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Thailand - Justice Under Fire

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From the start, this programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

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A charismatic leader swept to power by the people's will.

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To the world, Thailand is the latest country to experience a democratic awakening.

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But there is a darker story.

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EXPLOSION

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GUNFIRE

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A story of killing and cover-up.

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-And where were the bullets coming from?

-From up there.

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Last year, scores of civilians were killed in bloody clashes in Bangkok,

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many shot by the army.

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But the military hasn't faced justice for ITS role.

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As they battle for the truth,

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the families of the victims say they're obstructed at every turn.

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-TRANSLATION:

-I am furious, defeated and angry, all together. Why?

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I feel sorry because I know who ordered the killing.

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Tonight, some of the government's investigators tell us they're being told to cover up army killings.

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Now, after her landslide election victory, the new leader promises to expose the truth.

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If she delivers, it will be an historic first for Thailand.

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We journey into the murky world of power in Thailand,

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and ask if those who've always killed with impunity will at last face justice?

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It is a haven of peace in the centre of Bangkok.

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A Buddhist temple.

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But it's also a place of sorrow.

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For this mother, Payao Akkhahad, has come to make an offering for the soul of a daughter,

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killed here a year ago.

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TRANSLATION: I don't want to come here,

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because when I'm here I really miss my daughter.

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This is the only place in Bangkok I don't want to be.

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Nurse Kamonked was killed tending to the wounded in a medical tent

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when Thailand's army fired into this temple last May.

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25-year-old Ked had always wanted to help the victims of disaster

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and joined the Red Cross as a volunteer nurse.

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TRANSLATION: She had a volunteer spirit. I often stopped her going.

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The reason I stopped trying to discourage her

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was after she came back from helping people at the tsunami. Then, she went without telling me.

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And when she came back I told her off.

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My daughter said to me, "Don't worry about me.

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"I am part of this country."

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For the last 12 months, Payao Akkhahad has battled to uncover the truth

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about what happened in this sacred place.

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But a year on, she's no nearer getting justice.

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On the other side of the world, another woman is caught up in the same struggle.

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On the day Nurse Ked was killed, a 45-year-old Italian photographer

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was recording the unfolding drama on Bangkok's streets.

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He was a young man that loves very much music...

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..very friendly,

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very sporty,

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loves very much women!

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And a simple, simple, simple person.

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Fabio Polenghi followed his sister Isa into photography.

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From Milan, his early work was in fashion.

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But he became bored

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and began working on social issues in the developing world.

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INDISTINCT CHATTER

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Last year, he was following a story of political upheaval -

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the anti-government red-shirt protests in Bangkok.

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He'd been there for three months when his sister,

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asleep in her Milan apartment, was awoken by a telephone call.

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Around eight, my phone start to ring.

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And a friend of mine, a very old friend of mine,

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just starts shouting in my ear, "Fabio's been killed."

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Isa flew immediately to Bangkok.

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She found Fabio in a hospital mortuary.

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I could see Fabio laying down on this little bed.

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His face was far away from what I remember of him.

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You try to recognise, but there is something that...probably is...

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is...is that you realise the person is gone.

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Isa knew Fabio had been shot dead on the final day

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of the red-shirt protests, May 19th 2010.

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His friends showed her his blood at the scene of the killing.

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She watched as the council trucks washed it away.

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Back in Milan, Isa was haunted by questions.

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She was troubled by information given to the Italian Ambassador by Thai authorities.

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He told me that Fabio was working up and down through the front line,

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and that snipers were shooting,

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and probably a red... a red shirt shoot him, a sniper.

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For Isa, that judgment was too swift.

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I say, "If it so clear, we have evidence...then."

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But there was no evidence, so...

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It was too fast conclusion.

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As two women - one Thai, the other Italian -

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set out to try and discover the truth,

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they would confront a culture in which the powerful

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have never been held to account.

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But to understand how their loved ones came to die on the streets of Bangkok,

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we must travel to the roots of a political crisis that divided Thailand.

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An ancient Thai inscription reads, "This land is good.

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"In the water there is fish, in the fields there is rice.

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"Whoever wants to trade, trades.

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"The faces of the people shine bright with happiness."

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Thailand refers to itself as "The Land of Smiles".

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The trouble with Thailand is the enormous gap

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between the very wealthy few and the peasant majority.

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Here in the rural heartland, a charismatic politician started a social revolution.

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TRANSLATION: During Thaksin Shinawatra's government,

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villages could complain about their troubles.

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The government responded to these troubles very well.

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In his government, uneducated and lower-class people could meet the Prime Minister.

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There were government authorities that helped people.

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Thaksin Shinawatra was an ex-police colonel who became a billionaire.

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His vast business empire even included Manchester City Football Club.

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He won two elections, in the process becoming Thailand's longest-serving Prime Minister.

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Despite widespread allegations of corruption and of major human rights abuse,

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he remained hugely popular with the poor.

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TRANSLATION: Every household had a better life, a better living.

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They had money that belonged to them and which they could spend.

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The economy in the village improved.

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It was out here in the countryside that Thaksin Shinawatra cultivated his power base

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among people who felt they'd never before had a stake in society.

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He forged this coalition of outsiders

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along with people in the sprawling cities,

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to create the most powerful mass political movement this country had ever seen.

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But it was a movement that would eventually face a bloody showdown

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on the streets of Bangkok.

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For Thaksin's power was a direct challenge to the elite who'd always dominated Thai life.

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The Democracy Monument in central Bangkok

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is a grandiose tribute to something Thais have only rarely experienced.

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-NEWSREEL:

-As the guns fire a salute to their majesties,

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the King uses the occasion to glorify the role of the soldier

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as defender of the nation's integrity.

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In Thailand, real power has always lain with the monarchy and the army.

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They control a vast network of patronage.

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The 83-year-old King is widely revered.

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The army draws its legitimacy from acting as his defender.

