Sir, - In 1975, my brother was one of five journalists killed by Indonesian troops in East Timor during a period when Indonesia was engaged in destabilising Timor so as to provide an excuse for full-scale invasion. A sixth journalist, Roger East, was murdered when he went to investigate what had happened to his colleagues.
No Indonesian soldier or officer has faced a court of law over this atrocity.
What followed the killing of the journalists was one of the most appalling crimes against humanity since the Nazi extermination of Jews. Many people said "never again" when the Allies freed the inmates of the concentration camps. These words must ring hollow in the ears of the people of East Timor.
What is needed now is for the United Nations to station peacekeepers in East Timor and then to carry out a valid act of selfdetermination so as to ascertain the wishes of the people without Indonesian military interference.
The Irish Times continues to uphold the finest standards of journalism in its reporting on the situation in this forgotten land. - Yours, etc.,
Parry's Lane, Stoke Bishop, Bristol.