Thailand promises flights out for stranded tourists

Thousands of stranded tourists will be flown out of Thai military bases in the next 48 hours, the country’s tourism minister promised today.

Weerasak Kohsurat said those with “urgent needs” will be taken to U-Tapao air force base, 90 miles from Bangkok and possibly an Air Force base at Kamphaeng Saen, a northern suburb of Bangkok.

Weerasak said Thai Airways would provide the planes and then tourists could catch connecting flights in Singapore or Malaysia.

Along with the use of the military bases, Weerasak said the government was also considering using buses and trains to transport tourists to other airports in the country, including those in Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Meanwhile the country's cabinet met outside the capital to avoid the demonstrators to decide whether to impose a state of emergency.

Meeting with the prime minister in Chiang Mai, 350 miles from Bangkok, it was considering both an emergency decree or the use of a tough internal security law, government spokesman Nattawut Sai-kua said.

Protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister have occupied Bangkok’s international airport since Tuesday night, forcing the cancellation of all flights. Yesterday they also forced the domestic airport to close in a bid to prevent government ministers from getting to the cabinet meeting.

Some ministers were flown on military planes from a nearby base to Chiang Mai, where Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has been since returning from an overseas trip yesterday.

There was speculation in the Thai media that the prime minister might remove the powerful army chief, Anupong Paochinda, who called for the dissolution of parliament and new elections to resolve the deepening crisis.

Today the EU and the British Foreign Office expressed concern at the deteriorating situation.

“We urge all sides to this political dispute to resolve their differences peacefully and legally, respecting Thailand’s democratic institutions,” Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said.

The European Union said in a statement that “any anti-constitutional attempt to interfere in the democratic process would have a negative impact on EU-Thailand relations.”