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The military and the monarchy dominated politics.

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Who controls who?

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Is it the military controlling the monarchy, or is it the monarchy controlling the military?

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When two sides believe that they use one another,

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we have an English word - we call collaborations.

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Right! They collaborate. They use each other.

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To protect its power, the army has ruthlessly crushed any threats.

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In the last 70 years, there have been 18 military coups,

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and bloody crackdowns on political enemies.

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-NEWSREEL:

-The assault began just after daybreak.

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Then came moments of pure horror as the 2,000 leftist students,

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including many girls, began surrendering.

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The police did nothing to prevent several being beaten to death after arrest.

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Not once have soldiers faced justice for their actions.

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-NEWSREEL:

-The Thai military seem indifferent to the reaction,

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inside this country or outside, of such repression.

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The King has sometimes opposed such coups.

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But his interventions haven't altered

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the fundamental dynamic of Thai politics.

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The history of Thailand is dotted with coups,

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short-lived military governments,

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sometimes long-lived military governments,

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because the military sees itself, and the monarchy sees the military,

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as the protector of the monarch, not the protector of democracy.

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But Thaksin's natural instincts would bring conflict with this elite.

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I'm aggressive. I work fast. I want to drive to the success.

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Like an ambitious tycoon, Thaksin set out to extend his influence

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into the two most powerful institutions in Thailand.

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DR CHAMBERS: Thaksin wanted his own loyalists in charge.

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He began to politicise his military

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and elevated his own cousin to be army commander.

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This political poker game would bring Thailand closer to confrontation.

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According to secret American diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks,

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Thaksin was also trying to exert influence inside the Royal Palace,

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by allying himself to the heir to the throne.

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But the buccaneering businessman had gone too far.

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In September 2006, Thaksin was overthrown while abroad,

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accused by the army of corruption, nepotism and insulting the King.

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-NEWSREEL:

-So far, the absence of any resistance to the coup may be due to this man, the King.

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In this country, the monarchy is revered

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and the King seems to have given his tacit support to the takeover.

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Thailand was plunged into an era of political chaos.

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Thaksin exiled himself abroad to escape corruption charges.

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Pro and anti-Thaksin groups,

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defined by the colour of their shirts, took to the streets.

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In March 2010, pro-Thaksin red shirts began demonstrating to overthrow the government,

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a coalition backed by the army.

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TRANSLATION: I first joined on 12th March.

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I went with my three children.

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The feeling I had in joining the demonstrations, personally, I wanted Parliament dissolved.

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I wanted a fresh election. I wanted a new government.

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Samran Wa-ngam was typical of Thaksin's supporters.

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One of the rural poor, he'd originally come to Bangkok to search for work.

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Instead, his family would be engulfed by tragedy in the crisis ahead.

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TRANSLATION: The atmosphere at the beginning of the demonstration was fine. It was fun.

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The protests paralysed Bangkok's business district.

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On April 7th, protestors stormed Parliament.

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SHOUTING

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Ministers were forced to flee.

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Thailand was moving towards a decisive showdown.

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By April 10th, after weeks of demonstrations,

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the government had had enough.

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The army went in to clear demonstrators, firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

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I got a phone call from a friend

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saying that they're starting to shoot at demonstrators.

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GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING

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I heard, like, firecrackers...

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but actually, it's tear gas.

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TRANSLATION: Rubber bullets were fired, at first a few and then many of them.

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'Most demonstrators like Samran and his family were peaceful,

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'but there were some armed militants among the crowd facing the army.'

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TRANSLATION: My son was standing here.

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He was holding a Thai flag and shouting, "Red shirts, fight. Fight!"

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SHOUTING, MUSIC PLAYS

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There was a surreal soundtrack.

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The army pumped jazz music through loudspeakers,

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tunes composed by the King, a noted saxophone player.

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'I heard the royal jazz music

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'coming from the direction of the school.'

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So, you're standing there? You hear jazz music written by the King?

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It was composed by the King, yeah.

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-The army were playing this?

-The army were playing it.

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The army say the music was intended to calm people.

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But then came an incident that dramatically changed the atmosphere.

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EXPLOSION

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SHOUTING

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Three grenades were fired into the army lines,

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killing the colonel leading the operation and four other soldiers.

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Many more were injured.

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Under continuing fire from armed militants operating on the red-shirt side,

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the panicked troops responded fiercely.

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SHOUTING, SIRENS

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GUNFIRE

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Some people were crying, some people were screaming,

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and even the medics, they also got, like, angry.

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They were saying, "How could you do this to the people?"

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Facing directly towards the army was Samran Wa-ngam and his two sons.

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Suddenly Sawat, the eldest, fell to the ground.

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TRANSLATION: He turned to look at his younger brother.

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Then he was shot in the head from above by a sniper.

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His head was a mess.

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This mobile phone footage shows the deadly result.

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TRANSLATION: After my son collapsed,

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I thought he was dead because his brain had splattered out on the road.

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After you saw him fall, what did you do then?

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After my son collapsed, I ran to him and I cradled his neck in my arms.

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The soldiers tried to pull him away by the legs, but were outnumbered by red shirts.

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So we held onto him.

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I took off my red shirt and wrapped up his brain, then I took him to the hospital.

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Then I took his brain to leave at the Democracy Monument.

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26 people were killed, over 800 injured

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in violence triggered by the grenade attack.

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It still hasn't been proved who did it but its effect was dramatic.

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As a result of the attack on April 10th,

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you see the Thai military becoming much more repressive

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against the red shirts, and really shooting into the crowds.

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In the chaos of last spring, a range of armed groups appeared on Bangkok's streets.

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Some consisted of former and current soldiers who supported Thaksin.

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These groups would become known as black shirts.

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They fired at the army on numerous occasions,

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killing and wounding soldiers and attacking political opponents of the red shirts.

