Protesters laying siege to Bangkok's two airports are braced for a battle with security forces after Thailand's prime minister declared a state of emergency to end a blockade threatening to cripple the economy.
People's Alliance of Democracy "security guards" manned a series of road blocks of razor wire, crash barriers and plastic water bottles on the expressway leading to the capital's Suvarnabhumi airport, shut since Tuesday.
The men, armed with sticks and metal bars, checked cars entering the area. There were similar scenes at Bangkok's Don Muang airport, whose closure last night severed all air links into the city.
In a televised address from the government stronghold of Chiang Mai, 700 km north of Bangkok, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared emergency law, saying the export and tourism-driven economy could not tolerate further disruption. "I need to do something to restore peace and order," he said.
A similar declaration in September to dislodge PAD protesters occupying Government House was ignored by the army and, even though the PAD were preparing to repel a police assault, it was not clear when, or even if, one would materialise.
The PAD refused to end their sit-ins, which have forced hundreds of flights to be cancelled, stranding thousands of foreign tourists in one of Asia's biggest air hubs and grounding air cargo.
"We will not leave. We will use human shields against the police if they try to disperse us," PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila said tonight.
Another PAD leader threatened to expand the movement's six-month campaign by bringing Bangkok's traffic network to a halt with flying protests at dozens of motorway intersections.
A government spokesman said the economy could lose at least 100 billion baht (€2.2 billion) if the sieges drag on for a month, and reduce GDP growth for the year to 4 percent from a current estimate of 4.5 per cent, already a seven-year low.
Thailand's three-year-old political crisis has deepened dramatically 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. Mr Somchai is Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law.
