NZ journalist killedin E. Timor, a hero

Balibo is a political thriller that uncovers the true story of five journalists, including New Zealander Gary Cunningham, killed in East Timor in 1975. Maire Leadbeater tells the story behind the story of the film.

Described as a political thriller, the film Balibo tells the story of the five young Australian-based journalists who were killed in 1975, at Balibo near East Timor's border with Indonesia.

They were recording the opening shots in Indonesia's takeover of what was then Portuguese East Timor.

The movie is told through the eyes of a sixth journalist, Roger East (Anthony LaPaglia), who set out to investigate the deaths.

The movie has been warmly praised for its accuracy and sensitivity by the journalists' families.

This dramatic story is not as well known this side of the Tasman as it should be, even though one of the five was 27-year-old New Zealander Gary Cunningham.

We should honour Gary as one of our heroes.

By 1975, he had already experienced a fair share of danger after filming in Vietnam and narrowly escaping with his life while covering an Australian bushfire.

In the months leading up to October 1975, Indonesia had conducted a strident anti-communist propaganda campaign against East Timor's pro-independence movement.

In the meantime, its military forces were covertly engaged in operations with East Timorese volunteers.

The governments of Australia, Britain and New Zealand had already secretly been given advance warning of Indonesia's plans for direct military intervention.

Some have said that the young men should not have gone to the front line when they were warned of the danger, but they were clearly motivated by the desire to let the world know what was happening. Reporter Greg Shackleton recorded a moving piece to camera recounting the questions that the Timorese put to them: "Why," they ask, "are the Indonesians invading us? Why," they ask, "are the Australians not helping us?"

Before dawn on October 16, the Balibo Five began to record the advance of the Indonesian forces.

Had the film taken by Gary and the reports of his colleagues reached the outside world, the documentation would have revealed heavy bombardment of the border area from land and sea taking place under the direction of an Indonesian helicopter.

Witnesses said the men were advised to leave but chose to stay un momento longer to get as much on record as possible.

No wonder most East Timorese regard the men as martyrs.

There was a pause in the Indonesian military offensive after the killings while Indonesia waited to see how Western governments would react.

But the Australian Government chose to take its cue from the Indonesian Government, talking about the deaths only after they were detailed in the Indonesian media.

The British ambassador in Jakarta, John A. Ford, said the men were in a war zone of their own choice.