Suvarnabhumi PAD Protest Continues

[yadetout]

I don't suppose AOT are taking the opportunity to fix the runways etc. while traffic is suspended..?

[anothertorres]

I don't suppose AOT are taking the opportunity to fix the runways etc. while traffic is suspended..?

they asked the PAD politely but were told they weren't allowed to. i wonder if duty free is open...

[rainman]

I don't suppose AOT are taking the opportunity to fix the runways etc. while traffic is suspended..?

No will, no motivation. Soap operas are on at 8.

[rack201]

Can anyone tell me if the protestors are only in the arrival/departure halls etc or are they running amok through the whole airport?

- are they going sick on the duty free?

- do they have access to the aircraft on the tarmac etc?

- do they have access to all the systems gear? radar tower etc?

[GlenOrd]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/11/30...es_30089812.php

Serirat Prasutanond, acting president of Airports of Thailand, said The People's Alliance for Democracy has been asked to allow 88 aircraft parked at Suvarnabhumi to leave so hapless passengers can get out.

He had tried several times but failed to convince PAD leaders at the airport to allow airline officers to fly the empty planes from the airport.

"I don't call this a negotiation, but I would say I'm begging," he said.

[Terminator]

going to bangers overland via kl...nobody's gonna stop me...

[rainman]

Considering there is ZERO airport security, I would imagine they have access to everything from duty free to the cargo.

[IAMSOBAD]

Can PAD people fly airplanes? They have a READY MADE AIR FORCE sitting on the runways. 88 HUGE JETS waiting to be manned and used as they see fit. All very very scary to think about.

IS ANYONE GUARDING THOSE PLANES WITHOUT AN AGENDA?

I personally wish the PM would resign now and make an exit out of the country like his B.I.L.

[yadetout]

PAD government ingredients: elite power (70%), democracy (30%)

[sriracha john]

Britain 'will not charter planes to evacute tourists from Thailand'

British tourists stranded in Thailand face uncertainty over when they will be able to get out after the foreign office said it would not charter flights to evacuate those unable to get home.

Although other countries including France and Spain have already organised charter aircraft to fly their citizens home, Bill Rammell, the foreign office minister, said that although this could help it was not a solution.

"The key issue is the fact the two airports in Bangkok are closed and therefore you've effectively got planes stacking up and not being able to get slots.

"The situation is tense and we are monitoring events hour by hour," he said.

"I spoke to the Thai ambassador on Friday, our embassy is in regular contact with the government, the police, the army and the palace, strongly urging the Thai authorities to take action to enable British tourists to reach those airports that are still operating safely," he said.

Scandinavian and other airlines have rejected proposals to fly to U-Tapao airbase, used by US during the Indo-China war to operate B52 bombers.

More than 100,000 tourists, including at least 5000 Britons, are trapped in the country. Many have been heading for provincial airports in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Had Yai near the Malaysian border in the hope of catching regional flights. Others are catching buses and trains to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Thai Airlines opened up U-Tapao airbase in Chonburi province 120 miles east of Bangkok last week and have said they are operating 18 flights out daily. The only European destinations on offer were Copenhagen and Frankfurt. But the airline said it was also flying to Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney.

For the last two days there has been pandemonium at the site, as many tourists, many without tickets, sought to get home.

Some 20,000 people turned up at the airport on Saturday with just 4,000 seats available, a Thai Airways spokesman said.

Traffic was backup for two miles, which hundreds of passengers walked dragging their suitcases with them. Tents had to be erected outside the airport to shield the overflow passengers from the sun. Many slept under umbrellas on grass verges.

Thai airlines are telling passengers not to go to the airport without a confirmed booking. They are also telling people not to turn up at hastily erected check-in desks at hotels in Bangkok unless these booking are confirmed.

"They need go to our offices in person to ensure they have a seat," a Thai Airways spokesman said.

The capital is still rife with rumours of a military coup. But General Anupong Paochinda, who last week advised the government step down to avoid further confrontation, has consistently denied he will intervene.

The government of Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted Premier who was convicted of corruption and banned from Britain, has been staying in the northern capital of Chiang Mai since his return from an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru.

Tomorrow the Constitution Court will meet to decide whether to dissolve the democratically elected government People's Power Party for alleged vote-buying. The yellow shirted members of the People's Alliance for Democracy appear to be unafraid of the police and many appear more than willing to attack them.

But they are concerned about the red-shirted members of the United Front for Democracy, who support Thaksin Shinawatra. The UDD staged a mass rally in Bangkok yesterday to demand the police open the airports. In the past they have threatened to take the law into their own hands and take back the airports themselves.

