Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency on Thursday at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, as rumours of a coup swirled round the capital. In a televised address, Somchai said police and some military units would try to end the blockades by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, which he said were causing massive damage to the economy.
"I need to do something to restore peace and order," Somchai said, invoking emergency rule in the capital for the second time to disperse the PAD. However, the previous declaration in September to dislodge protesters occupying Government House was ignored by the army and it was not clear what the police would do now.
The PAD refused to end their protests, which have forced flight cancellations and stranded thousands of travellers. "We will not leave. We will use human shields against the police if they try to disperse us," PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila told Reuters.
The Nation newspaper's website reported that 30 medical teams were on standby in case of a bloody crackdown. Thailand's three-year-old political crisis has deepened since the PAD began a "final battle" on Monday to unseat a government it accuses of being a pawn of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup. Pressure has built on the military to step in since Somchai rejected calls to quit, but government supporters are threatening to hit the streets if the elected administration is ousted in a coup, raising fears of major civil unrest.
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