the public’s consciousness a man he befriended and encouraged to come to East Timor to set up a news service with him. You know, when you talk about a news agency, you talk about a building. Back then there was no electronic equipment. You had like telex machines.