Thai Inquest Opens For Japanese Cameraman Muramoto

[webfact]

Thai inquest opens for Japanese cameraman

BANGKOK, May 21, 2012 (AFP) - A Thai court on Monday opened an inquest into the death of a Japanese cameraman during a bloody crackdown on "Red Shirt" opposition protests in Bangkok two years ago.

Hiroyuki Muramoto, 43, of the Thomson Reuters news agency, was shot in the chest by an unknown gunman on April 10, 2010 while covering clashes between Thai troops and the anti-government Red Shirts.

His brother told the hearing at the Criminal Court in Bangkok that he discovered Muramoto had been killed that evening on a website.

"Our family still wants to know who did it," he told the court through a translator.

Nobody has been charged with Muramoto's death and no suspect has been named.

The inquest is expected to take months to complete as prosecutors want to question dozens of witnesses to establish the circumstances of the death. The next session is scheduled for July 2.

More than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed and nearly 1,900 were wounded during the two months of rallies, which drew about 100,000 Red Shirts at their peak, calling for immediate elections.

The kingdom, which remains deeply divided by the 2010 bloodshed, now has a new government allied to the Red Shirts' hero, fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister Yingluck is prime minister.

No soldier or official has been prosecuted in connection with the deaths during the unrest, prompting anger from relatives and rights groups who say those responsible are being protected by a culture of impunity in Thailand.

Police initially insisted that the military was not behind the killing of Muramoto, but Yingluck's government said in November there was clear evidence that soldiers were responsible.

In March this year Yingluck offered $250,000 in compensation to Muramoto's family.

A Thai court will open an inquest in July into the death of Italian freelance photographer Fabio Polenghi who was also killed while covering the 2010 unrest.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-05-21

[Siam Simon]

Am I the only one thinking that there is no genuine political will to get to the bottom of this tragedy from any of the 'players' in Thailand?

[Moruya]

Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Thaivisa Connect App

[webfact]

Inquiry into shooting of Reuters cameraman opens

Kesinee Taengkhiew

The Nation

Yusuke Muramoto, Abrother of victim Hiroyuki Muramoto

BANGKOK: -- The first court inquiry into the death of a Reuters cameraman shot and killed during a violent red-shirt protest in Bangkok two years ago began yesterday, after his relatives insisted on trying to find out who shot him and whether it was an accident - or murder.

A brother of victim Hiroyuki Muramoto was the first to testify yesterday. Some 82 others are also due to give statements.

Yusuke Muramoto told the court little more than what has already been made public about the case. His brother died filming a clash between red shirts and troops on April 10, 2010 at Khok Wua intersection in Banglamphu.

Yusuke told the court that Reuters did not know who shot his brother. He said he was unaware of a bullet trajectory study into the case, nor the size of the bullets and calibre of the weapon involved.

This is the first time the judiciary has sought to try to resolve questions about the death of Hiroyuki Muramoto. It has occurred because Bangkok South Criminal Court decided to hear complaints from the victim's relatives, as the police inquiry has suffered delays.

The case is one of many in which government officials are suspected of involvement, although the police's trajectory study has not determined whether the cameraman was shot by accident -a "stray" bullet during the clash, or was intentionally killed.

A lawyer for the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), the group which organised the red-shirt protest, Jessada Jandee, said he had submitted names of 24 witnesses for the hearing, while state prosecutors have 59 on their list.

The next hearing is scheduled on July 31 at 9am.

-- The Nation 2012-05-22

[whybother]

How could they ever know whether it was accidental or deliberate, unless the actual shooter confessed?

Sent from my shoe phone

[noitom]

It's astonishing that the Japanese and Thomson Reuters couldn't swing a big enough you know what to "motivate" the Thais to get to the bottom of this right away.

[NCFC]

It's astonishing that the Japanese and Thomson Reuters couldn't swing a big enough you know what to "motivate" the Thais to get to the bottom of this right away.

Why would Abhisit and Suthep want to do that? This case couldn't proceed until certain parties were no longer in office.

[pauljones]

I was visiting the yellow shirt rallies in Bangkok for a while until they started bad mouthing the foreign journalists.

They were unhappy the international press was reporting contradictory information. The DSI wanted them gone

I believe journalists were targeted during the red shirt protests.

Intimidating journalists, killing them, accusing them if lese majesty or defamation because of accurate reporting.

.

[thaicbr]

It's astonishing that the Japanese and Thomson Reuters couldn't swing a big enough you know what to "motivate" the Thais to get to the bottom of this right away.

Why would Abhisit and Suthep want to do that? This case couldn't proceed until certain parties were no longer in office.

<deleted> .... it could not happen until enough pressure was brought by the family. Why the hell a UDD lawyer is allowed to present witnesses In this case is beyond me.

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[NCFC]

It's astonishing that the Japanese and Thomson Reuters couldn't swing a big enough you know what to "motivate" the Thais to get to the bottom of this right away.

Why would Abhisit and Suthep want to do that? This case couldn't proceed until certain parties were no longer in office.

<deleted> .... it could not happen until enough pressure was brought by the family. Why the hell a UDD lawyer is allowed to present witnesses In this case is beyond me.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

OK let's do it your way. Why is this government ok for the inquiry to go ahead (even if under pressure from the family, as you claim) but Abhisit and Suthep felt it neccesary to resist such pressure for an inquiry?

[allan michaud]

It's astonishing that the Japanese and Thomson Reuters couldn't swing a big enough you know what to "motivate" the Thais to get to the bottom of this right away.

