Anti-government protesters have blockaded and shut down a second Bangkok airport, officials said Thursday, just over a day after they
forced the closure of the country's main international hub.
Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started massing at the old Don Mueang airport late Wednesday, aiming to prevent
ministers from flying to Chiang Mai in the north to meet Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Services at the airport were cancelled at about midnight.
"I authorised Don Mueang's director-general to close the airport from midnight. It is closed indefinitely until normalcy is restored,"
Saererat Prasutanond, president of operator Airports of Thailand, told Thai television.
"The two airports that serve Bangkok are completely closed."
Don Mueang director Flying Officer Anirut Thanomkulbutra had earlier told AFP that the airport would reopen on Thursday
evening.
"Protesters have blocked the entrance to the terminal," Anirut said.
Thai anti-government protesters wave national flags at the
departure terminal of Bangkok's international airport.
Don Mueang operates a handful of domestic flights, and was the only airport left serving the capital after protesters swarmed the main
Suvarnabhumi Airport late Tuesday, forcing the airport director to suspend flights.
A police official said about 3,000 PAD supporters were gathered outside Don Mueang airport, but no passengers were inside when the
airport was surrounded as the last flight had landed hours before.
Protest leaders earlier said that they aimed to force the closure of Don Mueang to prevent ministers from flying to the northern city
of Chiang Mai to meet with Mr Somchai.
The prime minister returned from a summit in Peru, landing in Chiang Mai on Wednesday evening, soon after the powerful army chief urged
the premier to call new elections to end six months of turmoil in the kingdom.
Mr Somchai refused, and called a cabinet meeting.
The premier had been holding cabinet meetings in a disused
terminal at Don Mueang after protesters occupied his official Government House office in central Bangkok in late August.
But on Monday, PAD supporters besieged his temporary office as well, as they upped their bid to topple the government, which they
accuse of running the country on behalf of ousted and exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
About 3,000 tourists were stranded at Suvarnabhumi as PAD supporters massed outside late Tuesday, but most were evacuated leaving
Wednesday afternoon.
Protesters swiftly dug in inside the gleaming steel-and-glass terminal, setting up makeshift food stalls and tents in the airport.
(AFP)
Anti-government protesters have blockaded and shut down a second Bangkok airport,
officials said Thursday, just over a day after they forced the closure of the country's main international hub.
Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started massing at the old
Don Mueang airport late Wednesday, aiming to prevent ministers from flying to Chiang Mai in the north to meet Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Services at the airport were cancelled at about midnight.
"I authorised Don Mueang's director-general to close the airport from midnight. It is
closed indefinitely until normalcy is restored," Saererat Prasutanond, president of operator Airports of Thailand, told Thai television.
"The two airports that serve Bangkok are completely closed."
Don Mueang director Flying Officer Anirut Thanomkulbutra had earlier told AFP that
the airport would reopen on Thursday evening.
"Protesters have blocked the entrance to the terminal," Anirut
said.
Thai anti-government protesters wave national flags at the departure terminal of
Bangkok's international airport.
Don Mueang operates a handful of domestic flights, and was the only airport left
serving the capital after protesters swarmed the main Suvarnabhumi Airport late Tuesday, forcing the airport director to suspend flights.
A police official said about 3,000 PAD supporters were gathered outside Don Mueang
airport, but no passengers were inside when the airport was surrounded as the last flight had landed hours before.
Protest leaders earlier said that they aimed to force the closure of Don Mueang to
prevent ministers from flying to the northern city of Chiang Mai to meet with Mr Somchai.
The prime minister returned from a summit in Peru, landing in Chiang Mai on Wednesday
evening, soon after the powerful army chief urged the premier to call new elections to end six months of turmoil in the kingdom.
Mr Somchai refused, and called a cabinet meeting.
The premier had been holding cabinet meetings in a disused terminal at Don Mueang
after protesters occupied his official Government House office in central Bangkok in late August.
But on Monday, PAD supporters besieged his temporary office as well, as they upped
their bid to topple the government, which they accuse of running the country on behalf of ousted and exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
About 3,000 tourists were stranded at Suvarnabhumi as PAD supporters massed outside
late Tuesday, but most were evacuated leaving Wednesday afternoon.
