Asia Pacific Network: 3 May 2000
TIMOR LOROSAE: THE SHACKLETON-COLEMAN LETTERS
Stephen Coleman, who claims to be a former Australian secret service agent, has attacked Shirley Shackleton with personal abuse in email messages through Joyo@aol.com following the AFP article with the heading WIDOW DEMANDS MURDER CHARGE AGAINST FORMER INDONESIAN MINISTER. Shackleton has asked for the correspondence to be made public.
Note: Here follows Shackelton-Coleman correspondence which has been
received from both parties by Joyo in response to an AFP article sent out on
April 26 under the heading: Widow demands murder charge against former
Indonesian minister. As you can see, both Shackelton and Coleman have
explicitly requested that Joyo send out the correspondence and post it on
appropriate web sites. Joyo would like to take this opportunity to express
regret over the personal nature of some of Coleman's comments, but Shirley
Shackleton herself has requested that everything be made public. The
original
exchange appears at the end for
reference. - Joyo@aol.com
From Shirley Shackelton, dated May 1, 2000:
Dear Joyo,
Yes please, post both of my pieces in reply to Stephen Coleman's
allegations on the web. I have asked some serious questions of him and feel
he should be publicly challenged.
Shirley Shackelton
Dated 4/28/00 [Shackleton's second response follows Coleman's]:
Dear Joyo, Your correspondent [Joyo subsequently pointed out to SS that
Coleman is not Joyo's 'correspondent'!] , Stephen Coleman doesn't seem to
know much
about my husband and his colleagues. To begin with they were killed in
Balibo, not Bilbao. This is an astonishing mistake by one who alledges to
have beeen a secret service agent.
Mr. Coleman's allegations against me are incorrect, but one made
against
the pilot of the plane that took the Channel 9 team in deserves to be
challenged. What route precisely does Mr. Coleman think the aeroplane
carrying the Channel 9 team took? Mr. Collison ( who originally made the
allegation) has never given a satisfactory explanation. If the pilot flew
from Darwin to Dili, why would he go to all the trouble to make a wide turn
to fly over West Timor? Surely he would have chosen the shortest route and
that would have taken him across Portuguese Timor and would therefore not
have violated Indonesia's air-space. I would be grateful for an explanation
from any of your members as there could be some strange reason for the pilot
to have gone out of his way.
Shirley Shackelton
I would really like to talk to you about your piece in my e.mail. Please
either call me at [deleted by Joyo] or let me know where I can call you.
Some
of your statements are incorrect.
I don't mind what you or anyone else says about me so long as it is correct.
I am most interested to know in what sense my actions to defend Greg's right
not to be murdered is shameful. The information regarding the man you say
was the killer is new to me and should be investigated. Please let me know
the basis for your allegations that his name was Suharto. By the way the men
were killed in Balibo, not Bilbao.
It doesn't matter what I think or what I believe, that is the point of
my
work - what matters is that the killings in Balibo and of Roger East are
investigated at a judicial level. I hope you agree with me on this point and
have the courage of your convictions,
Farewell friend,
Shirley Shackelton
Coleman's response...
April 28, 2000
Dear Joyo,
Thank you for forwarding this message.
My response is as follows but I would prefer
that all of these communications are posted
as I wish to keep this dialogue open in a public
forum.
Many thanks,
Stephen.
My response:
Friday, April 28, 2000
I have no desire to talk to you either in person or by phone, having watched
you over the past 25 years use the deaths of Australian, New Zealand and
British television journalists to further your own position in what is
obviously your cause celebre.
If you were an honest person, you would confront the accusations that the
late Greg Shackleton had, in fact, commenced divorce proceedings against
you.
I have in my possession a copy of a video tape of a TV program which not
only features you, but another who stated that Captain Soeharto was the
executioner of the first two journalists. For you to now make yet, again,
the statement that you have never heard this claim made before, clearly
shows that you have only one agenda; to project yourself as the weeping
widow.
