BANGKOK, Nov. 27 -- The government of Thailand has declared a state of emergency in the areas immediately surrounding two key airports in Bangkok, clearing the way for security forces to move in and eject thousands of anti-government protesters who took over the facilities earlier this week.
The People's Alliance for Democracy swarmed Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country's main international gateway on Tuesday night, forcing a shutdown that stranded thousands of passengers. Late Wednesday or early Thursday, demonstrators took over Don Muang Airport, which handles a number of domestic routes, leaving the country's biggest city without a functioning civilian air gateway.
The closure of the airports is part of PAD's campaign to bring down the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Somchai announced the move towards the limited state of emergency after a cabinet meeting that was held in the northern town of Chiang Mai to avoid being disrupted by their opposition.
In a televised address Thursday, the prime minister called the siege of the airports "very harmful to the country."
Somchai said police and some military units would try to end the blockades, but opposition leaders said they would not back down.
"We will not leave. We will use human shields against the police if
they try to disperse us," PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila told Reuters
news service.
Some office employees left work early in Bangkok, Reuters reported, and the United Nations advised its staff to go home and remain indoors. Throughout the capital rumors swirled that a military coup could be imminent.
Bangkok is watching nervously, with the latest speculation flying from resident to resident via mobile telephone text message.
"The government is in a corner," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, and a specialist on security issues. "If the police do a clean job, the military might not have to step in, but if there is bloodshed, I'm quite certain they will step in."
On Thursday afternoon, Somchai made a specific request for the military to stay in barracks. To quash rumors that the Army was making a bid to take over, the military released a statement explaining that Army vehicles that were seen on the roads on the edge of the city were merely returning from a training exercise.
On Wednesday, General Anupong Paojinda, the head of the army, called on the government to resign to pave the way for elections and for PAD to vacate the buildings it had captured.
Analysts said the clear implication was that Anupong was not willing to use his forces against the protesters. When both sides rejected his suggestions, it heightened the chances for a direct clash between PAD and the government, a clash that until now the government has worked hard to avoid.
There is a strong stain of violence running through Thailand's political history. There have been 18 military coup attempts -- 11 of them successful -- since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.