At Suvarnabhumi airport a member of PAD said: "If the police let the red 'King Thaksin's Warriors' through then there will be deaths for sure."

- Daily Telegraph (UK) / 17 minutes ago

Edited November 30, 2008 by sriracha john

[robee]

I don't suppose AOT are taking the opportunity to fix the runways etc. while traffic is suspended..?

No not while there is duty free and sticky rice.

[rainman]

Can PAD people fly airplanes? They have a READY MADE AIR FORCE sitting on the runways. 88 HUGE JETS waiting to be manned and used as they see fit. All very very scary to think about.

IS ANYONE GUARDING THOSE PLANES WITHOUT AN AGENDA?

I personally wish the PM would resign now and make an exit out of the country like his B.I.L.

All in the hands of fanatic domestic terrorists. Nice, isn't it? The new Thailand. Courtesy of PAD.

[GlenOrd]

There,s was a farang on the stage of the PAD at SUK just now and is quoting JFK and that they should keep the fight up for democracy ect.

He spoke of them being inconvenienced and not him and other passengers he,s shouting everyone must shout " song pra jarrern " and they did and loved it.

marshbags

Senile Wanderer , was that you on stage ?

It that the pizza delivery boy Bill (just kidding).

So it is true as reported that PAD is recruiting Kao San backpackers for 100 Baht (from 9News posted earlier)

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=676153

Edited November 30, 2008 by GlenOrd

[rainman]

It might be time for the international community to threaten Thailand with a trade embargo.

[Kerryd]

Can anyone tell me if the protestors are only in the arrival/departure halls etc or are they running amok through the whole airport?

- are they going sick on the duty free?

- do they have access to the aircraft on the tarmac etc?

- do they have access to all the systems gear? radar tower etc?

Considering there is ZERO airport security, I would imagine they have access to everything from duty free to the cargo.

Oddly enough, there are pictures on Pantip.com, and somewhere is a CNN video clip, that show the interior of the Terminals are devoid of people, with no signs of damage or looting of any kind.

The CNN guy walked through Immigration, the Duty Free area and down to the Departure gates, and he (and his cameraman) were the only people around.

They showed the Duty Free shops, some had that large, clear plastic wrap stretched around the outside of the shop, and the shelves were stocked with everything they would normally have. If I recall, he even commented about the wine on display.

Somewhere else I heard mention that the PAD weren't letting anyone past the Immigration booths, but the CNN guy wandered right through unchecked.

No doubt they would have access to any part of the airport if they wanted to, but it doesn't appear they have any interest in it.

Isn't that odd, considering how some have been describing them as terrorists, and a violent mob, and nothing but criminals ? And yet, millions of dollars of goods sit there on display untouched, protected (in some cases) by a piece of stretch wrap plastic.

[ff978472]

Can PAD people fly airplanes? They have a READY MADE AIR FORCE sitting on the runways. 88 HUGE JETS waiting to be manned and used as they see fit. All very very scary to think about.

IS ANYONE GUARDING THOSE PLANES WITHOUT AN AGENDA?

Get some sleep, IAMSOBAD.

[yadetout]

US OR THEM

Yellow, red camps bring country closer to the brink

By The Nation

Sporadic lawlessness spreading on both sides of conflict as Thailand is named "one of most dangerous places on earth"

Equally worrisome are minor incidents across the country. Vendors watching ASTV have been intimidated by red-shirt people. PAD protesters have fired on a reporter's car, although that was described as a mistake (the car was mistaken as that of assailants). Southern anti-government protesters have threatened to seize provincial halls in all 14 southern provinces if a crackdown was initiated against Suvarnabhumi protesters...

http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/11/30/hea...es_30089815.php

[sriracha john]

Anti-government demonstrators carry a wounded woman to safety near the Government House in Bangkok November 30, 2008

Time Magazine / 2008-11-30

Thailand Crisis Deepens Amidst New Violence

Nearly 50 anti-government demonstrators were rushed to hospital early Sunday morning after a grenade attack on one of their protest sites in Bangkok. The attack comes on the sixth day of the anti-government occupation of Bangkok's two main airports, where demonstrators have been involved in minor clashes with the some 2000 police officers deployed there. Meanwhile, in the old quarter of the Thai capital, tens of thousands of government supporters were preparing to rally, raising concerns about a confrontation between the two opposing groups.