Why have you not ever challenged the ABC 7.30 Report which named Kerry
Packer as being on board the vessel which hosted visits from the five? Why
have you not pursued the issues concerning the illegal flight which carried
the group into East Timor and why dont you just ask for copies of the ABC
radio Australia broadcasts of that time which will clearly demonstrate that
information gathered by the group actually resulted in the demise of some
700 Indonesian soldiers who were led into traps as they crossed the border,
as a result of intelligence that was passed, innocently, by the Balibo Five
to that mysterious vessel offshore?
(The half-Australian-Indonesian woman who, last month, was sacked as
personal adviser to President Wahid of Indonesia, Ratih Hardjono, personally
interviewed the ship's captain; I know for a fact that the application for
the vessel was covertly submitted via the Australian Embassy's Naval Attache
to avoid the offical clearance office's knowledge - this was run by a guy by
the name of Kerry Collison, himself a former Australian Secret Service
officer).
You are very naive - Australia and America condoned the Indonesian invasion.
If you would spend a little time to understand why, your perspective would
certainly be more objective.
In those six months in 1975 history will show that:
Amongst the above, obviously 'e' was the most important issue singularly.
You would not , obviously, be aware that the Soviets placed heavy armaments
and thousands of 'advisers' in Vietnam within months of the US withdrawal in
1975. I personally witnessed some of this; there were IL-28s suddenly on the
airstrips in Vung Tau; in Cam Ranh Bay, the Soviet presence was massive.
Overnight, Vietnam not only became a communist satellite, but threatened two
very important economic and military considerations.
The first of these was the threat to the massive reserves of gas known to
Houston Oil and Gas lobbyists; the island of Natuna strangely, belongs to
Indonesia; but is only a few minutes from the south of Vietnam's Mig
occupied airstrips; and, secondly, had East Timor achieved Independence at a
time when the Soviet influence was gaining ground in S.E. Asia, there was
little doubt that the Fretelin associated groups to be, would have thrown
their lot with the Socialists and the United States would have lost one of
its major military assets overnight - i.e., the access to the Ombai-Wetar
Straits which, for the past thirty five years, has been used by the US Navy
to secretly transit nuclear powered US submarines between the Indian and
Pacific Oceans, saving up to eight days in steaming time. These submarimes
are armed with Polaris and Trident Missiles which, from the deep trench,
could hit any major target in Asia even after the withdrawal from Vietnam.
Couple with this, Australia had a pro-communist, socialist Prime Minister by
the name of Gough Whitlam who, just four months later, was outsted from
office. The new PM, Malcolm Frasier, immediately gave de jeurre recognition
on behalf of the Australian and US whilst visiting Washington less than
three months after assuming custodianship of the Australian government.
You will, no doubt, not recall the days surrounding the terrible disaster
known as Cyclone Tracey. When Darwin was destroyed at Christmas, I can
recall smiling when the ABC mentioned that a visiting US nuclear submarine
pulled ropes in Sydney and went out to sea. That afternoon, an American
nuclear submarine entered the devasted Darwin waters, tied up in the
harbour, and offered power generated from its reactors, sufficient to drive
the entire city. What Australians were not aware of is the fact that, at
that time, due to the political leanings of the government (Whitlam and his
leftists), Australia was not considered a trustworthy ally and, in
consequence, according to Pentagon protocol, the US would not have more than
one nuclear submarine in Australian ports at the same time.
The submarine that entered Darwin waters on 26th December 1974 came directly
from the deep trench which touches East Timor. The Australian military
heirarchy accept that, without this blanket protection by US submarines to
Australia's north, there would be virtually no defence of the spares,
underpopulated, northern Australian coastline.
Enter two teams of naive journalists who, in context, are but a small number
of the many HUNDREDS of journalists who have died as a result of being in
the wrong place at the wrong time.
