Thailand Hopes Royal Guidance in Political Crisis

By VIJAY JOSHI / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — Thailand's main airport checked security and computer systems as it prepared to restore normal operations after a weeklong closure forced by anti-government protesters, as millions of Thais awaited a speech Thursday by their beloved monarch for guidance on ending the country's political paralysis.

Suvarnabhumi airport, Thailand's main international gateway and a regional hub, will be "open for full services including check-in and immigration" at 11 a.m. (0400 GMT) Friday, airport chief Serirat Prasutanont said in a statement.

National airline Thai Airways has already restarted operations at the airport. Singapore Airlines is to start Friday and many other airlines are expected to follow suit. The smaller domestic Don Muang airport was functioning normally with Thai Airways flying all of its scheduled flights within the country.

The sieges of the two airports by the People's Alliance for Democracy stranded more than 300,000 travelers in Thailand, while many others were unable to fly into the country during the peak tourist season.

Thai officials have been scrambling to get Suvarnabhumi fully functional in time for the birthday Friday of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The king was scheduled to give his customary birthday-eve speech later Thursday. Many Thais hoped it would give guidance for ending the country's political crisis, which received a temporary respite when a court ousted Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Tuesday for voter fraud in the last elections. The alliance handed back the airports the next day.

The airport crisis has taken a heavy toll on the tourism industry—a pillar of the Thai economy—as holiday cancelations pour in from around the world.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects foreign tourist arrivals to fall by half from the projected 15 million next year.

Some hotels slashed their rates by as much as 80 percent to fill empty rooms, The Nation newspaper reported.

Thai Airways and the Airports Authority of Thailand were preparing to sue protest leaders for damages resulting from the airports' seizure.

Tuesday's court ruling banned Somchai from politics from five years and disbanded three main parties in the ruling coalition.

But other members of his coalition were preparing to join other parties and choose a new prime minister, a move that could once again prompt the alliance to take to the streets if the next prime minister is seen as a proxy of the former government.

Eight people have been killed and 737 wounded in clashes in violence since the latest round of demonstrations began in May, according to the Narenthorn Medical Center.

Although barred from a political role by the constitution, the king has helped settle several political crises in the past.

"Expectations are very high. If the royal comments are seen as fair and balanced with a way (out of the crisis), people will try to think about that and maybe to push for that way forward," said Thitinan Pongsidhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

But Thitinan said the king's guidance, if any, might not be sufficient to heal the country's deep polarization.

"It's also possible that one side or the other will see it as insufficient, in which case they will not stand down and go home quietly. It is uncertain whether all sides will accept the royal comments," he said.

The anti-government movement grew out of the alliance's campaign in late 2005 against then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was ousted in a 2006 military coup amid accusations of gross corruption and attempting to undermine the monarchy.

Thaksin's supporters won elections held under military rule in December 2007. The alliance rejected the outcome, saying the new government was a proxy for Thaksin. On August 26, alliance members stormed and occupied the grounds of Government House, which houses the prime minister's office.

They stormed the airports last week to prevent Prime Minister Somchai from returning to Bangkok from a Pacific summit in Peru. The government was unable to muster the clear support of the army or police to evict the protesters.

Thaksin, who fled the country to escape an array of corruption charges, remains popular among the rural poor for his past populist policies.

The alliance says the rural poor are uneducated and susceptible to vote buying. It wants a system in which a majority of lawmakers would be nominated by professional and social groups instead of being elected.

The end to the airport siege "is nothing more than an intermission. It is not over until the two sides of the political spectrum can reconcile, and the prospect of that happening is very bleak," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian and former rector of Bangkok's Thammasat University.

The outgoing ruling coalition parties have 30 days to nominate a new prime minister to be endorsed by Parliament. On Wednesday they named Deputy Prime Minister Chaowarat Chandeerakul as caretaker leader, and were deciding Thursday on a candidate for prime minister.