Thai airport protesters defy order to leave, face off with police

BANGKOK, Nov 29, 2008 (AFP) Anti-government protesters on Saturday ignored orders to leave one of Bangkok’s besieged airports and faced off with Thai police, raising fears of clashes as crippling demonstrations escalated.

Tensions mounted with Thai television showing angry demonstrators arguing with police on a road to the main Suvarnabhumi airport as police tried set up a checkpoint to stop more people heading to the protest site.

Despite Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat’s declaration of emergency rule at the airports, protesters trying to topple his elected government have remained entrenched, barricading themselves in with barbed-wire and tyres.

Late Friday authorities ordered protesters to clear the small domestic hub Don Mueang, while police in body armour began gathering at the Suvarnabhumi international airport, which is heavily guarded by the activists.

Suvarnabhumi has been shuttered since late Tuesday, and every day the siege continues, 30,000 more passengers miss flights and the kingdom loses seven million dollars in tourism revenue, ministers and officials have said.

Chamlong Srimuang, a retired army general and one of the key leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest group, said demonstrators at Suvarnabhumi should prepare for police action and a prolonged seige.

“All who have just arrived from upcountry and those who are still at home, please continue your journey to Suvarnabhumi,” he told crowds at the prime minister’s Bangkok offices, which the PAD occupied in late August. “Bring food and drink because police have sealed off our protesters.” Police were not immediately available to comment on the situation Saturday.

The army chief has said he does not want to remove the protesters for fears of bloody clashes, and on Wednesday urged Somchai to dissolve parliament and hold new elections calls the premier promptly rejected.

In signs of further rifts between the government and security forces, Somchai on Friday removed national police chief General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, as police failed to take action after the emergency rule order.

The protesters are calling for the resignation of the government elected in December, saying it is running Thailand on behalf of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and is banned from politics.

The government said it tried to start negotiations with the PAD, but protest leaders have so far rebuffed the overtures, and say they will stay remain at the airports until the resignation of Somchai Thaksin’s brother-in-law.

A police officer estimated Saturday that 3,000 protesters were camped out at Suvarnabhumi, about 1,000 were at Don Mueang, and only 700 remained at the premier’s Government House offices.

Numbers are expected to swell over the weekend.

The PAD a loose coalition with the backing of elements in the military, the palace and the urban middle classes began their campaign in late May.

Protests have steadily escalated, with the PAD seizing Government House in late August. On October 7, two protesters were killed and 500 people injured as PAD supporters and police clashed outside parliament.