Jon Swain: Difference between revisions
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|title=Missing journalists found in East Timor |
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|date=September 21, 1999 |
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|work=BBC News}}</ref> On the road to [[Becora]], just east of [[Dili]], together with American photographer Chip Hires and their Timorese driver, Swain encountered, and was detained by, Indonesian soldiers of [[Battalion 745]]. In the same district, only a couple of hours before, these same soldiers had killed Dutch-born [[Financial Times]] journalist [[Sander Thoenes]] and his driver. The soldiers immediately rifle-butted Swain's driver, gouging out an eye, and were looking for a discreet location to kill these three, as well. They decided to escape, under fire, and hid in the bush. They then called The Sunday Times office in London on a mobile phone and The Times alerted the Australian forces in nearby Dili. Swain and Hires were rescued by helicopter. They located their colleague soon afterwards and were able to persuade the Australians to fly him to [[Darwin]], for immediate medical attention. Swain has recounted the incident in print, and in a television interview for fellow journalist [[Step Vaessen]], who was reporting from central Dili and whose husband Andries, also a journalist, identified the corpse of Thoenes. |
|work=BBC News}}</ref> On the road to [[Becora]], just east of [[Dili]], together with American photographer Chip Hires and their Timorese driver, Swain encountered, and was detained by, Indonesian soldiers of [[Battalion 745]]. In the same district, only a couple of hours before, these same soldiers had killed Dutch-born [[Financial Times]] journalist [[Sander Thoenes]] and his driver. The soldiers immediately rifle-butted Swain's driver, gouging out an eye, and were looking for a discreet location to kill these three, as well. They decided to escape, under fire, and hid in the bush. They then called The Sunday Times office in London on a mobile phone and The Times alerted the Australian forces in nearby Dili. Swain and Hires were rescued by helicopter. They located their colleague soon afterwards and were able to persuade the Australians to fly him to [[Darwin]], for immediate medical attention. Swain has recounted the incident in print, and in a television interview for fellow journalist [[Step Vaessen]], who was reporting from central Dili and whose husband Andries, also a journalist, identified the corpse of Thoenes.<ref>{{cite book |
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|author=O'Clery, Conor |authorlink=Conor O'Clery |
|author=O'Clery, Conor |authorlink=Conor O'Clery |
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|title=May You Live In Interesting Times - The Journals of an Accidental Correspondent |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84223-325-2 |language=English |
|title=May You Live In Interesting Times - The Journals of an Accidental Correspondent |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84223-325-2 |language=English |
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|author=Smith, Michael |authorlink=Michael Smith (newspaper reporter) |
|author=Smith, Michael |authorlink=Michael Smith (newspaper reporter) |
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|format=PDF}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 23:59, 31 October 2013
Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain is an award-winning British journalist and writer who was portrayed by Julian Sands in the 1984 Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields.
Swain's book River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia.[1]
Early Life
Swain was born in London and is of English, Scots, Irish, French, and Spanish descent. After an unhappy education at the independent Blundell's School, from which he was expelled, he ran away to join the French Foreign Legion.
Career
For many years, Swain was The Sunday Times' correspondent in Paris. During this time he had many famous scoops, including uncovering the financial support extended by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi's to Arthur Scargill's National Union of Mineworkers.
He also reported for the newspaper from East Timor in 1999, at the time of its vote for independence. This period saw widespread violence by Indonesian-backed militias and by the Indonesian military itself, as Swain experienced first-hand.[2] On the road to Becora, just east of Dili, together with American photographer Chip Hires and their Timorese driver, Swain encountered, and was detained by, Indonesian soldiers of Battalion 745. In the same district, only a couple of hours before, these same soldiers had killed Dutch-born Financial Times journalist Sander Thoenes and his driver. The soldiers immediately rifle-butted Swain's driver, gouging out an eye, and were looking for a discreet location to kill these three, as well. They decided to escape, under fire, and hid in the bush. They then called The Sunday Times office in London on a mobile phone and The Times alerted the Australian forces in nearby Dili. Swain and Hires were rescued by helicopter. They located their colleague soon afterwards and were able to persuade the Australians to fly him to Darwin, for immediate medical attention. Swain has recounted the incident in print, and in a television interview for fellow journalist Step Vaessen, who was reporting from central Dili and whose husband Andries, also a journalist, identified the corpse of Thoenes.[3]
French journalist Denis Robert, who unveiled the "Clearstream affair", wrote in 2006 in his book "Clearstream, l'enquête"[4] that he believes Jon Swain was working in 2005 for Hakluyt & Company Limited, a private intelligence firm based in London with close links to MI6.[5]
References
- ^ Swain, Jon (1997). River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam. St. Martin's Press (September 15, 1997). ISBN 0-312-16989-2.
- ^ "Missing journalists found in East Timor". BBC News. September 21, 1999.
- ^ O'Clery, Conor (2008). May You Live In Interesting Times - The Journals of an Accidental Correspondent. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-84223-325-2.
- ^ Robert, Jon (2006). Clearstream, l'enquête (in French). pp. 229–230. ISBN 2-35204-022-1.
- ^ Smith, Michael (2007). "Private Intelligence Companies" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-10-19.
External links
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