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Militants also stormed a Bangkok hospital and threatened medical staff,

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according to the internationally respected group Human Rights Watch.

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As the conflict worsened, the highest price would be paid by the innocent.

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With his roots in fashion and social issues,

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Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi was no war journalist.

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But as things got worse, Fabio dedicated himself

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to documenting the reality on the streets.

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Fabio was giving a very sharp message, a very clean message.

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His work was

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to be a witness and to be a guard of human rights.

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On May 14th, parts of central Bangkok

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were declared live-fire zones by the army.

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GUNSHOT

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Despite a government offer of elections,

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the red shirts refused to move.

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The mood among some leaders had hardened.

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Some spoke of turning Bangkok into a sea of fire.

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Human Rights Watch accuse the army of randomly shooting into crowds.

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Of the more than 50 killed in this period,

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the overwhelming majority were civilians.

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On May 19th, the army advanced to clear the streets.

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The decisive hours were approaching.

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On the morning of the 19th, I remember looking out the window. There was a huge amount of smoke.

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The city was basically under siege and had been for the past week.

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I think everyone was wondering,

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"OK, is this the day that the whole thing is going to come crumbling down?"

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I left after that with my camera, just going handheld,

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and went into the red-shirt section.

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GUNSHOT

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Brad Cox found himself working alongside Fabio Polenghi

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at the barricade marking the front line

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of what had become red-shirt territory in central Bangkok.

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I was at the front barricade.

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This was a temporary set-up,

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and it was literally just a few tyres and a couple of iron bars.

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Metal bars. That was it. I mean, it really offered no protection.

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'Fabio's sister has retraced his final steps.'

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So, what happens is, you have the army coming from this direction...?

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The army, this direction, that direction.

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Fabio sees the army approaching from here, from here?

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-Down here, you had the red shirts?

-Yeah, long way. Long way that way.

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A Dutch radio reporter was caught up in the events in the same area as Fabio and Brad Cox.

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I ran towards that point where the army was coming in and at some point,

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bullets started spraying everywhere.

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Everybody was ducking for cover.

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At some point, all the people around me started running.

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SHOUTING

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GUNFIRE

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All of a sudden, I got a real hard blow against my shoulder,

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and only after a while, I saw the blood coming out of it and I realised I was shot.

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I was with red-shirt members, maybe around 50 people, 60 people,

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at the intersection over there.

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I saw the soldiers, five or six soldiers, shot a gun to us.

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-Shot at you?

-Sure. I'm sure. And we escape from intersection.

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With live fire coming their way, Fabio and the other journalists

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tried moving to safer ground, away from the army.

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-But there are bullets flying down here...

-Yes.

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There are soldiers shooting from all over the place.

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Yes, and as well, from the buildings, snipers are shooting.

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GUNFIRE

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'There were armed militants like this one firing at the army in that area,

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'but all the journalist witnesses we've spoken with are adamant

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'they were being shot at from the direction of the military.'

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You see all around here there are holes from the shooting.

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Yes, let's have a look. I can see over here.

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-There you go, there's a bullet hole.

-Yes.

-There are just so many around here.

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And I suddenly felt this intense burning in my knee.

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I couldn't really understand what that was.

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I looked down and I saw that I'd been shot.

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My first impulse is, "Holy crap. I can't believe it. I got shot."

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I decided to turn around to see where it came from,

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and as I turned around, I saw Fabio Polenghi on the ground.

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-So, right around about here...

-Here.

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..he heads out into the middle of the road.

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Presumably he's looking for cover on the other side.

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So Fabio heads out from here, moving really quickly. Running.

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-Gets to here and - bang - the shot rings out from somewhere around here and hits him.

-Yes.

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So, Fabio...more or less here, was laying down facing that way.

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The Japanese photographer Saito Masayuki,

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seen here in the pink shirt and yellow helmet,

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was by Fabio's side.

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I turned round and I saw Mr Fabio and I took pictures.

0:26:150:26:19

-Was he lying on the ground when you turned around?

-Yes, yes.

0:26:190:26:23

-So, these are photographs you took just after he'd been shot?

-Yes.

0:26:230:26:28

This is a photograph, in fact, here, isn't there...

0:26:300:26:33

-That's you helping to drag him away.

-Yes.

0:26:330:26:37

-GUNFIRE

-He was just down on the ground.

0:26:370:26:40

He was obviously seriously, seriously hurt. He wasn't moving.

0:26:400:26:44

Then other colleagues came from the other side.

0:26:460:26:49

So, they came here and tried to pull him out.

0:26:490:26:53

SHOUTING

0:26:530:26:55

-But by then it's too late?

-Yes.

0:26:570:27:01

It was. He had one hit in the heart.

0:27:010:27:05

SHOUTING

0:27:050:27:08

If he wasn't dead in the moment that he was shot,

0:27:090:27:13

he...he was soon thereafter.

0:27:130:27:15

SHOUTING

0:27:150:27:17

To try to find the truth, Isa Polenghi had to turn detective.

0:27:240:27:28

She's spent most of the last year trying to find out who killed Fabio.

0:27:280:27:33

When I came back to Italy, I start on web, on YouTube.

0:27:330:27:39

There were millions of... of movie on Thailand.

0:27:390:27:44

So, I start to search again and again and again.

0:27:440:27:48

I see thousands of video.

0:27:480:27:50

She had no idea how difficult her quest for justice would be.

0:27:530:27:56

But she wanted the truth to be her final gift to Fabio.

0:27:560:28:02

I just stopped working for myself

0:28:020:28:05

and I start working very hard on things of Fabio.

0:28:050:28:11

I just needed to do it.

0:28:110:28:12

THEY SPEAK IN ITALIAN

0:28:120:28:14

On her return to Milan, she'd established the precise location where Fabio had fallen.

0:28:190:28:26

She'd been to the spot. She'd seen his blood.

