SBS awarded East Timor's highest honour

27 July 2009 | 10:42:24 AM | Source: SBS

Horta_award_2407_B_sbs_40127937

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta (right) presents the Medal of Merit of East Timor to SBS Managing Director Shaun Brown in Sydney (SBS)

SBS has become the first institution to receive East Timor's highest honour, the Medalha de Merito de Timor-Leste, or the Medal of Merit of East Timor.

Add your comment

East Timorese president Jose Ramos-Horta personally presented the award for excellence in journalism to SBS Managing Director Shaun Brown in Sydney

"For 20 years or more, I have always had fond memories and respect for this institution," Dr Ramos-Horta said.

"When most ignored (the problems in East Timor), SBS provided us with the coverage, the hope ... that somehow we still exist, and you have done this with outstanding professionalism and quality."

Dr Ramos Horta has been in Australia for the launch of the film Balibo, based on the true story of the Balibo Five, a group of Australian-based journalists killed in East Timor in 1975.

Along with the medal came a citation, honouring SBS for being a voice of democracy, freedom, justice and truth for the past 30 years.

The citation says SBS has drawn attention to the forgotten places in the world and to the overlooked victims of war.

top

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Join the Discussion

E.g. Suburb / City
You have characters remaining.
Validation (
) :
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.

All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.