Riot police surround Bangkok airports
The move is the Thailand government's latest effort to break up a protest that has blockaded air traffic. Fears of a bloody clash are rising.
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand — Bangkok's two main airports were surrounded by riot police early today in the Thailand government's latest gambit to disperse protesters who have blockaded air traffic and cut the Southeast Asian nation off from the world.
Police at domestic Don Muang airport, overrun by members of the anti-government Peoples' Alliance for Democracy late on Wednesday, said "necessary measures" would be taken should protesters not stand down.
At Suvarnabhumi Airport, one of the busiest international air hubs in Asia, 100 police were deployed, but they only watched as the PAD reinforced its roadblocks and sang protest songs from a makeshift camp at the main entrance.
With fears of bloody clashes escalating, the founder of the protest movement rejected a plea from Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to negotiate.
"Today the prime minister contacted me on the telephone to negotiate. There are no talks," the PAD's Sondhi Limthongkul told supporters at Don Muang.
Wongsawat declared a state of emergency Thursday to restore air traffic and social order. On Friday, Somchai fired the national police chief, Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwanbut, for failing to move against the occupiers.
Senior army officials have made it clear that they would not use force to remove the PAD protesters, adding to rampant rumors of a military coup. In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Somchai had rejected army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda's call for the prime minister to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.
Somchai, brother-in-law of exiled former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, will reportedly remain indefinitely in the northern city of Chiang Mai, his hometown, because of concerns for his safety. The PAD has vowed to remain entrenched at the airports and Government House, the Thai government's top administrative center, until Somchai steps down.
Earlier this week, senior PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk said the group's followers were prepared to "fight to the death."
"This is bad for Thailand, and I think it will just go on," said Murkda Songte, a manager at the Novotel Hotel, as she looked across the road toward the demonstration at Suvarnabhumi. In front of the Novotel, a group of police and 20 ambulances stood at the ready.
"I haven't seen my family for three days," she said.
For the thousands of foreign travelers still stuck in Bangkok, the wait has been much longer.