At the end of the day none of us would argue that their deaths should be
condoned; journalists take this risk - your favourite resource, the former
junior Australian Consul to Dili, an ex army corporal who used to be a desk
clerk in the Victoria Barracks Defence Signals group before being shunted
off, has also used the deaths of the journalists to further his own profile,
suddenly an author with an empiric depth of knowledge concerning the East
Timores and their history. One would have to ask the question as to why, as
Consul, he appears not to have any knowledge of Kerry Packer's presence on
board the vessel which, reportedly, acted as the communications relay
station for the Ch-7 & 9 crews.
When this information was passed back to Canberra, reportedly, Dr. Jim
Cairns (remember him? Deputy to the Prime Minister who called everyone
comrade?) passed the intelligence received through the Defence Signals
section, directly to Radio Australia in Melbourne who broadcast Indonesian
troop positions back to the East Timorese - I listened to these broadcasts;
they are a fact. If you have any problems with this Shirley, just submit a
request under the Freedom of Information Act and you will have same from the
ABC.
In short, the five were executed as they were perceived by the Indonesians
as being a conduit for military intelligence information being re broadcast
to the East Timorese resistance.
And, before you continue on your high horse - your own government, the
Australians, and the Americans, condoned the Indonesian action.
As for Roger East - he lost his objectivity and armed himself with weapons,
dressed in guerilla uniform and made it quite clear what his intentions
were. I have no sympahty for him, just his distressed family.
As for you, Shirl, time to be honest - you had never even heard of Timor let
alone East Timor until you discovered that you were thrust into the
limelight.
You are most incredibly, naive; the interview screened by SBS on Australian
TV was biased in your favour as knocking Indonesia, at this time, has become
a favourite pastime.
Greg Shackleton died doing what he thought was his job ; Channels 7 & 9
should have been sued by the dead journalists families as I am certain that
none of the group were aware of the danger they were in with the presence of
the communications vessel allegedly carrying Kerry Packer would bring them.
Stephen Coleman
Response from Shirley Shackelton dated May 2, 2000:
I have already replied to the allegations in your first e-mail to me, but as
you don't seem to have understood, I'll repeat my response for you. Your
personal attack on me is incorrect in every detail and irrelevant to the
deaths in Balibo or to my work for a free East Timor. Hooray, they are free
at last! Viva!
The first five journalists were murdered at Balibo in East Timor, not
Bilbao in Catalonia!
I don't remember being on a tv program where anyone stated that Captain
Suharto (please notice I spell the surname correctly. Soeharto is archaic
and though I know General Suharto preferred his name spelt in the archaic
way, it is incorrect and only used by those who are ignorant or trying to
curry favour with the now defunct regime.) I am interested to know the facts
of the tv program and would appreciate it if you could give them to me. I'm
not doubting I was on this program, just admitting I don't remember it.
There have been so many. By the way, may I suggest you don't use the term
execution in relation to Roger East or the Balibo Five. It suggests some
kind of formal proceedure was held and I have no reason to believe this was
so. Are you suggesting that your information re Suharto killing two
journalists came from the said tv program? Or do you have further factual
information to add?
I reject your suggestion that Balibo has been a celebrated cause over
the past 24 years. Indeed, it has been almost entirely forgotton and as far
as Australian, American, English and Indonesian government agencies and
politicians were concerned, it never happened.
I confess it is rather difficult to reply to someone who is as
unsympathetc as you. I could score many points against you, but I don;t have
the killer instinct. You evidently hate me and the work I have done and can
see no redeeming features in that work. I want to believe you are who you
say you are and not a member of the Indonesian military propaganda machine,
so would you try to keep to facts and drop the personal insults please? It
sullies your reputation, not mine.
I will agree with you that I was very naive in the beginning and I
still
prefer not to rush to make judgements. I actually believed that the
Australian government would take steps to protect Australian citizens
rights, especially when those citizens were murdered in a foreign country.
Silly me.
I have tried to speak to Mr. Packer regarding the allegations you refer
to. I was not successful. If you have facts on the subject, I invite you to
post them on the net.
Since you accuse me of being a weeping widow I feel obliged to point
out
the fact that I have never wept in public and in fact cannot weep any more.
