State Of Emergency Declared In Thailand
Thailand's prime minister has declared a state of emergency at the country's two biggest airports to allow police to clear them of protesters.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said in a televised address Thursday that the siege of the airports by anti-government demonstrators "is very harmful to the country."
The protest group seized Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday in its efforts to oust Somchai. It took the smaller airport at Don Muang on Wednesday. Flights in and out of Bangkok have ceased and thousands of passengers are stuck in the capital.
Somchai said navy personnel would help police in clearing Suvarnabhumi international airport. The air force will assist at Don Muang. He did not say when the authorities would act.
An emergency decree gives the military the right to restore order, allows the suspension of civil liberties, bans public gatherings of more than five people and bars the media from reporting news that causes panic.
Thousands of anti-government protesters are occupying the terminals of both airports, forcing the cancellation of all flights in and out of the capital.
There was speculation in the Thai media that Wongsawat might remove the powerful army chief, Anupong Paochinda, who called Wednesday for the dissolution of Parliament and new elections to resolve the deepening political crisis.
Protesters, who are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, have occupied Bangkok's international airport since Tuesday night, forcing the cancellation of all flights. On Thursday, they also forced the domestic airport to close in a bid to prevent government ministers from getting to the cabinet meeting.
Some ministers were flown on military planes from a nearby base to Chiang Mai, where Wongsawat has been since returning from an overseas trip Wednesday night.
The anti-government protests, which gathered pace three months ago, have paralyzed the government, battered the stock market, spooked foreign investors and dealt a serious blow to the tourism industry.
The crisis worsened early Thursday as authorities shut down the Don Muang domestic airport, which had been receiving some diverted flights from Suvarnabhumi.
Serirat Prasutanont, chief of the Thailand Airport Authority, said authorities feared protesters who stormed the Don Muang terminal late Wednesday might harm passengers and aircraft.
He said authorities were alerting airports nationwide to be ready to receive diverted flights. Thai Airways said one of its flights from Los Angeles landed Thursday at U-Tapao air force base, 90 miles southeast of Bangkok.
The closure of the two airports left thousands of foreign tourists stranded, including Americans trying to get home for their Thanksgiving holiday Thursday.
Bart Edes, a 45-year-old American banker, had planned to spend Thanksgiving with his wife at a friend's home in Manila, where he lives.
"They're going to put on a traditional feast - roast turkey, sweet potatoes, all the things you crave when you're outside of the United States," he said.
But Edes said he still had a lot to be thankful for. "Look at what happened in Mumbai. This is an inconvenience, but it could be worse."
More than 100 people were killed in the Indian city of Mumbai by a series of overnight militant attacks that reportedly targeted Americans and Britons.
The protests are being led by a loose coalition known as the People's Alliance for Democracy. It accuses Somchai of acting as the puppet for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a September 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin, who is Somchai's brother-in-law, is in exile, a fugitive from a conviction for violating a conflict of interest law.
On Wednesday, a district court ordered the alliance leaders and their supporters to immediately leave Suvarnabhumi, calling the occupation "an infringement on other individuals who have freedom of movement."
There was no sign of the protesters leaving Thursday - a reflection of their boldness amid the government's unwillingness to use force for fear of causing bloodshed.
The statement amounted to a rejection of Army Gen. Anupong Paochinda's suggestion to quit, which seemed to put him on a collision course with the military, although the general has said he would not launch a coup.
An emergency decree would give the prime minister authority to use the military to restore order and allow authorities to suspend certain civil liberties.
The security law is separate measure that would enable officials to bar public assembly and "suppress" actions considered harmful to national security.
The People's Alliance for Democracy insists it will continue its airport occupation and other protests until Somchai resigns. It also has rejected the general's proposal for elections, pushing instead for the appointment of a temporary government.
The alliance comprises mainly well-educated, affluent, urban Thais who want the country to move away from a Western-style electoral system, which they say Thaksin exploited to buy votes. They favor a system in which representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups.
They are vastly outnumbered by Thaksin's supporters in the rural majority, who delivered his party two resounding election victories. Their loyalty was sealed by generous social and economic welfare programs for previously neglected areas.
As the deadlock continued, political violence spread Wednesday to Chiang Mai, where government supporters attacked a radio station aligned with the protesters. Separately, there were unconfirmed reports that one man was killed and several people assaulted in an attack on the city's local airport.
The protest alliance launched its current campaign in late August, storming the grounds of the prime minister's office, which they continue to use as their stronghold. The group has also tried twice to blockade Parliament, in one case setting off a daylong street battle with police that left two people dead and hundreds injured.