Investigators fail to identify killers of foreign journalists

DEATHS OF FOREIGN JOURNALISTS
Investigators fail to identify killers of foreign journalists

By Deutsche Presse Agentur

Investigators on Monday failed to identify killers of two foreign journalists killed in April and May violence.

They have confirmed that autopsies showed they died form high-speed bullets.

Japanese cameraman Hiro Muramoto died on April 10 during a street battle between Thai troops and protestors on Ratchdamnoen Avenue, in the old part of Bangkok, while Italian free-lance photographer Fabio Polenghi died on May 19 during a government crackdown on protestors at Ratchprasong Avenue, in central Bangkok.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) was tasked with investigating the deaths of the two journalists and those of some 89 Thai nationals who also died in clashes and crackdowns between April 10 and May 19.

"From the autopsies we can conclude that both died from high-speed bullets," DSI Deputy Director General Naras Savestanan told a press conference. "But we still don't know who killed them," Naras said.

Autopsies on 89 Thais, including 11 policemen and soldiers, confirmed that all had died from bullet wounds.

Both sides, soldiers and protestors, were using war weapons in the Bangkok street fighting, the bloodiest seen in the capital in decades.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Monday assured visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that the government was following up on the death of Muramoto.

"Japan has placed great importance on this," Kasit said. "We are following up on the investigation of his (Muramoto's) death and forwarding all information to the Japanese government and his family. This is our duty."

Muramoto worked as a cameraman for Thomson-Reuters and was flown in from Tokyo to cover the Bangkok riots in early April.

The Thai capital was the scene of a mass anti-government demonstration from March 12 to May 19, organised by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), better known as the red-shirts.

The UDD was demanding that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve parliament and call for new elections.

The red shirt movement received financial and moral support from fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon who dominated Thailand's political scene during his two-term premiership, between 2001 to 2006.

Thaksin was toppled by a coup in September 2006 after months of street protests in Bangkok against his rule. He has lived in self-exile since August 2008, fleeing a two-year jail sentence for abuse of power.