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McDougall, Ella --- "Diplomatic Deceits: Government, Media and East Timor by Rodney Tiffen" [2002] AltLawJl 59; (2002) 27(3) Alternative Law Journal 151

Reviews


Diplomatic Deceits: Government, Media and East Timor

by Rodney Tiffen; UNSW Press 2001; 128 pp; $ $24.95 softcover.

East Timor has been headline news for the best part of the past three years as the country struggled to find its feet in the final phase of its course towards independence. The Australian public was routinely appalled by the actions of the Indonesian military and government, and the tragic suffering of the East Timorese. However, the Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in 1974 and its record of abuse in the region is shockingly long. Why is it that it is only relatively recently the Australian people have become aware of the plight of East Timor and that our government has taken steps to aid the people in their fight for independence? In Diplomatic Deceits, Rodney Tiffen gives an explanation of the role of the media and the Australian government in the events that have affected East Timor over the past 15 years and the policies adopted by our successive governments.

Diplomatic Deceits is divided into seven chapters and begins with a fore­ word by ABC journalist Chris Masters. The first chapter introduces the themes of the book and states it aims 'to review the Australian media's coverage of East Timor from 1974 to 1999, to explore why it aroused such passion and especially to see how news coverage inter­ acted with political agendas'. Chapters two through six are arranged in chronological order and give the reader an overview of the major events that occurred in East Timor, the media's reporting of the events and the corresponding policies and reactions within the Australian government of the time.

Beginning with the Indonesian 'invasion' of East Timor and ending at the aftermath of the referendum on independence, Tiffen's ordered explanation of the events and analysis of the roles played by the media, prominent individuals and government policy at each step gives the reader a new feel for the history of East Timor. Chapter seven is a concluding chapter that addresses the issue of the media in East Timor more directly and pulls together many points made in the preceding chapters.

Diplomatic Deceits argues that the main reason for the failure of Australian government policy on East Timor was that it was formulated without sufficiently taking into account the Australian media's independent role. Certainly, this book demonstrates the central role that the Australian media had in exposing the plight of the East Timorese under Indonesian rule and the influence that reports unfavourable to Indonesia had on our diplomatic relationships with our nearest neighbour. It seems the Indonesians paid close attention to Australia's media, and its constant critical tone led to an anti-Australian attitude within Indonesian society and government. The reader is also made aware of the influence that media reporting had on the attitudes of the Australian people towards East Timor. It is, in some respects, a frighteningly powerful force and the influence of the media is exposed enough to prompt a questioning of how else the media is influencing both the views of the Australian public and our present government's international policy.

However, while the issues of the media's physical access to East Timor, its reporting on partisan debates and policy action and the success or failure of the various parties' information strategies are a major theme and are extremely well analysed throughout the book, the media is not the only focus. The policy of successive Australian governments and their relationship with Indonesia is also a recurring theme, along with their attitudes towards Indonesia and the occupation of East Timor. Discussion of the roles of various individuals, such as Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating, in shaping Australia's history of placing relations with Indonesia ahead of investigating their human rights abuses, and the revelations of the contrast between public and private government policy make this book interesting to those who have no personal interest in the media. It is disturbingly obvious that successive Australian governments followed a policy of purposefully ignoring the suffering of East Timor in an attempt to maintain friendly relations with Indonesia and time and time again made contradicting statements to the Australian public and the Indonesian government about their stance on the occupation.

Diplomatic Deceits is an interesting, informative and astonishing read about the course of East Timor from invasion to independence. Not only does it give the reader a clear, chronological account of major events but it also reveals the role of the media in influencing Australian attitudes towards East Timor. The inclusion of explanations of the background events and the role of different individuals in shaping Australia's diplomatic interactions with Indonesia makes the book a fascinating read.

ELLA McDOUGALL

Ella McDougall is a law student at Flinders University.


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