Protesters swiftly dug in inside the gleaming
steel-and-glass terminal, setting up makeshift food stalls and tents in the airport.
(AFP)
Thaïlande:
(Crédit Photo : TF1/LCI
Etat d'urgence en Thaïlande)
Les manifestants bloquent l'aéroport de Bangkok
-
L'aéroport international Suvarnabhumi, par lequel transitent 13 millions de touristes chaque année, est bloqué par les opposants qui veulent la
démission du Premier ministre.
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Cette nouvelle étape d'un bras de fer déjà long entre l'opposition et le gouvernement pourrait entamer le soutien de l'opinion aux manifestants et
nuire à l'économie du pays.
(le 25/11/2008 - 22h43)
Les manifestations hostiles au gouvernement thaïlandais ont repris avec plus d'ampleur et se sont durcies en ce début de semaine. Plus de 2000 opposants ont notamment bloqué mardi un accès
au plus grand aéroport de Bangkok, l'aéroport international Suvarnabhumi, plaque tournante utilisée par 13 millions de touristes visitant la Thaïlande chaque année, et ont provoqué sa fermeture pour une durée indéterminée. Les manifestants ont aussi ouvert le feu
ailleurs dans la ville sur des partisans du gouvernement. Selon un responsable des services d'urgence, "onze personnes ont été conduites à l'hôpital et six y ont été
admises".
D'après des images diffusées par la chaîne TPBS, deux membres au moins du service d'ordre de l'Alliance du peuple pour la démocratie (PAD) ont tiré une demi-douzaine de
cartouches avec des armes de poing dans une artère du nord de la capitale. Le PAD, qui organise depuis six mois des manifestations antigouvernementales, a dit avoir été préalablement
attaqué à coups de pierres et de planches. Cet incident est l'un des derniers en date d'une campagne de plus en plus active du PAD pour déstabiliser le pouvoir en place.
Des touristes étrangers désemparés à l'aéroport
Le Premier ministre thaïlandais, Somchai Wongsawat, a exclu de démissionner. Il rejette les pressions du PAD, lequel le présente comme l'homme de paille de son beau-frère Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-Premier ministre en exil après avoir été renversé en 2006. Somchai Wongsawat doit
regagner son pays mercredi après avoir pris part au sommet Asie-Pacifique de l'Apec au Pérou, mais un porte-parole du gouvernement a dit qu'il n'arriverait pas au
nouvel aéroport bloqué par les manifestants. En revanche, des touristes étrangers désemparés se tenaient mardi près de leurs bagages devant le nouveau bâtiment futuriste construit
en 2006.
Le siège de l'aéroport risque d'entamer le soutien de l'opinion à un mouvement qui semble prêt à des actions extrêmes pour provoquer une violente riposte du gouvernement. Les sondages
traduisent une lassitude grandissante de l'opinion envers le PAD, alliance royaliste hétéroclite d'hommes d'affaires, d'universitaires et de militants. "Il est temps de faire un
choix clair entre le bien et le mal, entre ceux qui sont loyaux et les traîtres", a lancé Somsak Kosaisuk, dirigeant du PAD, à 10.000 partisans vêtus de chemises jaunes,
couleur de la royauté, qui scandaient des slogans antigouvernementaux lors d'un rassemblement tenu plus tôt dans la journée. Des manifestants ont aussi encerclé mardi le vieil
aéroport de Don Muang, qui abrite les services gouvernementaux depuis que le PAD s'est emparé du siège du gouvernement en août.
Un mot d'ordre de grève des syndicats du secteur public en signe de soutien au PAD n'a pas abouti, mais l'agitation autour de l'aéroport pourrait aggraver l'impact économique d'une
crise politique de plus de trois ans. La situation inspire aussi des craintes quant à la capacité de l'économie thaïlandaise, tributaire des exportations, à faire face à une crise
financière internationale. Le gouvernement a estimé cette semaine que le taux de croissance du pays atteindrait cette année 4,5%, son niveau le plus bas depuis sept ans.