The opposition gathered support over the weekend, as business leaders joined the chorus calling for Thailand's democratically elected ruling party to step down from power. "The situation has gone from bad to worse," the Thai Chamber of Commerce said in statement on Saturday, "signaling that [the government] is incompetent at ensuring peace and order...coalition parties should have the political courage to withdraw from the government and allow a new government to be installed." The chamber also urged anti-government protesters to end their occupation of the two airports. Some members told the Bangkok Post they would stop paying taxes as a form of civil disobedience of the government did not resign.

The protestors' leadership, despite the injuries their ranks incurred overnight, remain resolute. Chamlong Srimuang, one of the heads of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), told supporters at New Bangkok International Airport, also known as Suvarnabhumi, on Sunday morning that they would soon be victorious. Lawyers for the ruling People Power Party and two other political parties in the government coalition are scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to make closing arguments before the Constitutional Court in election fraud cases that could result in the parties being dissolved, effectively ending their hold on power.

It is not clear, however, how quickly the court will render its verdicts, leaving the question of how long anti-government forces intend to maintain this vigil that, in the last week, has led to the loss of millions of tourist dollars and left an estimated 100,000 passengers stranded. The PAD has been protesting since May, when the government announced it would begin amending the constitution. The protesters and other critics of the government claim it intends to change the charter in ways that would torpedo the cases against it, and also cases and convictions against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin, the ousted premier who many believe is still the real power behind the ruling party, has been convicted and sentenced to two years in jail for conflict of interest over a land deal. He fled the country in August, and has been nation-hopping since then. On Saturday, Thaksin gave an interview to a journalist in Dubai in which he demanded that anti-government protesters respect the law. "If some people are above the law...then everything is finished," Thaksin said. If everyone respects the law, he continued, the situation could end soon.

The escalating violence, however, hardly indicates the situation is headed in that direction. The grenade attack on members of the People's Alliance for Democracy took place around midnight at Government House, the office compound of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, which the protesters have occupied since August. Most of the wounded were women, four critically. It was the fourth grenade attack on the compound this past week by unknown assailants. One PAD security guard was killed and several others were wounded in the previous attacks. Two grenades and several rounds of gunfire were also fired at the offices of ASTV, a satellite television station owned by Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the protest leaders, early Sunday, and a bomb exploded at a barricade erected by the PAD outside Don Muang Airport. No one was wounded in either incident.

On Saturday, police abandoned their checkpoints leading to the international airport when several truckloads of PAD members ran the blockade to reach their fellow demonstrators. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat had issued a state of emergency covering the two airports the day before and ordered police to clear them of the several thousand PAD protesters. So far, the police have not attempted to enter the terminals at either airport. Olan Chaipravat, an economic advisor to the government, said on Saturday that the closure of the airports could cost the country one million jobs in the tourism industry, as arrivals could drop from an expected 14.5 million this year to just six or seven million in 2009.

- Time Magazine / 2008-11-30

[GlenOrd]

Declaration of the European Unionon the situation in Thailand(Bangkok, 29 November 2008)

The European Union Ambassadors in Bangkok reiterate their serious concerns about the siege of the Bangkok airports, resulting in the disruption of international air traffic and already over 100 000 passengers being stranded. While respecting the right of protesting and without interfering in any way with the internal political debate in Thailand, the EU considers that these actions are totally inappropriate. They are seriously damaging the international image of Thailand.

We urge the protesters to evacuate the airports peacefully without delay in order to avoid a major consular crisis and its economic consequences for Thailand.

We call all parties in Thailand to takes steps to resolve the crisis and restore public order, respecting the rule of law and country's democratic institutions.

finish quote.

Never mind, its only the EU saying this so they can ignore it, not that they will ever read it in PADland. Not like Sondhi has spoken or anything is it!

This is a hoax, Can you give us the source of it. The EU did not give any statements like this.

French embassy website genuine enough?

http://www.ambafrance-th.org/spip.php?article1542

You're losing your time.

The PAD supporters will deny the truth even if put in front of their eyes.

Ignorance is bliss for them.

I am not pro-PAD. But I think a foreign power have no right to have a say here.

Just like when EU offer to witness the previous election.

