Thailand shuts down 2nd airport
2008-11-27 08:30
Bangkok - Thai authorities shut down Bangkok's second airport on Thursday after it was overrun by anti-government protesters, completely cutting off the capital from air traffic as the prime minister rejected their demands to resign, deepening the country's crisis.
Thailand's powerful army commander, who has remained neutral in the conflict, stepped into the fray on Wednesday, urging Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to step down.
He also asked thousands of protesters to end their siege of the main Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It has been shut since Tuesday night, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, and drawing world attention to a turmoil that has reduced Thailand to a dysfunctional nation.
The anti-government protests, which gathered pace three months ago, have paralysed the government, battered the stock market, spooked foreign investors and dealt a serious blow to the tourism industry.
The crisis worsened early on Thursday as authorities shut down the Don Muang domestic airport, which had been receiving some diverted flights from Suvarnabhumi.
Thousands of foreign tourists stranded
Serirat Prasutanont, chief of the Thailand Airport Authority, said authorities feared protesters who stormed the Don Muang terminal late on Wednesday might harm passengers and aircraft.
He said authorities might consider using the U Ta Pao air force base, 140km southeast of Bangkok, and were alerting airports nationwide to be ready for diverted flights.
The closure of the two airports left thousands of foreign tourists stranded.
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 on Thursday -_ a reflection of their boldness amid the government's unwillingness to use force for fear of causing bloodshed.
Somchai, who was forced to land in the northern city of Chiang Mai when he returned from Peru on Wednesday, is also not budging. In a televised address to the nation, he said his government was legitimately elected and that it has "a job to protect democracy for the people of Thailand".
The statement amounted to a rejection of Army General 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.
Associated Press Writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this report.
- AP