호주 사진기자 : 태국 2010년 시위 민간인 학살사건 증거 사진 제공

[울트라-노마드]

(보도) Bangkok Post 2011-12-18  (번역) 크메르의 세계

호주 사진기자 : 태국 2010년 시위 민간인 학살사건 증거 사진 제공

In the line of fire ... but spared by fate

작년에 발생한 '레드셔츠'(UDD) 운동의 '대규모 시위' 당시, 방콕의 '왓 파툼 와나람'(Wat Pathum Wanaram) 사원 앞에서 한 남성이 총격을 당하는 모습을 목격한 카메라맨이 있다. 경찰은 이 카메라맨의 사진들이 당시 사건을 재구성해주길 바라고 있다.

자신의 이름이 총탄과 함께 누군가가 의해 기록되고 수집된다면 분명 편안한 일이 아닐 것이다. 하지만 호주의 사진기자인 스테펜 티크너(Stephen Tickner) 씨는 자신이 가진 증거를 '수도권 광역경찰청'(MPB)에 접수시키기 위해 방콕을 방문했다. 그는 '왓 파툼 와나람' 앞에서 '민간인 6명이 사살당한 사건'의 핵심적인 증인이다.

(사진) 스테펜 티크너 씨가 경찰에 제출한 증거사진과 접수문서.

2010년 5월 19일, 티크너 씨는 '라마 1세 거리'(Rama I Road) 중간에 위치한 '왓 파툼 와나람' 사찰의 입구 근처에 있었다. 그는 '시암 파라곤 몰'(Siam Paragon mall) 방향에서 총소리가 가까와지자, 자신의 카메라 렌즈를 교체하는 중이었다.

그때 흰색 티셔츠를 입은 청년 한 사람이 도로를 뛰어서 그가 있는 방향으로 달려왔다. 그가 티크너 씨가 있는 곳에 다다랐을 무렵, 청년은 갑작스레 바닥에 고꾸라졌다. 이 카메라맨은 무슨 일이 발생했는지 정확히 느끼질 못했다. 그는 "너무 많은 피가 흘러나와 헐리웃 영화와는 다른 느낌이었다"고 회고했다.

(사진) 스테펜 티크너 씨의 모습.

Had the young man tripped over or been shot? Tickner turned around and saw the man, Atthachai Chumchan, 28, had crawled to the median strip under an overhead railway line and was lying on his back, his white shirt now covered in blood. With the help of a monk, Tickner dragged Atthachai into the temple compound, but his life could not be saved.

One of the medics treating Atthachai, along with two others who were also wearing distinguishable red cross armbands, was also killed by gunfire that evening.

Tickner, a freelancer, had always believed Atthachai was killed by soldiers advancing down the road. But when he gave his statement to police on Dec 8 and 9, he learned from the autopsy report that the bullet had entered Atthachai's right shoulder at a 35-degree angle, puncturing both his lungs. The shooter had been stationed on the median strip and police believe Tickner was his target.

''To be honest, when I looked at that autopsy, that threw me quite a bit,'' Tickner told the Bangkok Post Sunday. ''What I realised is that if he hadn't been where he was at the time, the bullet would have hit me.''

When asked if there was a theory that he was the target, Tickner said: ''There is now. Police say this is their thinking on this, that in fact they probably had me targeted and because he [Atthachai] was running so fast it was just luck _ bad luck for him, good luck for me _ which is a bit disturbing.''

Police have told Tickner he is a key witness in the case; his digital photographs, with date and time stamps, are crucial in helping them reconstruct a timeline of events.

The veteran photographer was at the temple, a designated safe haven, from late that afternoon until around 7am the next day.

Police told Tickner they placed more store in his statement than in other witnesses, as he is a foreigner with no political agenda and has prior experience of working in live fire zones, such as East Timor.

''They seem to put a fair bit of weight on it, but that's not for me to judge,'' said Tickner, from Newcastle in New South Wales.

The photographer said he did not capture any images of soldiers firing from the railway line, but he is certain there were no gunmen in the temple and no running gun battles outside.

In statements to the Department of Special Investigation inquiry into the shootings, officers and soldiers from the Special Forces Regiment at Lop Buri said seven soldiers were deployed on the BTS track on the Wat Pathum Wanaram side to provide cover for ground troops.

One unnamed soldier said they had exchanged gunfire with armed persons inside the temple and there was a 10-minute gun battle on the BTS track.

But Tickner said from his observations there was nothing to justify any sort of shooting. ''To my knowledge there were no weapons inside the temple,'' he said. ''I pointed out to [police] in follow-up statements that I'm press photographer, so if I'd seen a red shirt or a black shirt with so much as a slingshot in their hand I would have photographed them as a matter of course. ''But those photos don't exist. The photos inside the temple show kids on mats, mothers, fathers, all these kind of people. Certainly there were some guys there, but they were nothing like the black shirts I'd seen in previous days.''

Tickner gave a statement to the DSI in September 2010 and said he was contacted via email by metropolitan police in August this year after they had seen some of his photos on the red shirt protests on a website.

When asked if he was surprised at a second request to make a statement, Tickner said it made more sense with a change of government as police had been given a ''green light'' to conduct a full investigation. He said as a photo journalist he had reservations about being a witness for police, but part of his decision was based on the fatal shootings of Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi and Japanese cameraman Hiroyuki Muramoto during the 2010 unrest. ''It becomes a question of, do you try to stop that type of targeting of journalists by not giving evidence, or do you try to stop it by making people in positions of authority accountable for their actions,'' he said.

Tickner says he will stay in Thailand for now and is willing to testify if the prosecution cases proceed.

  * 상위화면 바로가기 : "[기사목록] 2011년 태국 정치 진행상황"