Dozens hurt in Bangkok blast

Published on Saturday 29 November 2008 21:57

A GRENADE blast last night injured more than 40 protesters occupying the compound of Thailand's under-siege prime minister.

The explosion hospitalised at least five opposition activists amid increasing concerns that efforts to oust Premier Somchai Wongsawat will lead to more violence.

Witnesses said the grenade was thrown into the grounds of Bangkok's Government House at around midnight local time, although it was unclear who was responsible for the attack.

The blast came as tensions heightened at the Thai capital's main airport, which is also occupied by the opposition, leaving an estimated 100,000 foreign tourists stranded.

Protesters late yesterday broke through a cordon of 2,000 police officers built around Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

It is understood about 400 members of the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) attacked a checkpoint staffed by more than 100 police. The perimeter, which was put in place earlier in the day, had raised expectations authorities were preparing for a raid to end the four-day siege.

But instead, the dramatic four-minute assault effectively broke the cordon around the airport, which protesters overran on Tuesday night.

Bangkok's domestic airport has also been seized, severing the capital from all commercial air traffic and virtually paralysing the government.

The protesters, carrying metal rods and some guns, smashed windscreens and threw what appeared to be firecrackers at the police. Video footage of the attack appeared to show a protester firing a handgun toward a police van filled with officers.

Police Colonel Wuttipong Petchkumnerd said there were no injuries on either side, but the increasingly tense stand-off prompted speculation that the army, which has staged several coups in Thailand, may step in to impose order. Petchkumnerd said: "We left the area immediately because we did not want any confrontation.

"The police are constantly provoked, which is why only senior policemen are armed. We do not want to use violence."

The officers at Suvarnabhumi were deployed at all exit and entry points around the airport, a senior policeman said. One checkpoint on the main highway leading to the airport on Bangkok's outskirts was manned by about 400 policemen, accompanied by about 20 armed naval troops. The roadblocks were meant to prevent more activists from joining thousands of others inside the terminal building.

About 50 soldiers guarded the maintenance facility of the airport, a few miles away from the main complex.

Several airlines are organising flights to the U-Tapao naval airport, 90 miles south of Bangkok, to evacuate stranded passengers. But the small airport has been overwhelmed by the load, unable to process thousands of travellers quickly.

Among those stranded are 3,000 Chinese tourists who were due to be flown out by four Chinese airlines. The Hong Kong government has also arranged two Cathay Pacific flights to help the evacuation.

Several groups around the world have cancelled planned tours, and 88 aircraft, many of them belonging to foreign airlines, are parked at Suvarnabhumi, unable to take off.

The Federation of Thai Industries estimates the cost of lost trade due to the airport shutdowns at 37m to 55m a day. Thailand's central bank said the number of tourist arrivals is likely to fall by 40% next year if the airport shutdown drags on until the end of December. It said the tourism industry, a key component of the Thai economy, is expected to lose 2.8bn, equivalent to 1.5% of the GDP.

With international repercussions in the offing, the Euro-pean Union and the US urged the protesters to end their siege. PAD has accused the government of being a puppet of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and fled overseas to escape corruption charges. Shinawatra is best known in Britain as a former owner of Manchester City.

Somchai, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law, is now operating the government out of the northern city of Chiang Mai, having been blocked from his Government House compound since August.

Tensions rose further yesterday after a pro-government group expressed frustration at the stand-off and called for an indefinite sit-in starting today in central Bangkok.

"We are calling for our supporters nationwide to come out. They have been told to bring their clothes and food because we will be here long," said a leader of the group.

&#149 The plight of stranded Britons trapped in Thailand was described as "deeply concerning" by a Foreign Officer minister.

Among them is the pregnant wife of England rugby league captain Jamie Peacock. The 30-year-old said he was worried that not enough was being done to help those stranded.

His wife Faye, 33, who is six months pregnant, their son Lewis, four, and Faye's mother Pat, are trapped at the airport.

He said: "More of an effort needs to be made to get all the people who are stuck out of there because the country is on the brink of a lot of trouble."

Thaksin urges army to get out of politics

OUSTED Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has warned the army to stay out of politics, predicting bloodshed if they stage a coup.

Thaksin spoke in a videotaped interview with blogger Thomas Crampton as a shutdown of Bangkok's airports by protesters pitched his homeland deeper into a political and economic crisis.

The billionaire businessman turned populist politician was deposed by the military for alleged corruption and abuse of power in a September 2006 coup and now lives in exile.

"If the coup were to happen, there's going to be bloodshed. It's not going to be an easy coup like in the past because the people are in hardship since dictatorship came to Thailand," Thaksin said.

Thaksin, who retains a loyal following among Thailand's poor, rural majority, urged his supporters to "protect democracy". There have been calls by some of the press and public for the army to intervene as a way of resolving the situation. Government supporters warn that they would resist a military takeover with force.