0:28:280:28:31

The time of Fabio's death, Isa worked out from cross-referencing photographs and video

0:28:350:28:39

and by talking to people who'd been present.

0:28:390:28:42

We were knowing the time... and we were knowing the spot,

0:28:440:28:49

because we went there and the blood was still there.

0:28:490:28:52

So those were two things very important to fix.

0:28:520:28:56

But to seek an answer to the central question who killed Fabio,

0:28:590:29:04

Isa had to return to Bangkok.

0:29:040:29:06

The Italian embassy arranged for her to meet investigators from the DSI,

0:29:080:29:12

the Department of Special Investigations.

0:29:120:29:16

They start very nicely, very...welcome with me.

0:29:160:29:23

'I let them talk a little bit,

0:29:230:29:27

'but I knew that there were many mistakes.'

0:29:270:29:31

This is special case number 320.

0:29:310:29:33

After two months of investigation,

0:29:330:29:36

the DSI had apparently failed to uncover the basics.

0:29:360:29:40

We're not really sure, the exact time,

0:29:400:29:43

but things can be found out easily.

0:29:430:29:46

Time and place.

0:29:460:29:50

'I felt, like, really unbelievable

0:29:500:29:54

'that they didn't know the time and the place where Fabio was shot.'

0:29:540:30:00

And I start to be more strong to tell them,

0:30:000:30:03

you know, I'm telling you the right thing.

0:30:030:30:06

'I'm sure about this. I got the evidence of this. And at that point,'

0:30:060:30:11

they start to be more uncomfortable and start to be

0:30:110:30:15

'more embarrassed.'

0:30:150:30:16

The point is not correct.

0:30:160:30:20

Nearly a year passed. Isa came back to see what progress had been made.

0:30:230:30:27

Isa, ten months have gone by. What do you hope to hear from them today?

0:30:370:30:41

I'm sure in a way I would like to have answers...

0:30:410:30:46

maybe knowing...what happened,

0:30:460:30:49

but I don't feel like it will be like this, you know?

0:30:490:30:53

-You are not expecting, but you're hoping?

-Yes.

0:30:530:30:55

I would like to be surprised.

0:30:550:30:57

'Later that evening, I caught up with Isa.'

0:31:250:31:28

Isa, you've just come out of the meeting with the DSI. Are you any the wiser?

0:31:310:31:35

Do you know any more now about how your brother died?

0:31:350:31:39

No. Fabio's case, it's one of those cases that they call unknown.

0:31:390:31:46

Responsibility is unknown.

0:31:470:31:49

But I don't know how much this is, you know...

0:31:490:31:53

-You don't know how much of their confusion is genuine...

-Yes.

0:31:530:31:57

-..or merely to throw you off the scent?

-Yes.

0:31:570:32:00

-You can't say, really, can you?

-No.

0:32:000:32:02

Isa says the DSI is now telling her there were no soldiers in the area when Fabio was shot.

0:32:030:32:11

The investigators from the government side say that the shots couldn't have been fired by the army

0:32:110:32:16

because the army weren't there at the time.

0:32:160:32:18

That's completely untrue. That is completely false.

0:32:180:32:22

I can say with absolute certainty that the troops were there from...

0:32:220:32:28

minimum, an hour before, a minimum, from ten o'clock. Of course they were there. Yeah.

0:32:280:32:35

I didn't even know anyone was disputing that.

0:32:350:32:37

Dutch radio reporter Michel Maas was shot around the same time as Fabio, in the same location.

0:32:370:32:43

Who does he blame?

0:32:430:32:45

I think the military.

0:32:450:32:47

Everything points in the direction of the military,

0:32:470:32:50

because we were hiding,

0:32:500:32:53

and bullets were coming from the direction where we saw the soldiers.

0:32:530:32:58

Finding out who killed Fabio is the job of the DSI.

0:32:580:33:03

The red-shirt leadership has sources inside the organisation.

0:33:060:33:11

They arranged for two investigators to speak with us on condition of anonymity.

0:33:110:33:16

These men allege the DSI has been told to cover up army killings.

0:33:190:33:23

'After we concluded in an early case that people were killed by soldiers,

0:33:270:33:32

'other cases that came to the same conclusion were blocked.

0:33:320:33:36

'We were asked to say that we didn't yet know who did it.

0:33:360:33:40

'We believe the deaths were caused by soldiers firing their guns.

0:33:400:33:43

'However, as a result, the director of the DSI

0:33:430:33:47

'had to try and dig his way out of this conclusion.'

0:33:470:33:51

There is no sign of justice in another case,

0:33:510:33:54

that of Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto,

0:33:540:33:57

killed earlier in the protests.

0:33:570:33:59

The DSI initially reported he'd probably been killed by soldiers,

0:33:590:34:04

a conclusion backed up by Reuters' own investigation.

0:34:040:34:08

But the DSI then changed its mind

0:34:080:34:11

and said Hiro might have been killed by red shirts.

0:34:110:34:14

The investigators told us there was a policy of blaming the reds wherever possible.

0:34:140:34:19

'There have been attempts to issue an order that in case the culprits could not be found,

0:34:190:34:24

'we should bring charges against the red shirts.

0:34:240:34:27

'The director was the one who issued the order.

0:34:270:34:29

'We've been ordered that if could not find those who pulled the trigger,

0:34:290:34:33

'we should assume that the red shirts were the ones that pulled the trigger, and their supporters.'

0:34:330:34:39

The director of the DSI declined to be interviewed,

0:34:390:34:42

but the Thai government told us investigations were impartial and independent and transparent.

0:34:420:34:48

"One should also appreciate the complex and chaotic nature of these incidents,

0:34:480:34:52

"with many parties involved," they said.

0:34:520:34:57

Ever since the events of last year, scores of opposition supporters have been taken into custody.

0:34:570:35:02

Many will face charges.