Why would Abhisit and Suthep want to do that? This case couldn't proceed until certain parties were no longer in office.

<deleted> .... it could not happen until enough pressure was brought by the family. Why the hell a UDD lawyer is allowed to present witnesses In this case is beyond me.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

OK let's do it your way. Why is this government ok for the inquiry to go ahead (even if under pressure from the family, as you claim) but Abhisit and Suthep felt it neccesary to resist such pressure for an inquiry?

The fact its take 2 years to get to this point is damning enough for me. The sad reality seems to be both sides did some really nasty things and neither are in a hurry to admit it. It also seems pretty obvious that it is going to be next to impossible to prove who shot him as clearly no one is going to admit it.

What about Sa Deang? I always felt Thaksin stood to gain more from his death (in that it would really fire up the reds) whereas on the yellow side there seemed to be plenty who wanted him dead, killing him would have clearly only made matters worse not better.

[TheCure]

Am I the only one thinking that there is no genuine political will to get to the bottom of this tragedy from any of the 'players' in Thailand?

Who do you think shot him : the tooth fairy or an army sniper ?

[rubl]

Am I the only one thinking that there is no genuine political will to get to the bottom of this tragedy from any of the 'players' in Thailand?

Who do you think shot him : the tooth fairy or an army sniper ?

That's not fair, first you should say which Tooth Fairy you have in mind

[gand]

Am I the only one thinking that there is no genuine political will to get to the bottom of this tragedy from any of the 'players' in Thailand?

Who do you think shot him : the tooth fairy or an army sniper ?

Or a red/black shirt sniper?

2 journalists describe that they saw armed protestors, so let's hear no more about the peaceful protest.

"They had AR-15s, TAR-21s, M16s, AK-47s" "They attacked soldiers with AK-47 and HK-33 assault rifles, and M79 grenade launchers."

http://www.hrw.org/node/98399/section/5

A journalist, who spent several days together with a group of armed militants at the Ratchaprasong protest camp, described to Human Rights Watch his experience with the Black Shirts:

The day I met up with the group, they were near Lumphini Park and the Rama IV [road] junction, living in a tent. I was not allowed to photograph them. I met about 17 or 18 of them, but they said they were part of a group of 30. They had more people helping them, helpers and their own medics. They were all ex-military, and some of them were still on active duty. Some of them were paratroopers, and at least one was from the Navy. They had AR-15s, TAR-21s, M16s, AK-47s [military assault rifles], but I didn’t see them with M79s [grenade launchers]. They told me that their job was to protect the Red Shirt protesters, but their real job was to terrorize the soldiers.

[T]hese guys were fearless. They operated mostly at night, but sometimes also during the day. They went out in small teams [to confront the army].…

They didn’t use walkie-talkies, just mobile phones and runners [to deliver messages]. I saw no interaction with the Red Shirt leaders. But these guys were contacted by someone, someone recruited them to come, I have no idea who. Someone provided them with weapons…. They rationed their bullets—when they went out they had 30 bullets [each].

They weren’t really “black” shirts—they were sometimes in green military uniforms and others dressed like Red Shirt protesters. They didn’t have any relationship with the Red Guards, and weren’t interested in dealing with the Red Shirt leaders.… They took their work very seriously. The guys I met, they knew how to move and shoot. They also had experience handling explosives.… The Black Shirts didn’t come to try and take territory—they shoot and then they leave, they hit [the soldiers] and retreat.[56]

A Thai journalist stationed near Bon Kai junction said the Black Shirt militants he encountered during the May 17-19 clashes were well-armed, appeared to be trained in military tactics, and seemed to have a separate command line from the Red Shirt Guards:

From what I saw, the Black Shirt militants and the Red Shirt protesters were fighting alongside each other in the areas around Bon Kai junction. But they did not share the same command line. The Red Shirts seemed to be driven by anger as they saw soldiers moving in and opening fire at the protesters. They burned tires and used slingshots to shoot metal bolts, rocks, and fire crackers at soldiers. They also tried to use petrol bombs and homemade rockets, made of PVC [durable plastic] and metal pipes, to attack soldiers. But the aim of their rockets was not accurate enough to hit soldier bunkers and cause any serious damage. Some of the Red Shirts went out on foot and motorcycles to challenge soldiers to come out from their bunkers and fight openly. But they had to dash back behind the barricades when soldiers shot them with rubber bullets and live rounds. This cat-and-mouse game went on all day. I only saw two of the Red Shirts firing at soldiers with revolver pistols.

The Black Shirts, on the other hand, were well armed. They attacked soldiers with AK-47 and HK-33 assault rifles, and M79 grenade launchers. They were also very cautious when they moved around, using smoke as their cover. They appeared to benefit from the havoc created by the Red Shirts, which distracted soldiers as well. The Black Shirts did not stay in one spot for too long. They moved around, took their positions, opened fire, and then retreated. The way they operated reminded me of those with military training. Some of the Black Shirts used walkie-talkies, while others use mobile phones, to communicate with each other. Their operations seemed to be coordinated by a man who always had sunglasses on. At one point, I heard him giving orders to the Black Shirts to fire M79 grenades at the bunkers and sniper posts of soldiers. But when I asked the Black Shirts about that man, they told me I should not raise that question again if I want to stay behind their line. The Red Shirts that I talked to said they did not know who that man was either. Nevertheless, they believed that the Black Shirts were there to protect them and help them fight more effectively.[57]

[sbk]

Lets try to keep this on topic on the FIRST PAGE!!!

off topic posts that have NOTHING to do with the death of this man or the inquest have been removed.