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Australian police investigate 1975 killing of five journalists in East Timor
Australia has opened a war crimes investigation into the 1975 killing of five Australian-based journalists during an attack by Indonesian forces in East Timor.
"Allegations of war crimes committed overseas give rise to complex legal and factual issues that require careful consideration by law enforcement agencies before deciding to investigate," the Australian federal police said.
Two years ago, the New South Wales coroner, Dorelle Pinch, found the deaths had probably been ordered by senior Indonesian officers, a contradiction of the Indonesian and Australian governments' official version of events. They claimed the journalists were killed accidentally in crossfire between Indonesian troops and East Timorese in the civil war after Portuguese colonial rule ended.