I am an activist, the widow image was been created for me but not by me. I
have always seen it as a way to denigrate what I do and an attempt to
minimise my impact, but it doesn't seem to have been successful. Apparently,
the public can see through obvious propaganda like that.
I have sent my response to your allegations regarding the illegal flight
already. I t doesn't make sense to me, never did, but then I'm not a pilot.
Please answer at your leisure.
Raj Hardjono should publish the interview with the captain of the ship
my husband filmed on the coast. Please use your influence with her to do so.
I will be the first to read it.
I have never heard about 700 soldiers being killed making an illegal
crossing of the border. I assume you have evidence.
Yes to our shame, America and Australia condoned the invasion of East
Timor. But that's not new, it has been public knowledge for two decades.
(e) For 24 years I have researched the allegation that East Timor was
about to fall into leftist hands and on this matter you are wrong. It's part
of Operasi Komodo propaganda and no-one believes it any more.
It wasn't the fact of the deaths that was and is so hard to come to
terms with, it's the duplicitiousness of the government that tried to cover
it all up.
Before Greg was murdered, I only knew Timor by its textiles; through
Victory by Joseph Conrad; because Captain Bligh landed there after his
amazing journey after the mutiny on the Bounty and because in WW2, Australia
considered Timor to be the gateway to Australia and sent 2/2nd. and 2.4th
Independant Companies there. So!
If your veiled and insulting remarks are about James Dunn, but for some
reason you are afraid to face him and are using this forum to try to
discredit his work, I agree he is a favourite author of mine. Indeed he
wrote what I have always called The Bible on East Timor. Timor a People
Betrayed is a very well researched and written book. It is compelling
reading and top jounalists and academics admire and use it constantly.
I believe your information is flawed or you are jumping to conclusions
regarding Roger East's clothing at the time he was seized and murdered. It
seems Roger intended to wear uniform and defend himself in the mountains
as indeed he would have had to do being an objective man and having seen
what fate had in store for Australian journalists at the hands of Indonesian
thugs) and he tried the gear on the night before the invasion. According to
three eye witnesses he was wearing civilian clothing (jeans) when he was
slain. You are too harsh in your criticism of Roger. He saw clearly that
the fight was going to be unequal and decided to stay in order to send out
reports. I think history will see him (does see him) as an inspiring hero.
I am really glad you have brought up this point about me 'being thrust
into the limelight'. I was already in the limelight, I had my own small but
satisfying tv show. If I had sought the limelight as you assert, I would
have continued to build on that career and not given it up to work on a
so-called lost cause like East Timor.
Just for the record and in case you can't answer this letter, I want a
better 21st century and I don't believe we will get that until we send a
message to the tyrants of this world and their henchmen that they cannot
murder unarmed civilians and get away with it. Hence my determination to get
a coronial enquiry followed by a full judicial enquiry into those deaths at
Balibo and in Dili.
I'm told the Australia government considers me to be a trouble maker
and that is where you will have got your information. You bet I am. They've
made me; I'm their creation.
I have answered the criticisms you have directed at me honestly and
suggest that concerns like yours only serve to demonstrate the need for a
full judicial enquiry. It doesn't matter what I think, or what you think. It
doesn't matter if you hate me or love me. It doesn't matter if you praise me
or defame. What matters is how our two countries get on in the future. I
believe in the rule of law. I hope you do too.
Sleep well, friend.
Shirley Shackelton
Here follows initial response from Coleman, which Joyo sent out on April 26
under heading: 'Former Australian Secret Service Agent on Bilbao Five
Slayings'
NOTE: The following comment regarding Bilbao Five Slayings and Shirley
Shackelton was sent to Joyo on April 26 by Stephen Cole of Melbourne, who
claims he is former Australian Secret Service agent. Cole's comments are in
response to an AFP article Joyo sent out yesterday titled: 'Widow demands
murder charge against former Indonesian minister' [copied herein for ref.
following Cole's comments]
Dear Joyo,
If you are interested, please post this comment. I stand behind it as a
former Australian Secret Service agent. It is time the truth was told so
that we can bury the past.
