01 December 2008

Tensions rise over Thai blockade

The BBC in the UK reports that 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 a group, as officials 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 violence between pro- and anti-government groups are growing, after a grenade attack in Bangkok.

Saturday's late-night attack on protesters who have been occupying a government compound since August 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.

Pro-government groups are said to be planning a rally in the capital later in the day.

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.

An estimated 100,000 passengers have been stranded by the airport 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 Qantas 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 (Ã&#pound;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.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Head, who is in Bangkok, 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.

They are planning to rally in Bangkok later in the day, risking possible confrontation with the PAD supporters.

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.

A Report by The Mole