Tensions rise over Thai blockade
November 30, 2008
Anti-government protesters have occupied two airports since Tuesday
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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.
‘Avoid confrontation’
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.
