Thailand - Media Safety
Killed journalist's family demands truth
Source : Bangkok Post 30.07.2010
The family of the Italian news photographer killed during the red-shirt protest violence has urged Thai authorities to show some progress in investigating his death.
Elisabetta Polenghi, a younger sister of Fabio Polenghi, a photojournalist who was shot on May 19 during the military crackdown on the anti-government encampment in Bangkok, said on Friday she was still determined to know the final truth about how her brother died.
“I have come here for the second time after my brother’s cremation late May. I want to be informed about the autopsy and hear about the conclusions. But two months are perhaps too soon to get it,” said Ms Polenghi, who is alsoa professional still photographer.
Speaking through an interpreter at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, she said her family was adamant abolut wanting some explanations and see something would be done and that her dead brother's case would be eventually closed.
“I’d like to hear any breakthrough or I’ll have to come back in a month,” she said.
Polenghi who was the second foreign journalist killed during the controntation between the red-shirts and government forces.
Reuters television cameraman Hiro Muramoto was killed on April 10 during the Ratchadamnoen clash. The Japanese foreign minister raised the issue with the Thai minister during their meeting last week in Hanoi.
Ms Polenghi has managed to meet Pathumwan police officers with the assistance of the Italian embassy and Bangkok-based friends and acquire a thick copy of the autopsy report from the police. She has also met PM's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon who expressed condolences to her family.
Speaking about her brother, with occasional pauses to wipe away tears, Ms Polenghi said: “His personal Facebook page is still open. He said two days before his death that --- 'everyday is a gift, so do your best'.”
While realising the difficulties in establishing facts and that her brother was just one of the 90 deaths, she did not believe the Thai authorities have actually made any progress in their investigation.
“It’s still dramatic and only some two months away. However it’s our family trait that we will seek the truth, to get to the bottom of it, and we passionately want to ensure that the investigation goes in the right direction,” she said.
She said said that she has yet to get possession of her brother’s belongings, including a mobile phone and camera.
"They are not only memories, but they could provide some clues for the investigation and I want the Thai authorities to try to include them in their inquiry,” said Ms Polenghi.
She thanked the unknown people who helped carry her brother’s body away from the Sarasin-Lumpini junction and to the hospital. She said several people had approached her with various kinds of information.
“Fabio was apolitical, me too. I don’t want the inquiry into my brother’s death to become a political investigation. It’s still difficult for me here, to learn about a country I have not lived in,” she said.
