Thai Activists Storm Airport, Raising Stakes
2008年11月26日
Thailand halted flights out of its international airport and girded for possible violence after hundreds of antigovernment protestors seeking to change the country's political system stormed the facility late Tuesday.
Protesters also blockaded portions of roads leading to the airport, according to reports, and massed at a temporary government headquarters on the grounds of Thailand's previous main airport. Sporadic fighting occured throughout Bangkok, with some injuries reported.
The protesters have put pressure on Thailand's government for months, with occasional outbreaks of violence. The latest trouble suggests the conflict is rising to a new level, placing Thailand's world-famous tourism industry in serious jeopardy at the onset of high season and raising the odds of a change in government as the country struggles to navigate the global economic crisis.
The protesters are led by a group known as the People's Alliance for Democracy, a loose coalition of businessmen, academics and royalists who want to scrap Thailand's one-person, one-vote democracy in favor of a system where the majority of parliament is appointed by professional and social groups.
One possible avenue to achieving an end to democracy would be to create sufficient mayhem that the army and the judiciary are forced to intervene, as they have in the past. Whether the protesters escalate their actions to the point where the army is forced to step in remains to be seen. Thailand's senior military aren't keen to become involved, even though Thailand has been ruled by the military in the past. Senior officers view a coup they carried out in 2006 as damaging to the military's reputation.
The protesters believe a system that doesn't rely on democracy will help end the influence of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications tycoon who was unseated in a coup in 2006 while he was out of the country.The current government is controlled by pro-Thaksin politicians and is headed by Mr. Thaksin's brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat. Mr. Somchai is currently abroad, after attending the APEC meeting in Peru. He was scheduled to return to Bangkok Wednesday, the Associated Press said.
Now Thailand must confront the likelihood of further unrest at a particularly inopportune time. Like many other Asian countries, Thailand depends on demand for exports, including cars and other manufactured goods. Demand is falling off sharply as the world economy slows, and some local industry executives have predicted Thailand could lose a million or more jobs.
Tourism is also a major revenue earner, accounting for as much as 6% of Thailand's gross domestic product.
At the sprawling Suvarnabhumi international airport, airport manager Serirat Prasutanon said airport authorities had tried to negotiate with the protestors 'but to no avail.'
'For the safety for passengers, we have to stop flights out of the airport temporarily until the situation returns to normal,' he said in a statement, according to the AP. He said the governor of Samut Prakan province, where the airport is located, had asked the army to help police.
PAD supporters who had broken through police lines were seen roaming through a passenger terminal near confused tourists.
It was unclear how long the airport would be closed. Airport officials said incoming flights were still arriving, but reports indicated that flights were being diverted to other Thai cities, including Chiang Mai and the beach resort of Phuket. The airport is a hub for travelers -- including millions of tourists, many from the U.S., Europe and Japan.
Patrick Barta |
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