VZCZCXRO9251
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #2010 3411037
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071037Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4056
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 3690
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI PRIORITY 1054
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR D.WALTON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2019 
TAGS: PREL SOCI ID AS TT
SUBJECT: FILM CHALLENGES GOI VERSION OF EAST TIMOR INVASION 
AND DEATHS OF FOREIGN JOURNALISTS 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Indonesian censors have voted to ban the 
Australian film "Balibo," which alleges that Indonesian 
troops deliberately killed five foreign journalists during 
the 1975 invasion of East Timor.  The ban may not be legally 
enforceable and activists have already screened the film in 
Jakarta.  The GOI maintains that the journalists died in a 
crossfire between Indonesian forces and Timorese rebels. 
Indonesian activists have condemned the ban and some 
legislators have called for hearings.  The ban may also cause 
friction in Indonesia-Australian relations, especially given 
an Australian police decision to reopen an investigation into 
the journalists' death.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CONTROVERSIAL FILM BANNED, SORT OF 
 
¶2.  (U) The Indonesian Film Censorship Institute (LSF) has 
voted to ban the Australian film "Balibo," which depicts 
Indonesian troops deliberately killing five foreign 
journalists, including two Australians, two British and one 
New Zealander in 1975.  A GOI investigation maintained that 
the five were killed during the invasion in a crossfire 
between Indonesian troops and Timorese rebels.  However, LSF 
officials have not yet signed documents finalizing the ban, a 
fact which prevents the police or prosecutors from enforcing 
it. 
 
¶3.  (U) A Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) spokesman 
said the LSF acted on the basis of established guidelines and 
that the government had not intervened in its deliberations 
about the film.  Several current and former military 
officials hailed the LSF decision and said that the film was 
an inaccurate portrayal of historical events.  Although they 
had scheduled showings, the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents' 
Club and the Jakarta International Film Festival both decided 
not to screen the film in order to not further enflame the 
controversy.  However, the Alliance of Independent 
Journalists (AJI) screened the film three times without 
incident. 
 
SWIFT REACTION 
 
¶4.  (U) Journalists and civil society groups condemned the 
LSF's action.  Ezki Syuanto of the AJI said that such a ban 
had no place in a democratic Indonesia.  She charged that the 
LSF acted under political pressure and questioned official 
claims that there was popular support for banning the film. 
 
¶5.  (U) Parliamentarians also weighed in on both sides of the 
issue.  Legislator Eko Hendro Purnomo, a former comedian and 
member of a parliamentary commission responsible for arts and 
culture, labeled the ban "paranoid."  He called on 
legislators to hold hearings to question Culture and Tourism 
Minister Jero Wacik and LSF officials over the matter. 
However, Kemal Stamboel, chairman of the parliamentary 
commission on foreign affairs and defense, defended the ban. 
He said the LSF acted correctly in banning a movie that might 
offend the Indonesian public. 
 
POTENTIAL BILATERAL ISSUE 
 
¶6.  (C) If it continues, the controversy over the film may 
cause difficulties in Indonesia-Australian relations.  Many 
Indonesians resent Australia's support for East Timor's 
independence and remain very sensitive about the matter.  The 
decision to ban the film came two months after an Australian 
police decision to reopen an official investigation into the 
journalists' death.  That move came after a coroner's inquest 
found that the five had been intentionally killed, a finding 
the GOI categorically rejects. 
HUME