0:35:020:35:04

But how many members of the military are awaiting trial?

0:35:040:35:08

The answer is none.

0:35:080:35:11

More than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the bloody clashes.

0:35:120:35:17

Yet unlike the red shirts, the army has never faced the courts for its part in the violence.

0:35:170:35:23

This man was the public face of the military throughout last year's crisis.

0:35:230:35:28

How did he respond to charges of a cover-up?

0:35:280:35:31

TRANSLATION: We never intended to cause any deaths,

0:35:330:35:38

no matter if they were soldiers, innocent people or protesters.

0:35:380:35:42

We have to prove who killed these people.

0:35:420:35:44

You will be aware of the allegation which is being made at the moment, in public, that your chief,

0:35:450:35:51

the commander-in-chief, went to the DSI and said,

0:35:510:35:55

"Back off. Do not find soldiers guilty."

0:35:550:35:58

News is news. This didn't happen.

0:36:010:36:04

The army nowadays doesn't want to make a fuss.

0:36:040:36:07

If this allegation was made about an ordinary person,

0:36:070:36:10

they would bring an action for defamation.

0:36:100:36:12

Most of the time the army is patient,

0:36:120:36:15

because if it did bring a charge every time something like this was said,

0:36:150:36:19

it would greatly burden the justice system.

0:36:190:36:21

Human Rights Watch carried out a year-long investigation

0:36:230:36:27

and accused the security forces of being largely responsible for the high death toll,

0:36:270:36:31

through excessive use of lethal force,

0:36:310:36:35

an assertion rejected by the military.

0:36:350:36:39

I have to say it was because of the situation at the time.

0:36:410:36:45

The troop deployment and the use of weapons

0:36:450:36:47

were not something we had anticipated,

0:36:470:36:50

but were a result of the violence caused by some protesters who had tried to stir up trouble.

0:36:500:36:55

However, the creation of a live-fire zone

0:36:550:36:57

didn't mean that live ammunition was being used all the time.

0:36:570:37:01

And the army denies it was responsible for the killing of foreign journalists.

0:37:060:37:10

"We would have nothing to gain from that," they told us.

0:37:100:37:14

Isa Polenghi believes she's facing a culture of cover-up in Thailand.

0:37:180:37:23

It's an experience familiar to scores of Thai families.

0:37:250:37:28

-TRANSLATION:

-We have been deceived by the word democracy,

0:37:340:37:38

because since my daughter died, I've never seen justice.

0:37:380:37:42

I don't know where to look for it.

0:37:420:37:45

Where is justice for my daughter?

0:37:450:37:47

Payao's daughter was shot several times

0:37:530:37:56

in the most contentious incident of the crackdown.

0:37:560:37:58

And a year on, there's still no official explanation for her death.

0:37:580:38:03

Kamonked had volunteered as a nurse during the protests.

0:38:040:38:10

On 19th May, she was working at an aid station in this temple in central Bangkok.

0:38:100:38:16

It had been designated as a safe haven by all sides.

0:38:170:38:21

By 1pm, the red-shirt leaders had surrendered,

0:38:240:38:27

fearing, they claimed, they were about to be assassinated.

0:38:270:38:30

HE SPEAKS IN THAI

0:38:300:38:32

GUNSHOT

0:38:320:38:34

Soldiers were advancing to clear the streets.

0:38:380:38:42

According to Human Rights Watch, militants on the red-shirt side

0:38:470:38:51

began to set fire to nearby buildings,

0:38:510:38:54

including one of the biggest shopping malls in the world.

0:38:540:38:58

SIRENS WAIL

0:38:580:39:00

The red shirts deny responsibility for attacks that caused billions in damage.

0:39:000:39:06

There were gunfights between the army and militants around this area,

0:39:060:39:10

according to Human Rights Watch.

0:39:100:39:13

Hundreds of people headed towards the temple compound.

0:39:130:39:17

Who decided that this place was going to be a sanctuary?

0:39:170:39:20

I don't know who made the decision, but it was negotiated.

0:39:200:39:23

Both the government and the red shirts had acknowledged in the press that...

0:39:230:39:27

-Once you cross this line here...

-Yeah.

0:39:270:39:30

This should have been... From here on in, was supposed to be the safe zone.

0:39:300:39:34

So, we thought, also, it would be safe for us,

0:39:340:39:36

a safe place to do some interviews

0:39:360:39:39

and be somewhere where we weren't going to get shot at.

0:39:390:39:42

Men, women and children had been making use of the temple grounds for days.

0:39:440:39:49

Nurse Ked and her colleagues dealt with minor ailments and injuries.

0:39:490:39:53

They worked under pressure,

0:39:530:39:56

but the morale Nurse Ked and the team remained high.

0:39:560:40:00

TRANSLATION: After the announcement of the curfew, I called her,

0:40:010:40:04

and when I spoke to her I asked her where she was.

0:40:040:40:07

She said that she was in front of the temple.

0:40:070:40:10

I'd never been there, I didn't know anything.

0:40:100:40:12

I thought the tent was on the road in front of the temple.

0:40:120:40:15

I didn't know it was IN the temple.

0:40:150:40:17

I told her to escape into the temple.

0:40:170:40:19

I also told her, "Don't come home today if you can't make it before the curfew at 8pm.

0:40:190:40:24

"You should come back tomorrow."

0:40:240:40:26

Then things changed dramatically.

0:40:270:40:30

Militants near the temple complex set off fireworks.

0:40:300:40:34

-We saw these two fireworks streak out towards...

-Somebody was firing fireworks?

0:40:340:40:39

-Homemade fireworks.

-In the direction of the army?

-Yes.

0:40:390:40:42

Then the bullets started pouring in.

0:40:420:40:44

Where were the bullets coming from?

0:40:440:40:46

-From up there.

-Right up on top of the sky train?

0:40:460:40:49

All we knew was, it was from above and behind us, but now it's obvious it was from the sky train.

