51 Thai protesters hurt in blasts

BANGKOK - At least 51 anti-government protesters were wounded in several explosions early yesterday, raising fears of widening confrontations in a standoff that has strangled Thailand’s economy and shut down its airports.

The first blast went off inside Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat’s office compound, which protesters seized in August and have held ever since. At least 49 people were hurt, including nine who were hospitalized, said Surachet Sathitniramai at the Narenthorn Medical Center. He said four were in serious condition.

Suriyasai Katasiya, a spokesman for the protest group, said a grenade landed on the roof of a tent under which protesters were resting. It rolled down and fell to the ground before exploding, he said.

The demonstrators, who call themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy, accuse the government of being a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup and fled overseas to escape corruption charges.

The protesters overran Bangkok’s international Suvarnabhumi airport Tuesday night as part of their campaign to force Somchai from office. They seized the Don Muang airport a day later, severing the capital from all commercial air traffic and virtually paralyzing the government.

The demonstrators say they will not leave until Somchai resigns, and have refused to enter any negotiations.

The closure of the airports has taken a heavy toll on Thailand’s economy and reputation. According to Thai media reports, some 100,000 tourists are stranded, and schedules of airlines around the world have been disrupted.

Twenty-minutes after the compound attack, two more blasts rocked an anti-government television station but there were no injuries, Suriyasai said.

In another pre-dawn strike, an explosive device detonated on the road near the main entrance to Don Muang. Surachet and an Associated Press television cameraman said two people were wounded.

Police were unable to verify the accounts. It was not immediately known who was behind the attacks.

The protest group has been attacked several times by small bombs and grenades, including a blast earlier this month that killed one person and wounded 29.

Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat, who oversees economic affairs, said the number of foreign tourist arrivals next year was expected to fall by half to about 6 million, resulting in 1 million job losses in the crucial tourism industry.

The Federation of Thai Industries has estimated the takeover of the airports is costing the country $57 million to $85 million a day.

“The situation has gone from bad to worse, signaling that it (the government) is incompetent at ensuring peace and order,” the Thai Chamber of Commerce said in a statement Saturday.

About 400 protesters, traveling in a convoy of cars from the occupied international airport, attacked a police checkpoint staffed by more than 100 officers Saturday. 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-old siege.

But instead, the dramatic four-minute assault effectively broke the cordon around the airport.

The protesters, carrying metal rods and some guns, smashed windshields 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 Col. Wuttipong Petchkumnerd said there were no injuries on either side.

“We left the area immediately because we did not want any confrontation,” he said.

“The police are constantly provoked, which is why only senior policemen are armed. We do not want to use violence,” he said. He said four police trucks were damaged.

So far security forces have only issued a warning to the protesters to leave. It was not clear if the assault will result in a changed strategy.

Earlier Saturday, police spokesman Maj. Gen. Amnuay Nimmano said the protesters would be told to leave the airports. If they did not, a deadline will be issued with another warning, “the last one before we take action,” he said.

No more beacon of stability

Protests that shut down Bangkok’s airports will be crushing for business relations, tourism and the economy in Thailand, once hailed as a beacon of stability in the region, experts say.

The closure of the two airports has crippled Thailand, stranding more than 100,000 passengers.

Media images all over the world show forlorn tourists sleeping on baggage trolleys, protest militia members armed with wooden stakes, and police seemingly overwhelmed by the lawlessness.

“I’m afraid the image of stability and security, especially in terms of travellers and the overall political climate, will be negative for some time to come,” said international relations specialist Panitan Wattanayagorn.

Ammara Sriphayak, a director at the Bank of Thailand, has said it will likely revise down economic growth projections this year and next regardless of whether the government falls.

“No matter coup or no coup, the incident will affect growth,” she said, adding: “Next year’s forecast at 3.8 percent to 5.0 percent must be revised.”

The most immediate impact on the kingdom will be on tourism, with 30,000 travellers estimated to be prevented from flying out every day and countries around the world urging citizens to stay away from Thailand.

This will be devastating for a country where tourism revenue accounts for six percent of gross domestic product.

Last year 14.8 million tourists visited the kingdom. Industry, meanwhile, is also expected to take a bashing.

Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries said, “Export orders from other countries are likely to disappear since they cannot wait for shipment delays and will buy from our competitors.”

In the long term, he said, Thai exports will suffer as insurance companies will likely increase surcharges to compensate for political risk.

James McCormack of Fitch Ratings said foreign investors “have taken note of the political turmoil.”

Even before the airport closures, exports and investment were already suffering due to the global financial crisis and the long-running protests.

The Thai stock market has fallen about 50 percent since the People’s Alliance for Democracy began its campaign to topple the elected government in May, before taking its protests to unexpected heights last week.

Sandwiched between military-run Myanmar, one-party communist state Laos, and Cambodia — which was gripped by civil war until 1998 — Thailand had been the region’s shining light.

After a coup in 1991 and protests against military rule the following year which left dozens dead, Thailand held elections and although no premier was in the job for very long, a brittle democracy held.

Over the years Thailand turned itself into an economic success story — with the only dark spell during the 1997 Asian financial crisis — billing itself as a key tourism, production and export base.

Then in September 2006 Thaksin Shinawatra — the first premier to serve a full term — was ousted in a coup amid allegations of corruption, heralding two years of turmoil which continues to boil.

The protesters object to the election last December of Thaksin’s allies and have occupied Government House since August before overrunning the airports this week.

Nearby countries have said they are worried about the situation, with Cambodia calling for Thailand to postpone a key summit in December of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But despite the escalating problems, international relations specialist Panitan said the situation should be kept in context.

“Comparing Thailand to Somalia or Darfur should not be appropriate at the moment — we are not a failed state,” he said.

New order

Thai police Sunday issued a new order to protesters occupying Bangkok’s Don Mueang domestic airport, saying that anyone who fails to leave the site could be jailed or fined.

The order, the second to be directed at anti-government demonstrators at the airport since a state of emergency was declared there on Thursday, also banned gatherings of more than five people.

Demonstrators occupied the main Suvarnabhumi international airport on Tuesday and the smaller Don Mueang airport the following day, stranding around 100,000 travellers.

“People gathering at Don Mueang should leave the area immediately. Those who defy face a maximum of two years in jail or a maximum fine of 40,000 baht (1,140 dollars),” said the order issued by the Metropolitan police.

Similar orders have been issued at Suvarnabhumi.

Don Mueang is also where Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has set up his temporary headquarters, as protesters have occupied the main cabinet offices at Government House in Bangkok since August.

But Thai authorities have so far adopted a carrot and stick approach to the protests, with police saying earlier Sunday that they were in fresh negotiations with the demonstrators.

Thousands of supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra massed in Bangkok Sunday to show support for the government, raising fears of clashes.

Bedecked in red shirts to differentiate themselves form their yellow-clad foes, the government supporters waved national flags and wore headbands reading simply “Thaksin.” – AP