POLICE built a massive cordon around anti-government protesters occupying Thailand's main airport yesterday, raising fears of violence in a standoff that has disrupted the country's economy and the travel industry worldwide.
At Suvarnabhumi International Airport there were unconfirmed reports of a policeman being grabbed at a checkpoint by three protesters, forced into a vehicle and driven away toward areas controlled by the demonstrators.
About 2,000 officers were de
ployed around the airport, where protesters calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy have camped out since Tuesday night, forcing the grounding of all flights.
With no sign of the standoff easing, the airport authority said Suvarnabhumi will remain closed at least until Monday evening.
The protesters have also occupied Bangkok's domestic airport and the prime minister's office compound, virtually paralysing the government in their campaign to bring it down.
The confrontation, severing the capital from civilian air traffic, has hit Thailand's economy and reputation hard. According to Thai media reports, about 100,000 tourists are stranded, and worldwide airline schedules have been disrupted.
So far security forces have only issued a warning to the protesters to leave and have refrained from using force. The dissidents say they will not leave until the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns.
But it appears the government's patience is wearing thin. "The police will issue another warning to protesters to leave the two airports. The language in the warning will be stronger than the first one," said a police spokesman, Maj Gen Amnuay Nimmano.
He said if the protesters do not leave, a deadline will be issued "in the third warning – the last one before we take action".
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 on special flights 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 EU and the US urged the protesters to end their siege.
The People's Alliance for Democracy accuses 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.
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 office in Bangkok.
Tensions rose further yesterday after a pro-government group expressed frustration at the standoff 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 Viphutalaeng Pattanaphumethai, a leader of the group, which in the past has clashed with the alliance.
Its members wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from the alliance, whose supporters wear yellow.
• 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 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, were due to fly back to England from Bangkok when Suvarnabhumi was overrun by protesters.
He said: "I think the story has gone under a little bit, and more of an effort needs to be made to get all the people who are stuck there out of there, because the country is on the brink of a lot of trouble."
