Gaybutton Posted August 30, 2008 Posted August 30, 2008 The latest on the growing crisis is that three of Thailand's airports have been closed until further notice. I would imagine that the situation in Phuket is quite serious. Tourists either can't go home or are forced to find a means of getting to other airports in Thailand. Arriving tourists can't get out of the airport. Businesses in Phuket must already be suffering and I would guess that hotels are getting inundated with cancellations. So far there have been no attempts to shut down Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang Airports in Bangkok: "Bangkok's political turmoil spilled over to other parts of the Kingdom yesterday as the police fired tear gas at proฌtesters in front of Metropolitan Police headquarters and authorities closed Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai airports." "Airports of Thailand acting president Serirat Prasutanond said he had cancelled all flights at Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai airports until further notice after anti-government protesters charged into Phuket Airport." THE NATION ____________________ There is now a report that Samak has been called to meet with His Majesty, the King at the Hua Hin palace. There has not yet been reports published about the outcome of that meeting. ____________________ The railroad strike is still in effect. ____________________ Several days ago there were reports that there was to be a major pro Thaksin rally in Bangkok on Friday, August 29. Apparently that did not occur. ____________________ The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: Violence Brewing By Post Reporters Latest Developments The Civil Court on Friday suspended its injunction to evict the People's Alliance for Democracy from Government House, but the Criminal Court again ordered the arrest of the top nine PAD leaders. On the street, the first serious violence erupted between protesters and police. Trains have halted and three key tourist airports in the South are closed indefinitely. The Civil Court ruling said that carrying out its order for the People's Alliance for Democracy to vacate Government House and the streets might cause further damage. The Criminal Court judges rejected an appeal by the nine core PAD leaders asking for their arrest warrants to be revoked. The suspension of the injunction came after PAD's lawyer Suwat Apaipak lodged a complaint with the Civil Court claiming that police beat up the demonstrators while enforcing the injunction. Earlier in the day, crowd-control police clashed with protesters who barricaded themselves inside the Government House compound. Police say they were trying to post an eviction order. In its ruling, the court also said that since the Appeals Court has also accepted PAD's petition to review the injunction, the eviction order should be suspended, pending the outcome of the review. The court on Wednesday ordered the PAD to move out of Government House and its grounds, at the request of the Secretariat of the Prime Minister. The Criminal Court, meanwhile, threw out a request by the PAD's nine core leaders asking for their arrest warrants to be revoked. The court said the warrants were an initial step in the process of bringing the accused in for investigation. Suwat Apaipak, the lawyer representing the nine leaders, said he will appeal against the court's order to drop the request on Monday. Friday morning, police moved in to take over the PAD protest site near the Makkhawan Rangsan bridge on Ratchadamnoen avenue, prompting a brief clash with the PAD protesters. The protesters later retook the site after driving a truck into the band of police who retreated. The clash erupted after police tried to remove barricades put up by the PAD at its protest site, leaving three injured. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said the clash between the police and PAD supporters followed police action to comply with the court order. "In fact, police could have finished their job [on Friday], but I told them to step back because if they went forward, there would have been a bloody clash." Meanwhile, state enterprise workers staged work stoppages, paralysing transport services across the country. Airports in Hat Yai, Phuket and Krabi have been disrupted by PAD supporters. In Bangkok, police initially took back the PAD protest site on Ratchadamnoen avenue, but the protesters retook the site shortly afterward. The removal of PAD barricades began at 10am when about 1,000 city police armed with anti-riot gear moved to Ratchadamnoen avenue in front of the Royal Plaza. The officers removed PAD's barricades, made of tyres, barbed wire and bamboo poles. The situation grew tense when two companies comprising about 200 police with batons and shields were deployed to nearby Suan Misakawan intersection about 10.30am to ask protesters to move out from the area. A scuffle took place which left one protester injured. Police moved forward to PAD's stage at Makkhawan Rangsan bridge, but were resisted by protesters. On adjacent Phitsanulok road, another group of police was deployed to seal the area. However, they could not move further as PAD put up barricades at Misakawan intersection and Chamaimaruchet bridge. At 2.30pm, thousands of PAD demonstrators, led by Pichit Chaimongkhol, passed through the police barricades on Ratchamnoen avenue and retook the site from police. About 7pm, PAD leader Karun Saingarm led thousands of demonstrators to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Bureau on Sri Ayutthaya road. Mr Karun, who was on board a sixwheel truck serving as a mobile stage, ordered the protesters to force open the bureau's gate. Firecrackers were hurled at the PAD's mobile stage, causing chaos among protesters. A source said the firecrackers were hurled by those in the protest group, not from the bureau. Glass bottles were thrown into the bureau, followed by a teargas canister, prompting police to throw it back at the protesters. The bureau used a fire truck to block its gate and put 10 heavily-armed officers from a police task force unit on standby. PAD retreated to the Makkhawan Rangsan bridge at 7.40 pm. ____________________ The following appears in the PHUKET GAZETTE: PAD PROTEST: Phuket Airport Overrun, Runways Blocked PHUKET AIRPORT: At about 4:45 pm today (Friday), People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters breached the main gate at Phuket International Airport, made their way into the main terminal and smashed the windows of the VIP lounge. Several hundred protesters stormed the runways and airport officials have ordered a halt to all air traffic. Police have been called in from around the island to supervise the anti-government rally, which had swelled to an estimated 10,000 protesters by 3:30 pm. The THAI Airways Union has allowed their 15,000 staffers to