Case Study: Thai Police Politically Exploit Death of Italian Journalist

Tony Cartalucci, Contributor

Activist Post

An attempted color revolution backed by Wall Street unfolded in Bangkok, Thailand in 2010, leaving 91 dead. Since then, Wall Street as well as its proxies inside of Thailand have attempted to blame all 91 deaths on the Thai military despite overwhelming evidence proving armed militants were involved in the protests — this foreshadowed the techniques now being used on a larger scale in Syria.

High profile deaths including those of foreign journalists caught in the crossfire have become political points of leverage for Wall Street’s media machine (a technique also reused in Syria) and their Thai proxy, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. Unfortunately the same craven political stunt employed at the expense of fallen Reuters journalist Hiro Muramoto who was killed during the April 10, 2010 night ambush of Thai troops, is now being used regarding the death of an Italian journalist by the Thai police currently headed by Thaksin Shinawatra’s own brother-in-law.

Police General Priewpan Damapong was appointed as head of Thailand’s police shortly after Thaksin’s own sister took office last July, with much support from Wall Street & London and demonstrating a breathtaking display of third-world nepotism. Damapong, it should be noted, also just recently, and very eagerly, backed claims by both the US and Israel regarding the false flag Bangkok bombing pinned on Iran – illustrating just how interconnected these geopolitical ploys are regardless of geographic distance.

Claims regarding “new evidence” that Italian journalist Fabio Polenghi was killed by a high-velocity bullet during 2010’s unrest, and not an M-79 grenade as previously thought, and therefore “clearly” implicating government troops, echos of similar claims by Thaksin’s associates in regards to Muramoto’s death and conveniently ignores the fact that both government troops and Thaksin’s militants employed not only assault rifles firing high velocity bullets, but both fielded weapons that fired the exact same 5.56mm rounds claimed by Thaksin and his opposition to only have been used by government troops.

The evidence compiled in “Mainstream Propagandists: A Tale of Depravity,” featuring photographs, video, witness testimony as well as a Human Rights Watch report, confirms without a doubt that Thaksin’s hired mercenaries not only used the very same weapons as Thai troops, including M-16’s, but had in their possession scores of weapons confiscated from Thai troops during the first violent confrontation on April 10, 2010. It also provides geopolitical analysts with perhaps the most transparent and well documented use of covert violence to facilitate a Western-backed color revolution to date.



Video: Video footage from April 10, 2010, aired on AlJazeera, clearly shows Thaksin’s militants employing tactically both AK-47s and M16 assault rifles. For those unfamiliar with these two weapons, and who find it difficult to identify the weapon being carried by the Thaksin militant at (00:35), the position of the rifle’s front sight post gives it away. The AK-47’s front sight post is located all the way at the end of the barrel and is integrated with the compensator, while the M16A2’s sight post is located right at the end of the hand guards leaving a considerable amount of the barrel between it and the compensator .

Image: A freeze frame of the above footage, featured in the Bangkok Post, showing clearly the front sight posts of an M16A2.

Image: An AK-47. Notice the front sight post is located all the way at the end of the weapon’s barrel, as well as its more compact, and thicker construction.

Image: An M16A2. Notice the front sight post’s location next to the hand-guards and the long section of barrel between it and the weapon’s compensator.

Image: The cover of Human Rights Watch’s “Descent into Chaos (.pdf)” report, which, while published long after HRW itself did as much as possible to support and defend Wall Street’s proxy Thaksin Shinawatra and cover for his armed mercenaries, finally confirms that not only did protesters have amongst them armed militants, but that they in fact employed identical weapons as Thai troops including M-16’s firing 5.56mm rounds.

Page 62 states:

As the army attempted to move on the camp, they were confronted by well-armed men who fired M16 and AK-47 assault rifles at them, particularly at the Khok Wua intersection on Rajdamnoen Road. They also fired grenades from M79s and threw M67 hand grenades at the soldiers. News footage and videos taken by protesters and tourists show several soldiers lying unconscious and bleeding on the ground, as well as armed men operating with a high degree of coordination and military skills.

Clearly, if both sides were employing M16’s — deaths and injuries resulting from 5.56mm high velocity rounds could have been caused by either the Thai military or Thaksin’s mercenaries — exposing the latest “revelations” by Thai police as nothing more than a shameless political stunt. It most likely will never be known from which rifle fired the fatal round, let alone who was holding that rifle at the time.

