Members of the media should maintain a safe distance from clashes between protesters and riot police, the National Police chief said.
Pol General Damrongsak Kittiprapas was on Saturday responding to allegations that police physically assaulted some reporters during an anti-government rally near Democracy Monument on Thursday.
Protesters had gathered a few hundred metres from the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, where the Apec Summit was being held and clashes soon broke out, with riot police shooting rubber bullets into the crowd.
Clips of a monk being pushed against a wall and a policeman reportedly attacking a reporter from the online news site, The Matter, went viral. The reporter was attacked even though he shouted out his credentials and showed his press armband.
Some media reports said some protesters used violence first. A video clip showed a monk throwing himself at a row of crowd-control police and a protester hitting at a policeman with a large stick.
The police chief said a large presence of reporters and photographers in the middle of a clash made it difficult for police to perform their duty and puts them at risk of injury.
He also said that sometimes there are more media people than demonstrators on the frontlines.
“This makes it tough [for police] to do their job. I wonder if anything like this happens in other countries?” Damrongsak asked.
He also pointed out that many of those caught in the middle of the confrontation were YouTubers posing as reporters. “They were not in the media line and did not identify themselves.”
The police chief said further investigation was required to see if any officer committed wrongdoing.
He added that 15 police officers had been injured – one seriously – during their confrontation with “unruly” protesters. The officer with serious injuries is still in the hospital.
A Reuters photographer reportedly sustained minor injuries from hard objects being flung around.
Source: The Nation