UPDATE 8-Thai PM declares emergency at airports amid coup talk
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By Nopporn Wong-Anan
BANGKOK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - 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.
Earlier, Somchai's spokesman urged the army to stay put and denied that he planned to sack army chief Anupong Paochina, a day after the general urged him to call a snap election.
"Troops should stay in their barracks and the prime minister is not going to sack anybody," government spokesman Nattawut Saikuar told reporters.
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ANALYSIS-Army, king hold no keys to Thailand's impasse
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COUP MAKERS ON STANDBY
Anupong has repeatedly said he would not take over, arguing the army is powerless to heal the fundamental political rifts between the Bangkok elite and middle classes who despise Thaksin, and the majority rural and urban poor who love him.
However, rumours of a coup persisted in the capital, where some office employees left work early and the United Nations advised its staff to go home and remain indoors.
"They are 100 percent on standby," a high-ranking former military officer, who declined to be named, said of the army.
Tension has been rising across the country, which has seen 18 coups or attempted coups in 76 years of on-off democracy.
In Chiang Mai, a pro-government gang shot dead an anti-government activist late on Wednesday after dragging him from his car.
The long-running unrest has paralysed government decision making, stirring fears it could exacerbate the impact of the global slowdown and tip the export-driven economy into recession.
The economy could suffer $2.8 billion in losses if the airports stayed shut for a month, cutting GDP growth to 4 percent this year from a forecast of 4.5 percent, the government said.
Tourism looked set to take a major hit from the PAD blockade at Suvarnabhumi, a major Asian airport and gateway for nearly 15 million visitors to Thailand last year. [nBKK386472]
With thousands of tourists stranded in Bangkok, the government offered to shuttle them by bus to U-Tapao naval airbase on the eastern seaboard as an alternative for airlines.
National carrier Thai Airways THAI.BK, which operates 140 flights a day to and from Suvarnabhumi, said it was considering using U-Tapao, a front-line base for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.
Among those stranded at Suvarnabhumi were hundreds of Thai Muslims booked on a once-in-a-lifetime haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. [nSP377006]
"Some of them have saved all their lives for this," said Muhammed Yusouf, a haj tour guide accompanying the pilgrims, many of whom would be travelling by plane for the first time.
"If they miss this opportunity, they might not get a second chance." (Additional reporting by David Fox and Ed Cropley; Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Alan Raybould & Jeremy Laurence)
