Family members of five Australian journalists killed while reporting from Balibo in East Timor have joined journalists at a service at the War Correspondents Memorial in Canberra.
Family members say 40 years later, they're still fighting for justice.
"Something happened here last night that moved us very deeply. It was so far outside our experience as Australians and so inextricably interwoven with the atmosphere of this place, that we'll find it very difficult to convey to you in an Australian living room .. but we'll try."
That's one of the Balibo five, Seven News Reporter Greg Shackleton, in the last report he filed before his death.
The five men were killed while reporting for Australian news networks, on October the 16th, 1975.
At the commemoration service Quentin Dempster, from the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, paid tribute to the five men, as well as to a sixth, Roger East, who was executed by Indonesian forces in the months that followed.
"We honour the memories of Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham, Tony Stewart, Malcolm Rennie, Brian Peters and Roger East. We commemorate their work, their lives, their sacrifice."
The men had been in the village of Balibo, in what is now East Timor, to cover Indonesia's invasion of what was then the colony of Portuguese Timor.
They had been aware that Indonesian troops were about to mount an attack but believed that as journalists and Australians, they would be safe.
The men had painted a large Australian flag and the word 'Australia' on the wall of the hut where they were staying, to indicate their neutrality.
John Milkins, son of Seven News cameraman Gary Cunningham, tearfully read the last letter he received from his father, written the day before he died.
" 'The town of Balibo, before the revolution, must have been very beautiful. Now, it is in ruins. Regards to all.' "
The official Indonesian version of events remains that the men were killed in cross-fire during the fight for control of the town.
However in 2007, an Australian coroner ruled that they had been murdered - deliberately stabbed or shot by Indonesian special forces soldiers.
Roger East, who travelled to East Timor to investigate the deaths of the five men, was captured in Dili by the Indonesian military and executed by firing squad on the morning of the 8th December.
Questions around the deaths have long been a source of tension in Australia's relations with Indonesia.
Family members of those killed have been critical of what they see as the Australian government's prioritising of diplomatic relations, above holding those responsible to account.
Shirley Shackleton has long campaigned for justice for her husband, Greg, and the others who were killed.
She's criticised what she calls the "40 years of silence" from the Australian government.
"That silence literally has pretty much gone on for 40 years from our government, who've given impunity to the murderers."
To commemorate their deaths, the MEAA has launched an award offering East Timorese journalists the chance to train in Australia.
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