0:40:490:40:54

Witnesses report seeing soldiers on the sky rail above the temple.

0:40:540:40:59

These shaky pictures appear to show them

0:40:590:41:02

aiming their weapons into the grounds.

0:41:020:41:04

We were behind a pick-up truck, and the bullets were coming in over the cab

0:41:040:41:08

at such an angle and ricocheting off the ground and into the building.

0:41:080:41:12

You ran that way, yeah?

0:41:120:41:14

We ran and dove in behind...

0:41:140:41:16

There were two pick-up trucks parked perpendicular to the door.

0:41:160:41:20

TRANSLATION: When we spoke on the phone, I could hear the gunshots.

0:41:200:41:24

I was suspicious, but I didn't think it was serious.

0:41:240:41:27

I asked her why there was still shooting,

0:41:270:41:29

even though the leaders had surrendered.

0:41:290:41:31

I was worried, so I told her to get inside the temple.

0:41:310:41:34

She said, "I don't know what's going on, Mum." She told me that.

0:41:340:41:37

GUNFIRE

0:41:370:41:40

As the bullets rained down, a man was shot by the temple entrance.

0:41:420:41:46

The nurses reacted bravely.

0:41:460:41:48

TRANSLATION: We saw that the injured man was still moving,

0:41:510:41:54

so my colleagues and I brought a stretcher to rescue him.

0:41:540:41:58

As we were lifting the injured man, they kept shooting at us.

0:41:580:42:02

It isn't one or two shots, this is sustained bursts.

0:42:020:42:06

Yeah, it was repeated,

0:42:060:42:07

and every time you thought "OK, that's it, it's safe to move," it would start again.

0:42:070:42:12

So, here inside a Buddhist temple in the centre of Bangkok,

0:42:120:42:15

that has been identified by all sides as a sanctuary,

0:42:150:42:18

and people were getting shot and killed in this area between here and the gates.

0:42:180:42:24

Not even the medical tent where Nurse Ked was stationed was safe.

0:42:280:42:33

TRANSLATION: I saw Ked falling to the ground, face down.

0:42:350:42:39

I thought that Ked was crouching down to avoid the bullets,

0:42:390:42:42

but I didn't know at all that the bullets were pouring down on our medical tent.

0:42:420:42:47

In my mind, I thought my tent wasn't hit.

0:42:470:42:49

In my mind, I didn't think anybody would do it.

0:42:490:42:52

The gunfire was relentless,

0:42:540:42:56

preventing anyone from helping those inside the medical tent.

0:42:560:43:00

By the time the shooting stopped,

0:43:000:43:03

Nurse Ked, face down on the tarmac, was dead.

0:43:030:43:06

I think she thought that green cross would protect her,

0:43:060:43:09

that no-one would shoot someone who was so obviously marked as a medic.

0:43:090:43:14

But somebody up there did.

0:43:140:43:15

Three times.

0:43:150:43:16

Three bullets.

0:43:160:43:18

TRANSLATION: I kept asking.

0:43:180:43:20

I didn't believe that my daughter had died.

0:43:200:43:23

I believed, and so did Ked, that she was not going to die

0:43:230:43:26

because she was a volunteer nurse. She wouldn't be put into danger.

0:43:260:43:30

We walked back here

0:43:300:43:32

and laid out on the ground, there were six dead bodies.

0:43:320:43:35

The big concern at the time was that we were going to have more.

0:43:380:43:41

Nurse Ked was one of those?

0:43:410:43:43

We know that now, yeah.

0:43:430:43:44

At the time I didn't look, but I know now she was one of them.

0:43:440:43:48

TRANSLATION: It's unacceptable.

0:43:520:43:54

I think that they knew we were a medical team on the ground.

0:43:540:43:58

They knew that our job was to help society.

0:43:580:44:01

Even a girl who had already fallen on the ground...

0:44:040:44:08

just one shot, she was already dead.

0:44:080:44:10

They shouldn't have shot her again.

0:44:100:44:13

Nurse Ked had been shot dead.

0:44:150:44:17

So, too, her young volunteer colleague known as Bug.

0:44:170:44:22

He took an hour to bleed to death.

0:44:220:44:24

Nobody could get to him.

0:44:240:44:26

Those that tried were shot at, according to his colleagues.

0:44:260:44:31

TRANSLATION: We couldn't believe that this was Thailand.

0:44:320:44:35

My daughter was hiding in the temple.

0:44:350:44:38

She was a teacher, helping people in the temple.

0:44:380:44:41

The army dared to shoot her like that?!

0:44:410:44:43

The army denies sniping at civilians.

0:44:460:44:48

It said it found these weapons in the temple.

0:44:480:44:51

Soldiers told investigators they shot into the temple grounds

0:44:510:44:55

after being fired on from inside and around the Temple area.

0:44:550:44:59

TRANSLATION: Isn't it possible that these weapons were related to someone

0:45:040:45:08

who was in the demonstrators' area and who went to hide in the temple?

0:45:080:45:13

These people might have been involved in the deaths of the six people.

0:45:130:45:17

Those six deaths, some of them died outside the temple,

0:45:190:45:24

but their bodies were moved inside.

0:45:240:45:26

This is from interviews of many cases compiled by the investigators,

0:45:260:45:30

so therefore, saying that these six people were killed inside the temple

0:45:300:45:35

is something that still needs to be clarified by the investigation.

0:45:350:45:39

This was a designated safe area,

0:45:400:45:42

and, honestly, I spent hours in here, I never saw a gun.

0:45:420:45:47

The government's claimed that the footage of soldiers pointing their guns into the temple

0:45:490:45:54

may have been taken the following day, after troops had secured the area.

0:45:540:45:57

However, the pictures we've obtained clearly show fires raging in central Bangkok

0:45:570:46:02

at the same time as the soldiers are on the sky rail.