Thailand would polite say: Por Mea Tee Kan, Khon Nok Mai Kew (Translate "Husband & Wife fighting, none of your god dam business")

[sriracha john]

Some countries help their citizens, some do not

Spain is to send planes to repatriate more than 500 Spaniards stranded in Thailand due to the closure of Bangkok's airports. But stranded British tourists face uncertainty. Their foreign office said it would not charter flights to evacuate those unable to get home. And more than 260 stranded Russian tourists left for home on Sunday thanks to a flight by Thai Airways International from U-Tapao air base direct to Moscow's Domodedovo airport, the Russian embassy to Thailand said. In a statement on Sunday the Spanish Foreign Ministry said PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero coordinated the operation with the foreign and defence ministries. Two air force aircraft and one plane belonging to airline Iberworld are to fly to Thailand "as soon as possible," the statement said. It did not specify where they will land. State broadcaster TVE cites Spain's ambassador in Thailand, Juan Manuel Lopez Nadal, as saying the evacuation could

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=132397

[oceano]

Today here in pattaya is full of tourist that go arond a city whit big bag to find one place for sleep....they must to stop send people in Pattaya for nothing, i hope this forum help to advice someone that come to pattaya is not one solution.

Also the airline company must to stop send everybody here when they don t know what to do.

People stop come in pattaya-utapao if you are not absolutly sure that you can have one fly for go back home.

ciao

[Journalist]

There are several very high ranking military officers on the Board of Directors of 'Airports of Thailand PCL'.

(I believe they got those cushy jobs shortly after the last coup)

So maybe that explains why looting of the terminal is being avoided.

[GlenOrd]

It might be time for the international community to threaten Thailand with a trade embargo.

It will have to effect to PAD.

[animatic]

There are still buses and trains to working international airports.

Phuket, Chaingmai, Samui, Penang and Kuala Lumpur all about a day away.

Viet Nam and Cambodia, even Mayanmar also have out flights too.

Some need online visas or consulate visits, but it is not total isolation here.

Certainly not as convenient, but not locked down if you really need in or out.

[GlenOrd]

Today here in pattaya is full of tourist that go arond a city whit big bag to find one place for sleep....they must to stop send people in Pattaya for nothing, i hope this forum help to advice someone that come to pattaya is not one solution.

Also the airline company must to stop send everybody here when they don t know what to do.

People stop come in pattaya-utapao if you are not absolutly sure that you can have one fly for go back home.

ciao

Utapao is equal distance to Pattaya & Rayong. If Pattaya is full, Try Rayong. Rayong is cheaper too, but not much to do at night. There is a Tesco for the Brit, but sorry, so Carrefour for the French.

[jdinasia]

It might be time for the international community to threaten Thailand with a trade embargo.

Embargo the mail!

[bulmercke]

Can anyone tell me if the protestors are only in the arrival/departure halls etc or are they running amok through the whole airport?

- are they going sick on the duty free?

- do they have access to the aircraft on the tarmac etc?

- do they have access to all the systems gear? radar tower etc?

Considering there is ZERO airport security, I would imagine they have access to everything from duty free to the cargo.

Oddly enough, there are pictures on Pantip.com, and somewhere is a CNN video clip, that show the interior of the Terminals are devoid of people, with no signs of damage or looting of any kind.

The CNN guy walked through Immigration, the Duty Free area and down to the Departure gates, and he (and his cameraman) were the only people around.

They showed the Duty Free shops, some had that large, clear plastic wrap stretched around the outside of the shop, and the shelves were stocked with everything they would normally have. If I recall, he even commented about the wine on display.

Somewhere else I heard mention that the PAD weren't letting anyone past the Immigration booths, but the CNN guy wandered right through unchecked.

No doubt they would have access to any part of the airport if they wanted to, but it doesn't appear they have any interest in it.

Isn't that odd, considering how some have been describing them as terrorists, and a violent mob, and nothing but criminals ? And yet, millions of dollars of goods sit there on display untouched, protected (in some cases) by a piece of stretch wrap plastic.

Strange that!

The PAD are - in the main - a decent - honest - civil - and respectable anti-government protest group -

[sriracha john]

There,s was a farang on the stage of the PAD at SUK just now and is quoting JFK and that they should keep the fight up for democracy ect.

He spoke of them being inconvenienced and not him and other passengers he,s shouting everyone must shout " song pra jarrern " and they did and loved it.

marshbags

< flame snipped >

It that the pizza delivery boy Bill (just kidding).

So it is true as reported that PAD is recruiting Kao San backpackers for 100 Baht (from 9News posted earlier)

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=676153

if you believe the backpacking chick on the right...

she looks like a credible news source....

[rainman]

Thai TV is reporting that 20 airplanes have been allowed to leave Suvarnabhumi.

[ovenman]

It might be time for the international community to threaten Thailand with a trade embargo.

Embargo the mail!

Ouch!