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Thai protesters flock from Prime Minister's office to airports
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by Dave Keating | December 1, 2008 at 02:28 am
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The protestors who have taken over Thailand's airports are refusing to budge until the government steps down. Meanwhile, hundreds of protestors who had camped out in front of the prime minister's office are moving to the airports, as the leadership of the protest movement comes to grip with the unexpected upper hand they now have after the airport takeover.
Attention is now shifting to a court verdict that could end the crisis. Tuesday will being the end of a vote fraud case that could deliver such a strong blow to the current government that it would have to step down.
The hardline group, calling itself the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), says it will not allow the airports to reopen until Thailand's elected government steps down.
Their latest move follows a string of recent bombings at the group's protest sites, particularly Government House, in which injured 51 people were injured on Sunday alone. On several occaisions the PAD's "guards has openned fire. The protesters blame government supporters for the explosions but it is still unclear who is behind them.
"It's too risky to stay at Government House because of repeated attacks against us," said Anchalee Paireerak, a spokeswoman for the PAD. "All of us have started to move now, we expect to complete the movement this evening. We will go to both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports," she added.
The situation in Thailand remains extremely tense with rumours swirling and several possible scenarios which could unfold over the coming days. None of them provide any comfort for the 100 000 foreign tourists, including over 5 000 Britons, stranded by the week long closure of one of Asia's busiest airports.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 05:16 on December 1st, 2008
This is bad news indeed! The PAD have been camped out at Government House for over three months now. When I was there last week, I looked at some of the facilities they have created. Quite an extensive hospital with a very well stocked pharmacy. Huge barracades that will transfered lock stock and barrel to the airport. This means they clearly have no intention of giving it up before the end of 2008. And there is no indication of anyone in the government having the courage to take them on. I also see in the Bangkok Post an article about the supporters who back them in Los Angeles and Australia. Oh the wonder of middle class connections!