KILLINGS IN EAST TIMOR

Early day motion 48, tabled 26 November 1998 by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 105 members.

That this House notes that Indonesia's President Habibie gave Her Majesty's Government an undertaking, in October 1998, to look into the deaths of British-born television newsmen Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters, with three colleagues from another television company, at Balibo, East Timor, on 16th October 1975; notes that President Habibie's undertaking was over-ruled, within days, by Indonesian government ministers and that Indonesia's Information Minister is alleged to have supervised the slaying of the five television newsmen; notes, too, that Australia's then-Ambassador to Indonesia admits briefing the Australian government on 13 October 1975 that Indonesian forces would invade East Timor three days later; views the re-establishment of the Australian government's preliminary evaluation of evidence concerning the deaths of the five television newsmen as inadequate, given that it has no mandate to examine much of the most important evidence, for example that linking Australian and British government inaction over the five deaths to the genocide that followed; and calls for an independent judicial inquiry with powers to call witnesses and to examine all documents linked to the deaths of the newsmen.

Signatures by party: Labour 56, Liberal Democrat 31, Labour/Co-operative 6, Scottish National Party 4, Plaid Cymru 3, Conservative 2, Independent 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.