Wikipedia
Balibo is a town in East Timor situated approximately from the Indonesian border. It is located in the subdistrict of Balibo, Bobonaro District.
It was estimated by Human Rights Watch that 70% of the town was destroyed during the militia violence that preceded the vote on East Timorese independence.
Balibo achieved notoriety as the site of the killing of five Australian-based journalists now known as the Balibo Five, by Indonesian forces on October 16, 1975 during an incursion by Indonesia into what was then Portuguese Timor.
The town is home to a 400-year-old fort, which was the scene of several battles during the Indonesian invasion in 1975. The Balibo Five were also filming from the fort when Indonesian forces landed in Balibo on the day they died.
The Balibo Declaration, which criticised the declaration of independence and was later used by the Indonesian government as partial justification for its invasion, was said to have been signed here but was actually drafted by Indonesian intelligence and signed in Bali, Indonesia.
During the INTERFET mission after the Indonesian withdrawal, the fort was used as a base for approximately one thousand United Nations troops, as part of Operation Lavarack. Kylie Minogue performed an unplugged concert in Balibo to entertain United Nations troops in 1999, as part of the Tour of Duty series of concerts.
In 2003, the government of Victoria, Australia purchased the house where the five journalists had stayed, as it had fallen into disrepair, and renovated it to serve as a creche, library and vocational training centre. International aid organizations have also been involved in other reconstruction work in the town, such as the rebuilding of a dormitory for schoolchildren from remote communities that had been razed during the militia attacks.
Balibo is a 2009 Australian war film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed whilst reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor of 1975. While historically accurate, the film is loosely based on the book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed.
The film follows dishevelled journalist Roger East, played by Anthony LaPaglia, who travels to East Timor in 1975 to investigate the deaths of the Balibo Five during the buildup to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Oscar Isaac plays the young José Ramos-Horta, who would later receive the Nobel Peace Prize and become the second President of East Timor, who joins East in the movie.
Filming began on 30 June 2008, in Dili, East Timor, and the film was released the following year. It was produced by Arenafilm in Australia with Robert Connolly as director, David Williamson as screenwriter, and Professor Clinton Fernandes as historical consultant. LaPaglia, also an Executive Producer, named East as "probably the best role I've ever had".