Thai grenade attack stokes tension ahead of rally

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By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A grenade blast wounded more than 50 anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Sunday, fuelling fears of clashes ahead of a big rally in the Thai capital planned by government supporters.

The blast occurred around midnight at Government House, the prime minister's office occupied by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) since August in a bid to topple the government.

PAD supporters are also dug in at the capital's two main airports, stranding thousands of tourists, grounding exports and threatening to further slash economic growth.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has declared a state of emergency at the airports and given police the authority to remove the protesters, but the police said they would not use force to evict them.

"We are in a negotiation process. We want to avoid any violent confrontation. We will not use weapons," spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen told a news conference, adding that police wanted to avoid any loss of life or damage to property.

PAD supporters attacked police on Saturday night, forcing them further away from Suvarnabhumi international airport.

There was almost a carnival atmosphere as about 4,000 PAD supporters clad in their movement's yellow shirts roamed round the terminal or listened to a band on a stage outside.

The occasional group of PAD youths wandered through the departure hall with wooden clubs and iron rods. There were no police in sight.

The sit-ins at Suvarnabhumi and the city's domestic hub, Don Muang, are the latest escalation in the PAD's "final battle" to unseat a prime minister it accuses of being a front for former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin, who is Somchai's brother-in-law, was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile.

He still has strong support among the urban and rural poor, and the pro-Thaksin Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) says it will bring 100,000 supporters to central Bangkok on Sunday afternoon in a show of support for the government.

A CONCEALED COUP

Veera Musikapong, a DAAD leader, told the Nation newspaper one focus of the rally would be the alleged bias of the courts.

The Constitutional Court has moved with uncharacteristic speed to conclude a vote fraud case on Tuesday that is widely expected to lead to the disbanding of Somchai's People Power Party (PPP) and two other partners in the ruling coalition.

"It is obvious that there is interference with justice. It was well planned, and this is a concealed coup," Veera said.

If the court dissolves the three parties, Somchai and other leaders would be barred from politics and many cabinet ministers would have to step down.

Police said they would try to keep the rival political groups away from each other.

The grenade blast at Government House was the latest aimed at the PAD supporters there and was among the most bloody. A PAD spokesman said 51 people were wounded, four critically.

On Saturday night, about 150 riot police fled a checkpoint near Suvarnabhumi after they were attacked by PAD militants armed with iron rods and slingshots and hurling firecrackers.

The chaos caused by the airport sit-ins has sparked rumours of a military coup, even though the army chief has said he will not seize control. Somchai has rejected military calls to hold a snap election.

Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat said the damage to Thailand's image, at a peak time for tourism, may cut arrivals by half to 6-7 million in 2009 and threatens a million jobs.

The government is shuttling tourists to U-Tapao, a Vietnam War-era naval airbase 150 km (90 miles) east of Bangkok, as an alternative landing site for airlines, but travellers have complained of massive delays and confusion.

Foreign governments are increasingly concerned.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said hundreds of Australians were stranded in Thailand and national carrier Qantas had offered to put on extra flights to take them home.

"It's very frustrating for us and it's very frustrating for those stranded Australians," he told Australian television.

There was one bit of good news on Sunday. Around 460 Thai Muslims who have been sleeping at Suvarnabhumi since their flight to Mecca was cancelled by the protests are to do their pilgrimage after all, thanks to a chartered Iran Air flight from U-Tapao.

"We are leaving today, finally, inchallah," said Yusuf Waedaramae, 33, a Thai living in Australia who had come to Bangkok to take his mother to the haj.

(Additional reporting by Khettiya Jittapong and Ed Cropley; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Valerie Lee)

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