In the line of fire
Nation photographer Chaiwat Pumpuang reckons that last week's red riot in Bangkok was even more dangerous for newsmen than Afghanistan or southern Thailand
Chaiwat, who joined the paper in the mid-1980s, was on duty covering the political unrest on Rajprarob Road near the Century Hotel when he was shot in his right leg.Chaiwat Pumpuang, 47, a veteran photographer for The Nation, didn't expect a potentially deadly surprise from the security forces battling anti-government protesters in Bangkok on the afternoon of May 15.
"Around 3pm, I and a group of 10 other TV and newspaper cameramen, including three Japanese, were following 50 to 60 red-shirt protesters along Rajprarob Road after security forces set up barricades to stop them from advancing into the city centre [and Rajprasong intersection, where the main protest site was situated].
"The situation was rather tense but I didn't expect the military to take very harsh action against the protesters. The worst came around 3.30pm when the red shirts took over a city water truck and tried to steer it across the road near Soi Rangnam as a barrier against the security forces.
"Soldiers then blew out the tyres on this truck and all hell broke loose. The place suddenly turned into a battlefield as I attempted to capture the scenes on my camera with a telescope lens.
"Everyone was retreating into corners to avoid live bullets from the security forces. I and a colleague from Post Today were among the last to leave the firing zone.
"Unfortunately, I was two or three steps too late, and was hit in my right upper leg, with my back next to the concrete wall of a nearby house.
"After collapsing in the street, I was left lying there for 25-30 minutes. Afterwards, the army stopped shooting and a rescue team arrived at the scene," says Chaiwat, who has covered war zones in Afghanistan and Cambodia as well as Thailand's insurgent-wracked southernmost provinces.
In his opinion, field journalists and cameramen generally ensure their own safety while covering dangerous events by choosing to stay on the "right" side of the conflict. However, such a choice was difficult in last week's Bangkok riots.
"On April 10, for instance, several soldiers were killed [by unidentified assailants] as they attempted to disperse protesters at Bangkok's Kwok Wua intersection.
"As a result, we couldn't be sure that we would be safe if we were with the security forces. We were concerned about being shot by snipers [from unknown forces], for instance.
"In other words, the Bangkok riots were tougher than Afghanistan or Cambodia or southern Thailand in terms of making the right choice for safety.
"In southern Thailand, for example, I have been there more than 10 times. Most of the time, we stay with villagers. The last time, seven soldiers were killed by a car bomb in Narathiwat. It happened about 600 metres from where I was standing.
"During a Thai-Burmese border skirmish a few years ago, we were with the Thai forces and there was no safety problem.
"This time, I mistakenly believed that the security forces wouldn't get very tough with the protesters. There were just 50 to 60 red shirts, a very small group. I couldn't believe that the soldiers would shoot non-stop like that. What happened was very fast, offensive and deadly. There was no advance signal that the army would strike that hard, especially when there were about ten cameramen in the area.
"We were just doing our duty and we couldn't see the soldiers who sprayed bullets, as they were behind their sandbags at the opposite end of the street," says Chaiwat.
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