stop work to show their support for the protest. Earlier, at about 2:30 pm, the protesters used vehicles to block road access to the airport. Tourists with outbound flights to catch have been forced to walk several kilometers with their luggage, then clamber over a two-meter spiked security fence. The traffic tailback now stretches about five kilometers. Some arriving passengers have been seen walking down Mai Khao Beach in a desperate bid to get out of the area without crossing the PAD protesters. A growing number of passengers are now trapped inside the airport and the only movement seems to be though a back door at the airport’s staff housing complex. Just before posting this news online, the Gazette received reports that about 1,000 protesters had marched to the PIA Director’s Office Building, just north of the main parking lot, and some 400 protesters breached the gate at the main entrance and were now heading to the airport, where the scene has been described as “chaos”. Recent additions to the swelling number of protesters include hundreds of university students. While the crowds gathered in Phuket chanting “fight for the King”, Phuket Senator Thanyarat Atchariyachai took to the PAD stage in Bangkok to drum up national support for their cause. Protest organizers at the airport told Gazette reporters at the scene that they will remain at the airport until Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej resigns. PAD members will close down airports in other provinces as well, they said. There have been no reports of injury, however. As the protesters prepare for tonight, supplies of food and drink have been arriving and a mobile ICU from Bangkok Hospital Phuket has been put on standby. One German tourist who fought his way through the crowd to get out of the airport said, “Even if there is no tsunami, the people here know how to create their own disasters.” PIA Director Wicha Nernlop said, “The PAD are destroying the airport’s assets, which makes no sense because we are not their enemy.” He suggested that passengers with scheduled flights contact their airlines directly and try to postpone, if possible. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongthong said that a meeting had been held on the issue, but did not say if or when police would try to forcibly remove the protesters. Const Tongchai Keerat of Tah Chat Chai Police, one of about 90 officers at the airport, said he sympathized with the protesters because the government in Bangkok “is corrupt and embezzling money from the people”. A group of officers at Phuket City Police Station told a Gazette reporter earlier today that the police would not harm the protesters “because our parents are among them”. One action the police did take was to set up a checkpoint in Koh Kaew, near the entrance road to British International School, to prevent large vehicles carrying PAD supporters joining the protest. The checkpoint has delayed traffic in the area. A source from PIA said many luxury vehicles were among those blockading the airport access roads, indicating that “high-level” people are supporting the rally. Quote
Gaybutton Posted August 30, 2008 Author Posted August 30, 2008 Here's the latest on the airport and railroad situation: _____ The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Foreign Travelers Stranded in Phuket The protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy kept Phuket International Airport closed for a second day on Saturday. About 50 domestic and international flights were canceled and many foreign tourists remain stranded on the resort island. "A large number" of foreigners were left stranded at the airport Saturday, according to official Thai News Agency. On Friday, hundreds of local PAD followers breached the main gate at Phuket International Airport, forced their way into the main terminal, and smashed the windows of the VIP lounge. After the protesters moved out to the runway, airport officials ordered all air traffic halted. There were similar forced closures by PAD demonstrators of two other southern airports at Krabi and Hat Yai Friday, but both reopened for flights on Saturday. Phuket is one of Thailand's most popular beach destinations. It is also a stronghold for the opposition Democrat Party. (dpa) ____________________ The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Travelers' Woes Continue By The Nation Hat Yai Airport Re-opens, but Transport Chaos Continues Some stranded passengers extended their stays in the South while others used other means of transport as closure of key southern airports entered the second day on Saturday. "Do you know when is this going to end?" a businessman who decided to stay on in Phuket asked a journalist friend. He said he knew several travellers had made a similar decision but others decided to embark on sea&land transport to get out of the island. In Krabi, the provincial airport also remained close, with six in-bound flights, two of them international, cancelled. Tourists who had booked out-bound flights have been told they could get re-fund. Protesters occupying the Phuket and Krabi airports insisted they would continue their protest until the PAD leaders say otherwise. "As of now, we will stay here until the prime minister resigns," said a protest leader at the Phuket airport. "We can't say when we can re-open the airport," said deputy Phuket governor Vorapot Rattasima after a meeting with high-level provincial, police and airport authorities. He dismissed fears that force would be applied to drive the protesters out. Around 400 officers standing guard at the Phuket airport were not equip to disperse the crowds and were there only to ensure security and people's safety, senior provincial police officers said. The airport occupation has alienated some PAD members in Phuket who were upset that the province's tourism was being affected. Some have disowned the movement and called for an end to the airport closure. A protest has also taken place at the Surat Thani airport, forcing THAI to suspend its flight to the province on Saturday, citing concern for passengers' safety. The protest involved about 500 people, who blocked the airport's entrance. The Hat Yai airport opened for service on Saturday although 5 flights were cancelled. Hundreds of protesters remained at the airport's entrance, while large numbers of police standing guard. Meanwhile, some 255 railway workers have continued the railway strike on Saturday, affecting 12 northern routes, 27 northeastern routes, 39 southern routes and 15 freights. Damage of the railway strike has been estimated at 51 million baht in lost revenues. Returned tickets have totalled 1.3 million baht. Railway authorities were hoping the protest would not spread to 1,900 other railway workers. The Hat Yai railway station was quiet, with signs "Temporary closed" placed at ticket booths. Quote