0:46:020:46:07

These fires had been extinguished the following day.

0:46:070:46:10

A leaked DSI report quoting named soldiers said there was proof

0:46:130:46:16

the military had been responsible for three of the six deaths.

0:46:160:46:21

Human Rights Watch say that among those killed by the army was a medic.

0:46:260:46:30

It also found that, while there were gun battles outside the complex,

0:46:300:46:33

there was no evidence the sky rail used by the soldiers

0:46:330:46:37

had been struck by fire from the temple.

0:46:370:46:41

Throughout the crisis, a joint committee of security forces and ministers decided on strategy.

0:46:420:46:48

They blamed red-shirt violence for provoking the confrontations...

0:46:500:46:55

..and denied there was a shoot-to-kill policy.

0:46:560:46:59

What about Nurse Ked, for example, who went to tend to the wounded?

0:47:000:47:04

That's one case where I'm still very much interested,

0:47:040:47:07

and as I said, things are inconclusive at the moment.

0:47:070:47:10

It wouldn't be fair for me to make any kind of judgment.

0:47:100:47:13

How is it, a year on, that it's so inconclusive? Why is it so slow?

0:47:130:47:16

It's very difficult circumstances.

0:47:160:47:18

How long did it take you to find out about Bloody Sunday?

0:47:180:47:21

Well, I'm an Irishman, I knew the facts of it pretty quickly.

0:47:230:47:26

-To come back to you, to this situation....

-But to get it confirmed.

0:47:260:47:30

You wouldn't have any problem with seeing a soldier or his commander go on trial for an abuse like that?

0:47:300:47:37

If they've abused or violated the law.

0:47:370:47:40

International reaction was muted.

0:47:410:47:43

In fact, just weeks after the clashes, Thailand was elected

0:47:430:47:47

to the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council.

0:47:470:47:51

Clearly, the world saw a different Thailand

0:47:510:47:53

to the one experienced by those demanding accountability.

0:47:530:47:57

Does it trouble you that, for many people,

0:47:590:48:02

your legacy will not be as someone who tried to further democracy in this country,

0:48:020:48:08

but who turned the guns on his own people?

0:48:080:48:11

That's not... I don't think that's how I will be remembered.

0:48:110:48:14

-Are you sure?

-Yes.

0:48:140:48:16

Because a lot of people feel you've got blood on your hands.

0:48:160:48:19

If that were the description,

0:48:190:48:21

I don't think that the international community

0:48:210:48:24

would have reacted the way it did,

0:48:240:48:27

and I think some people are trying to rewrite history.

0:48:270:48:31

There's been no shortage of investigations, but the army remains untouched.

0:48:360:48:42

Top red-shirt leaders, including Thaksin, face terrorism charges.

0:48:420:48:47

As it moved to crush dissent more widely,

0:48:480:48:50

the army would accuse its enemies of threatening the monarchy.

0:48:500:48:55

The military revived an old law.

0:48:550:48:59

It's called Lese Majeste, and carries a jail sentence of up to 15 years

0:48:590:49:04

for insulting, threatening or defaming the monarchy.

0:49:040:49:08

Hundreds of cases were brought last year.

0:49:100:49:13

This is a police station on the edge of Bangkok's city centre.

0:49:170:49:21

The protesters give a hint of what's going on inside.

0:49:230:49:26

A Bangkok academic has been told to report here for questioning.

0:49:290:49:35

Writers, human rights activists and politicians

0:49:350:49:38

have all faced charges in the last year.

0:49:380:49:41

In May this year, the Thai army filed charges against Professor Somsak

0:49:420:49:47

for questioning the content of a television interview

0:49:470:49:49

given by the King's youngest daughter

0:49:490:49:52

about last year's crackdown.

0:49:520:49:54

VOICEOVER IN THAI

0:49:570:49:59

Though striking for the deference of the presenter to the Princess,

0:49:590:50:05

the controversy surrounded comments she made about the damage to buildings

0:50:050:50:10

allegedly caused by the red-shirt protesters.

0:50:100:50:12

Professor Somsak had asked why the Princess hadn't referred to civilian deaths.

0:50:190:50:24

A case like this is just one graphic example of how free speech

0:50:260:50:31

is being corralled, tightened in Thailand now.

0:50:310:50:34

And for critics of the status quo,

0:50:340:50:37

it's not just a question of choosing your words carefully.

0:50:370:50:40

It's wondering whether you should open your mouth at all.

0:50:400:50:44

They especially claim that I suggested the Royal Family

0:50:440:50:49

is biased against the red shirts or biased...

0:50:490:50:54

-got involved in politics.

-Is that what you believe?

0:50:540:50:58

-Um...

-Or if you give me an honest answer to that,

0:50:580:51:01

-are you afraid you'll end up in jail?

-Yes, because this is exactly what...

0:51:010:51:05

-So you can't tell me the truth?

-Yeah.

0:51:050:51:08

Even this quite simple question,

0:51:080:51:10

I am now in a difficult position to give a straightforward answer.

0:51:100:51:14

We're in the extraordinary position

0:51:140:51:16

of me knowing what do you think, but you can't say it.

0:51:160:51:20

Yes, this is what...one of the reasons that this law

0:51:200:51:23

is so obsolete and should be abolished.

0:51:230:51:25

-TRANSLATION:

-The King never defends himself.

0:51:290:51:32

He has only done good things for Thai people.

0:51:320:51:36

Therefore, the army, every organisation and the people

0:51:360:51:39

have a duty according to the law, AND their duty as Thais,

0:51:390:51:43

to protect the monarchy.

0:51:430:51:45

That claim, to be the King's defenders,

0:51:490:51:51

has helped keep the Thai army above the law for decades.

0:51:510:51:56

But the 83-year-old King, the central figure in Thai life, is ailing,

0:51:560:52:01

and the army fears what will come in his wake.