Image: Not only did Thaksin’s militants bring their own M16s to the firefight, they also at one point during the night of April 10, 2010, verifiably seized a large amount of weapons from Thai soldiers who fled in disarray after an ambush organized by elements within Thaksin’s movement. While it is unproven whether these weapons were then used by militants during their daily and nightly clashes with Thai troops, room is left for considerable doubt even if Thailand’s police were able to trace bullets to rifles in government armories.

While this evidence was originally compiled and posted in regards to Reuters journalist Hiro Muramoto’s case, it can just as easily apply to all victims of the April and May 2010 violence that unfolded in Bangkok, including that of Fabio Polenghi to counter dubious, clearly politically motivated claims regarding high-profile deaths during Thaksin’s 2010 armed insurrection.

Atrocities Made-to-Order: Tools of the Trade

Other examples show that while the West is perfectly content with manipulating and spinning events as they unfold, it is also willing to manufacture real atrocities for the sake of pinning them on a targeted government. This includes the premeditated murder of a pro-Thaksin protester by Thaksin’s own mercenaries — recorded on tape and extensively photographed, then shamelessly and relentlessly used as propaganda to this very day. The incident took place on April 10, 2010, the same night Reuters journalist Hiro Muramoto was killed, and gives us immense insight into how Western-backed color revolutions will purposefully kill both protesters and government troops to escalate tensions and violence while undermining the legitimacy of a targeted government.

In a YouTube video (WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC) recorded by Thaksin propagandists, protesters can be seen facing off against troops to the left of the screen with other protesters seeking cover as fire is exchanged between militants and troops. In the center of the frame, a very conspicuous man is seen carrying a tall red flag with his attention fixated on men directing him into position. He moves in steps, almost as if posing for a picture with his attention focused on the men directing him. Behind him, with his hat turned backwards, appears to be a spotter shadowing the flagman’s moves and flashing a series of hand signals to the men on the left directing the flagman.

Image: Frames taken from the video with annotations describe the events that unfolded shortly before and directly after Thaksin mercenaries intentionally killed one of their own protesters. The final image eventually made it onto the cover of Thaksin propaganda magazine, “Voice of Taksin.” (click image to enlarge)

Men in the upper left of the screen can be seen waving the flagman into position as they tell other protesters to “get down” before a shot is fired taking off the top of the man’s skull. As protesters panic and run off camera, the spotter moving with the flagman calmly stands above the dead man and waves in a photographer who takes the infamous pictures that would soon be featured on the cover of Thaksin’s propaganda publication, the “Voice of Taksin.” It must be remembered that the video camera was fixated on the flagman the entire time to specifically capture the entire, premeditated murder.

Image: A censored version of the very explicit “special” cover of Thaksin propaganda magazine, “Voice of Taksin,” featuring a man killed not even a minute ago. The flag he was conspicuously waving just moments before lays across his chest and was most likely handed to him to aid mercenary snipers in targeting him. The original cover with translations can be found here. (WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC.) The editor of “Voice of Taksin” has since been arrested and imprisoned for his role in the 2010 violence — however Western “human rights” fronts including US-funded Prachatai maintain that he is a “political prisoner” and a “human rights activist.” Note: on the bottom of the magazine cover a “free” CD is offered featuring video of the gruesome staged murder of this unfortunate young man.

This horrific, cold-blooded demonstration of the callous, murderous nature of these so-called “pro-democracy” movements sowing chaos from Tunisia to Thailand illustrates the full depths of depravity from which the global elite and their proxies operate. Behind the thin veneer of revolutionary “singing tomorrows” is a heartless, craven killing machine as eager to dispose of its most adamant supporters as it is inclined to eliminate its opponents. What was just described has played out not only repeatedly in Thailand, but all across North Africa and the Middle East as well as during previous attempts by the West to oust Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Conclusion

This not only concerns the ongoing Western-backed political destabilization of Thailand and the implications it has for greater Asia, but serves as a useful example, exposed in full detail, as to how Wall Street and London runs color revolutions, how covert violence plays an integral part in effecting both the undermining and toppling of national institutions, and how the corporate-media preys on both ignorance and emotions to manipulate such violence. The lessons learned on the streets of Bangkok in 2010 allow us to see current events unfolding in hotspots like Syria with a new, more informed perspective and a deeper understanding of how “fourth generation” warfare is waged.

Tony Cartalucci’s articles have appeared on many alternative media websites, including his own at

Land Destroyer Report. Read other contributed articles by Tony Cartalucci here.