Stephen Coleman
Melbourne
That Shirley Shackleton has personally used the death of Greg Shackleton as
her 'cause celebre' is not only sad, but shameful.
During the days leading up to Greg's departure by plane from Darwin, he had
already served her with notice of intent to divorce. Shirley 'nailed' Greg
when he was a very young and naive man, some ten years
her junior.
The plane that carried the Australian (and NZ and British) news crews was,
in fact, chartered to International Oil Co; this company has recently signed
a contract of general exploration with PERTAMINA and the aircraft was
provided by SAATAS (South Australian Aerial Taxi Service). The clearance for
this aircraft was on a general monthly basis to take International Oil
geophysicists and other personnel, into West Timor. The aircraft was
'borrowed' by the television crews, incredibly, approval given by the
Australian Director of International Oil, Jakarta based Murray Clapham, a
man who in Brian Toohey's expose of the Australian Secret Service, was named
as the major on the ground Aussie spy commencing from the time he was
operating during Soekarno's last years as an exchange student on Indonesian
University campuses, until he made permanent official status in the
Australian Embassy in Jakarta, working for ASIS (Australia's Secret
Service). (*refer to the book, OYSTER by B. Toohey).
The aircraft (SAATAS) which carried the tv crews violated the Geneva
convention. Clapham violated the trust of the Indonesians. Strangeley, the
Australian ABC 7.30 report, twenty years later, identified Australia's
richest man and owner of the Channel 9, Kerry Packer, as being on the vessel
just offshore Dili to assist with communications with the tv crews.
(IT was also alleged that Clapham and Packer were former schoolmates)
The SAATAS aircraft flew from Darwin, over Inodnesian (AURI) build up and
ADRI troops, reporting their positions. The aircraft's violation of
scheduled routing was reported and Laksaman Muda (purnawirawan)
Wiryosapoetro went to his partner in Jakarta, Kerry B. Collison, and advised
him of the violations.
Why was this important that Collison know?
The answer lies with the fact that all non scheduled aircraft and shipping
which passed through Indonesia at that time could only do so with a
clearance signed by Collison's organization, appointed by DEPARLU, AURI, and
DEPERHUD.
Collison's signature was forged by one, Michael Henry Winton.
The clearance for the unscheduled vessel carrying Kerry Packer was cleared
by the Austalian Embassy to avoid alerting others to the ship's presence but
this soon became apparent to the Indonesian authorities and this too was
passed to Collison.
The presence of the five tv crewmembers resulted in Indonesian troop
strengths, positions and other military information being passed by hand
held radio to the vessel, from where the information was encoded, sent to
Canberra, then disseminated. Information was deliberately leaked to Radio
Australia in Melbourne where it was broadcast to Asia on the regular
service, providing the East Timorese resistance with substantial
intelligence and enough to cause considerable damage to Indonesian troops as
they crossed the border.
This is why the so called 'Balibo Five' were executed - but they were not
killed by Yunus. The officer who shot the first two journalists
unfortunately for all, bore the same name as the Indonesian president ....a
common enough name in Java. The officer's name was Soeharto - and he was of
no relation to the President.
Laksamana Wiryosapoetro once again asked Collison to inform the Australian
Embassy (the Indonesians knew that Collison was 'conncected' because of his
military background, language skills and position as one of the assistant
defence attaches for three years). Collison reported the incident to the
Embassy but the Secret Service sat on it for their own purposes.
Now we have Shirley Shackleton believing everything she hears and accepts
what she claims to be evidence to further her own cause celebre."
Stephen Coleman
Melbourne
Dear Stephen Coleman,
To Shirley Shackelton
a. The West lost Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia;
b. Pol Pot started on his path of genocide;
c. New Guinea became independent, offering a haven for OPM separatists;
d. Indira Ghandi declared a state of emergency in India; and,
e. East Timor was about to fall into leftist hands.
Dear Mr. Coleman,