Rioting prompts Thai prime minister to warn of state of emergency

THAI police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand anti-government protesters who were besieging city police headquarters.

The prime minister said he might declare a state of emergency if the rioting worsens.

Journalists witnessed police throwing dozens of canisters of gas at the crowd of at least 2,000 people. Protest leaders claimed they had come to demand the surrender of officers who allegedly beat demonstrators earlier in the day.

Tensions rose , three days after members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy occupied Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s office compound to demand his ouster.

The alliance accuses Samak’s government of serving as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and faces several pending corruption cases. Thaksin is in self-imposed exile in Britain.

Alliance sympathisers also staged actions in other parts of the country, causing railway and airline delays and cancellations.

More than 200 railway workers staged a work stoppage by taking emergency sick leave, forcing the cancellation of 35 trains from Bangkok to major provinces, said State Railways of Thailand spokesman Pairat Rojcharoen-ngarm.

Protesters also tried to block passengers from entering three airports in southern Thailand, at Hat Yai, Krabi and the popular tourist destination of Phuket. Airport authorities announced that all three airports would close last night for safety reasons, causing flights in and out to be cancelled.

Several skirmishes erupted outside the Government House as police and protesters jockeyed for position.

In the morning, police muscled into the site to deliver a court eviction demanding that the alliance members leave the site.

Several minor injuries were reported throughout the day as skirmishes erupted around the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets.

Police then announced that they would retreat in order to ease tensions.

“The situation was very volatile and a clash was likely if we pushed on,” police spokesman Surapol Tuantong told the NBT TV network.

“We have given way to let them back into the Government House to prevent a clash. All security forces have left the government compound.”

But protesters then descended on the police station.

“We went there to demand responsibility from the police who ordered the beatings of protesters,” said alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila. “They responded by firing tear gas at us.”

About 10 people suffered minor injuries in that clash.

Earlier, Sondhi Limthongkul, a protest leader, vowed to continue the protests until Samak steps down.