Journalists in the firing line

Anti-government 'red shirt' supporters assist Nelson Rand, a Canadian-born journalist working for France's TF1 network, to safety after he was shot while covering clashes with army soldiers near Bangkok's Lumpini Park. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BANGKOK - ONE journalist has been shot dead and several more wounded in the Thai capital since anti-government protests broke out in March, underscoring the dangers facing media covering the chaotic clashes.

Three journalists suffered gunshot wounds on Friday while covering the latest explosion of violence in Bangkok, where troops opened fire during a tense confrontation with 'Red Shirt' demonstrators in the heart of the city.

Nelson Rand, a television reporter with France 24, was hit by three bullets and seriously injured, his network reported. 'One hit his leg, one his torso and another his wrist, which has multiple fractures. The doctors say his condition is now stable but that he was gravely wounded,' Rand's colleague Cyril Payen said on air.

A photographer with the Thai newspaper Matichon was also shot in the leg during Friday's clashes, as was a cameraman with Voice-TV, a cable television station owned by the family of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Hiro Muramoto, a Japanese cameraman with the Thomson Reuters news agency, was shot and killed covering an unsuccessful military operation on April 10 to clear an area of the capital that left a total of 25 people dead.

Journalists have been a visible presence on the streets of the capital since the opposition 'Red Shirts' began their mass protests in mid-March in a campaign to topple a government they see as undemocratic. While some are war-hardened foreign correspondents wearing flak jackets and helmets, others have little protection. Alongside professionals, tourists and amateur photographers have often been seen taking pictures of the protests - a sign, perhaps, of the growing role of 'citizen journalism' relaying news through blogs and online forums.

After three members of the press were wounded within just a few hours on Friday, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on the army and the protesters 'to guarantee the safety of the journalists' in the capital. 'The confusion reigning in various parts of Bangkok does not suffice to explain the shooting injuries sustained by several Thai and foreign journalists since April,' it said in a statement. 'Both camps must comply fully with the requirements of international law, according to which journalists cannot be military targets,' it added. -- AFP