Tensions rise over Thai blockade
November 30, 2008
Protesters occupy Bangkok
Tensions continued to rise in Bangkok as thousands of anti-government protesters occupied the city’s two main airports for a sixth day.
Police said they were negotiating with the group, as experts warned of soaring economic losses from the blockade.
Some 100,000 passengers remain stranded in the Thai capital. Some countries are putting on flights to bring them home.
Demonstrators want the government to step down, accusing it of being corrupt and hostile to the monarchy.
Fears of clashes between pro- and anti-government groups are growing, after a grenade attack in Bangkok.
Saturday’s late-night attack on protesters occupying a government compound injured about 50 people, three of them seriously.
It is widely presumed to be retaliation for the airport occupation, says the BBC’s Jonathan Head in Bangkok.
And for the first time since the seizure, the government’s own supporters are on the streets of Bangkok for a rally later in the day.
So far the two groups have not encountered each other but there are fears of serious violence if they do, our correspondent adds.
‘Avoid confrontation’
Demonstrators from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class - have been been occupying Bangkok’s international and domestic airports for almost a week.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has authorised police to remove them, but police say that they will not use force.
“We are in a negotiation process. We want to avoid any violent confrontation. We will not use weapons,” police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said.
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On Sunday, police at the domestic airport, Don Mueang, issued a fresh order to protesters to leave the terminal.
Similar orders have already been issued and ignored at both occupied airports and, say correspondents, few believe that police have the will to enforce them.
An estimated 100,000 passengers have been stranded by the seizures. Some travellers have been trying to get to smaller airports around the country, but these are being overwhelmed.
Spain’s government says it will send three planes later on Sunday to evacuate its citizens. Australian airline Quantas is also putting on a special flight from the resort island of Phuket, ABC news reports.
The closures have hit Thailand’s tourist industry hard, with the loss of millions of dollars of revenue. The Federation of Thai Industries estimates that the blockade is costing the country up to $85m (£55.4m) per day.
It is also expected to have a knock-on effect. Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat said the number of foreign tourists arriving next year was expected to drop by half, threatening one million jobs.
Our correspondent says there is an increasing risk of the civil conflict escalating.
There is growing anger among pro-government supporters over the failure of the police and army to back the elected prime minister.
Mr Somchai, seen by the protesters as an ally of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has refused to resign in the face of the protests.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
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