Friday 28th June 1996
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The findings debunk original reports that the five were killed during cross-fire between opposing East Timor forces.
The Federal Government has asked the Indonesian Government to explain the report's findings.
The seven month inquiry found that the men, in East Timor, to cover the imminent invasion of Timor by Indonesia, were gunned down as they attempted to surrender. Their bodies were dressed in Fertilin military uniforms and photographed next to captured machine guns later. The bodies were later doused with kerosene and torched.
The five men had filmed proof that Indonesia was behind an invasion of Timor as a coup and fighting was not simply a civil war between Fretilin and non-Fretilin troops.
Indonesia has consistently denied that it was involved.
A sixth Australian journalist Darwin-based freelancer Roger East was also found to have been "summarily executed" by an Indonesian soldier in Dili in December 1975.
Foot in mouth Foreign Minister Alexander Downer tabled the report in Parliament yesterday.
New telephone carrier, Optus, has come onto the market with 20 cent local phone calls - and believe me there is gonig to be a massive desertion from Telstra by the average Joe blow because that is a 20% discount.
Speaking from Fiji, FNRL President Elvis Hill said that a test aginst Australia would be a joke.
Hill said that the ARL had attempted to take over the FNRL without consulting him or any member of the board.
Hill said, "The ARL has been bull dogging around here for some time and today Bob Abbott (ARL development officer) went on national radio saying our government could not tell the ARL what to do. What Bob said was the last straw as far as I am concerned."
Now I wonder where this ARL inspired international test series is going to take place - maybe Kerry Packer can knock up a team of (horse) polo players - they're used to a pretty rough ride!
The letter is aimed at all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia and makes the following statements:
I refer to my earlier letter, dated 4th June 1996, offering your company a licence to authorise the transmission of copyright
musical works within the APRA repertoire to subscribers to its diffusion service.
The letter then states that APRA has been in contact with intiaa (Internet Industry Association of Australia) to co-ordinate a response to APRA's licence offer.
The "good fellows" (ie APRA) then state that they will take no further (legal?) action against ISPs at this stage.
The letter continues:
If your company will not be party to intiaa's representations on behalf of ISP's, APRA will continue to deal with you direct.
You should note that if your company causes musical works within APRA's repertoire to be transmitted to subscribers of a diffusion
service after 30 June 1996 without obtaining APRA's licence, it will breach APRA's rights under the Copyright Act.
Now this last statement is unproven and total bull.... not only that but when I phoned Mr Richard Mallett, APRA's Broadcast and New Technologies Manager yesterday - because we are not an Internet Service Provider and never have been, he implied that it was my duty to inform him of that fact or he would keep feeding me junk mail!!!!
Well I've got news for you buddy boy this is the Internet not some radio station and your future junk mail will follow the path of this letter - straight into file thirteen.
For the record, the local ISP's are pretty annoyed with APRA, and rightly so, because they are not only putting the onus on them to ensure that there are no copyright breaches, but it is alleged that APRA are into double dipping - charging the ISPs and also their clients who distribute music "from within APRA's repertoire".
Oh, and by the way, neither I nor other Internet oldies I have been in contact have ever heard of intiaa before... bit of a worry I reckon!
Don't be surprised if you find no links to APRA web sites within this major Australian gateway, we don't like the tone of the letter or the manner in which the sender addressed our enquiry.
Enough said..
It is a hard life - I know!
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