0:52:010:52:03

They're jockeying for position

0:52:050:52:07

in preparation for the succession. It's an elephant in the room

0:52:070:52:11

that this country doesn't want to talk about.

0:52:110:52:15

Either they're so stupid, or they just don't want to see the elephant,

0:52:150:52:19

and I believe it's the latter.

0:52:190:52:21

-NEWSREEL:

-This ceremony shows more clearly how the King is, indeed, the soul of his nation.

0:52:220:52:27

The centre round which army, government and religion cohere.

0:52:270:52:32

For the last 65 years,

0:52:320:52:34

King Phumiphon has been seen as a virtual god by his subjects,

0:52:340:52:38

a loved and unifying symbol for all Thais.

0:52:380:52:41

But according to leaked American cables,

0:52:430:52:46

his heir, the Crown Prince, is a far more erratic figure.

0:52:460:52:49

HE SPEAKS IN THAI

0:52:510:52:54

In these insecure times, the army is more than ever determined

0:53:120:53:17

not to be placed in the dock.

0:53:170:53:19

But now the victims have been given hope

0:53:220:53:26

by the appearance of this woman, Yingluck Shinawatra.

0:53:260:53:29

She is Thaksin's sister.

0:53:310:53:33

He calls her his clone

0:53:330:53:34

and helped bankroll and direct her campaign from exile.

0:53:340:53:37

SHE SPEAKS IN THAI

0:53:370:53:41

CROWD CHEERS

0:53:410:53:43

On the campaign trail, she promised justice.

0:53:430:53:45

I want to correct the wrong thing to the correct thing.

0:53:470:53:50

But that means that if people... if soldiers are found guilty of killing people,

0:53:500:53:54

-they will go to jail.

-Yes, they have to.

0:53:540:53:56

By the legal, I have to make the judgment,

0:53:560:53:59

and the judge will have to judge on this case.

0:53:590:54:01

If Yingluck is true to her word, it'll be the first time

0:54:060:54:09

in Thailand's modern history the military is held accountable.

0:54:090:54:13

You witnessed a bloody massacre in 1976. You were sent to jail after that.

0:54:140:54:18

Was there any military person ever brought to justice for that?

0:54:180:54:22

No, never.

0:54:220:54:23

In '76 there was not even an investigation up to the present.

0:54:230:54:29

What's the consequence of there not being justice?

0:54:290:54:33

It'll happen again and again,

0:54:330:54:35

because the military and those perpetrators know that they won't be punished.

0:54:350:54:40

They get away with murder?

0:54:400:54:42

The word's "impunity". Yes.

0:54:420:54:45

Do you have any confidence that the rule of law will work?

0:54:450:54:48

It hasn't in the past, has it?

0:54:480:54:50

It's never worked.

0:54:500:54:52

Right now, it's not worked. So, that's why the reconciliation will be fair to everyone.

0:54:520:54:57

But Yingluck faces a real dilemma.

0:55:010:55:04

Bringing soldiers or their commanders to justice

0:55:040:55:07

could risk her being ousted.

0:55:070:55:09

And as if all this was not murky enough, the man behind her campaign, her brother, Thaksin,

0:55:120:55:17

has his own questions to answer on human rights.

0:55:170:55:20

-NEWSREEL:

-Unable to disperse the crowd, a decision was taken to arrest 1,300 protesters

0:55:250:55:31

in the hope the insurgents could be identified.

0:55:310:55:35

Under him,

0:55:350:55:38

civil liberties were broken, political rights ignored.

0:55:380:55:41

A war on drugs was carried out

0:55:410:55:45

in which thousands of civilians were killed without trial.

0:55:450:55:51

There were massacres against people in the far south.

0:55:510:55:54

Soldiers carried out these attacks with legal impunity.

0:55:540:55:58

He actually stated that stability was more important than democracy

0:55:580:56:03

when he was Prime Minister.

0:56:030:56:05

Mr Thaksin denies charges of human rights abuse and corruption.

0:56:100:56:13

He declined to be interviewed.

0:56:130:56:15

But whoever has ruled in Thailand, impunity has been the norm.

0:56:180:56:21

SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE

0:56:210:56:24

Little wonder Bangkok is now rife with rumours of a deal

0:56:280:56:32

that would deliver amnesty for all,

0:56:320:56:34

including the military and Thaksin.

0:56:340:56:37

However, the party led by his sister says it's not a priority.

0:56:370:56:43

The chances of families of red shirts who were killed in 2010

0:56:440:56:49

finding accountability...

0:56:490:56:51

..for the loss of their loved ones... is very low,

0:56:530:56:59

because the military is going to protect its own.

0:56:590:57:03

It's going to be a very long time

0:57:050:57:07

before the military is held to any accountability for this.

0:57:070:57:10

-TRANSLATION:

-I'm afraid there won't be anything different between people who died this time

0:57:100:57:16

and people in the past. After some time, they will use the amnesty law.

0:57:160:57:20

The people who ordered the killing and the army were not judged guilty,

0:57:200:57:24

and people all died for nothing. They only have a monument.

0:57:240:57:27

What I can say is, I am afraid they will use this kind of law.

0:57:270:57:30

I will fight against it, no matter which government is elected.

0:57:300:57:34

The journey for the truth is lonely and invariably futile.

0:57:400:57:45

Yet, for the families of the dead, it must go on.

0:57:460:57:49

Why do you keep doing this?

0:57:530:57:55

Why do you keep up this... I mean, it's a struggle now to get any information.

0:57:550:58:00

Because you want to know, you want to understand what happened.

0:58:000:58:05

That's what, probably, he would have done for me, if I were in his place.

0:58:060:58:11

The injustice of the past hovers over the present in Thailand.

0:58:150:58:19

For here, what is covered up is all too easily repeated.

0:58:190:58:25

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:570:59:01

E-mail [email protected]

0:59:010:59:05

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