A mother’s plea
INTERVIEW: The mother of the Italian reporter shot dead in the red-shirt riots seeks answers, but doesn’t want to see the tragedy used as a tool, writes Achara Ashayagachat
The mother of the Italian reporter shot dead in the red-shirt riots seeks answers, but doesn’t want to see the tragedy used as a tool.
The mother of late Italian journalist Fabio Polenghi, who was killed in the May 19 government crackdown on red-shirt protests in 2010, said she does not want anyone to politicise her son’s death.
Laura Chiorri, 72, travelled three hours on the train from Fabriano in central Italy to Rome to catch an 11-hour flight to Bangkok to hear the court ruling on Fabio’s death.
She said she believes the military is responsible for the loss of her son’s life.
‘‘It is difficult to think with a sane mind that the caring, sweet and friendly Fabio was killed in the nice city of Bangkok, where people are well-known for smiling and hospitality,’’ Ms Chiorri said.
Polenghi was shot by a single bullet from a high-velocity weapon before 11am on Ratchadamri Road and later pronounced dead at Police General Hospital.
The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court will deliver its ruling on Wednesday on an inquest probing whether the 48-yearold journalist was killed by the military on the final day of government actions to disperse red-shirt protesters.
‘‘I’ve never forgiven the person who killed my son and I want to see strong punishment of those involved in the murder,’’ Ms Chiorri said.
‘‘I also hope this will be a lesson for Thai society that will prevent such a tragic incident from recurring.’’
However, like her youngest daughter Elisabetta Polenghi, who has become a regular visitor to Bangkok as she seeks the truth behind her elder brother’s death, Ms Chiorri does not want to see capital punishment meted out to those found guilty.
‘‘No one has the right to take away the life of another person,’’ Ms Chiorri said.
Ms Chiorri is in Bangkok with her eldest daughter, Arianna Polenghi, who made a three-day journey from Honduras to Thailand to hear the inquest, which began on July 25, 2012.
Apart from Polenghi, another foreign journalist, Japanese cameraman Hiroyuki Muramoto, was also killed on April 10, 2010 during the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration’s crackdown on the red-shirt protest.
The inquest into the Reuters cameraman’s death began on May 21, 2012 and is yet to be completed.
Ms Chiorri said the last time Fabio Polenghi spent time with her was during Christmas in 2009, when she and her son visited Arianna in Roatan island in Honduras, where she lives.
Then they returned to his home in Milan, where he spent some time with his sister Elisabetta.
‘‘It was the last sweet memory,’’ Ms Chiorri said.
‘‘We spent two nights at the airports in Milan and Cuba since there was unusual snow in Italy at that time and flights were delayed. When I think of his death, I still cry sometimes.’’
Arianna, 53, said the family was in Thailand to support Elisabetta, or Isa as she is called in the family.
Before his untimely death, Polenghi had taken photos of Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangkok for western media outlets such as German news magazine Der Spiegel.
His last set of 900 photos was sent to a French agency which the family said has yet to pay for his work.
‘‘He usually took photos of the common people, especially those who were struggling or suffering,’’ Ms Chiorri said. ‘‘He often worked at night preparing for the next day. Some nights since he has been gone, I wake up thinking he is still around.’’
Asked how she felt that her son has now been embraced by the red shirts as part of their movement, Ms Chiorri said she did not know Thai politics and did not want to be involved.
‘‘I don’t want Fabio’s history to be used in politics at all,’’ she said.
But asked who she thought was responsible for her son’s death, she said: ‘‘Reading the autopsy and ballistic reports and considering Fabio’s photos of the human faces of the red shirts, I have come to the conclusion that the military should be the responsible party.’’
Elisabetta said her father, who separated from her mother when she was a teenager, told her to stop pursuing the truth, saying he wanted her to move on with her life.
‘‘My mother does not want me to face any more pain either, but she also would like to know what really happened,’’ she said.
‘‘For example, we are wondering what could be a reason for Fabio’s death. Was it a coincidence that Fabio was killed and his phone and camera were snatched away, or did he shoot some important photos that someone did not want others to see?’’
Elisabetta and Ms Chiorri will hold a press briefing on Wednesday evening at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, together with Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists.