By Ambika Ahuja and Martin Petty
BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai army warned it could use force, including firing rubber bullets, to enforce a state of emergency on Friday as thousands protested at a satellite station after government censorship of their TV channel.
"Red shirt" protesters, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a military coup in 2006, were in open defiance of the emergency decree imposed to quell weeks of protests demanding a new election.
Thousands of red shirts, who briefly broke into parliament on Wednesday, had arrived by early afternoon outside the barbed wire surrounding the Thaicom Pcl satellite earth station in Pathum Thani province, about 60 km (35 miles) north of Bangkok.
The station is the country's main uplink facility and was used by the red shirts to broadcast their People Channel before it was taken off air on Thursday.
Other protesters were on the way, travelling by truck and motorcycle. There was no immediate sign of confrontation. An army spokesman said about 6,000 soldiers and police were deployed inside the compound of the station and surrounding area.
Thailand's stock market, which had surged about 80 percent over the past 12 months as Asia's third-best performer, was down off 0.35 percent. Foreigners had bought $1.8 billion in Thai stocks from February 22 to Thursday, when they were net sellers.
"Investors are concerned the military will use force to disperse the crowds," Kim Eng Securities, Thailand's largest stock broker, said in a report. "We expect investors to remain cautious as we go into the Songkran holiday from April 13-15."
Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said security forces would ensure there is no move to "seize" the station, urging residents to stay clear. "The police and the army need to maintain order in accordance with the law from use of soft to harsh means in seven steps if protesters violate (the decree)."
He said about 3,000 people were heading towards the area. The seven steps included the use of shields, water hoses, tear gas and rubber bullets. About 30,000 security forces were deployed across Bangkok, he added, with hundreds at the station.
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ABHISIT UNDER PRESSURE
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said he will not order a crackdown on the mostly rural and working class protesters who have ignored orders to leave Bangkok's main shopping district since Saturday. That was before the march to the satellite station.
Abhisit faces pressure to either compromise and call an election he could easily lose, or launch a crackdown that could stir up even more trouble.
Most analysts doubt the authorities will use force to remove the protesters from the shopping area -- a politically risky decision for Abhisit as his 16-month-old coalition government struggles to build support outside Bangkok. The protesters left there on Friday were mainly women, children and old men.
The satellite station was still not broadcasting on Friday but was available on some Internet sites via another broadcaster.
"We are marching now to ask them why they closed down People Channel and what rights they have to shut out our eyes and ears," said protest leader Nattawut Saikua.
The protesters, shouting slogans and waving red flags, were in a festive mood, blaring loud music on speakers as motorcycles and pick-up trucks hooted their horns.
Police said arrest warrants had been issued against 17 protest leaders for violating the decree. Some already have warrants against them but are unlikely to be arrested as long as protest continues. Some experts said arrests would only embolden the protest movement.
No convictions were made when the reds' arch-rivals known as the "yellow shirts" blockaded Bangkok's international airport for a week in 2008 until a court ousted the pro-Thaksin government.
The risk of confrontation has raised concern of fallout on Thailand's economy, Southeast Asia's second biggest. Central bank officials and the finance minister have said it could affect monetary policy, possibly delaying an expected rate rise.
Bangkok was calm and life went on much as normal. Many of the malls in the central shopping and hotel district, where the red shirts have camped out since April 3, had reopened.
The numbers of red shirts in the area, which have swollen to tens of thousands as the tropical heat dies away in the evening, dropped away to about 3,000 on Friday.
Security forces were not visibly deployed at the main rally site, although it is right in front of the police headquarters, opting to stay in their bases or on roads at least 2 km (1.2 miles) away in an apparent attempt to avoid provocation.
(Additional reporting by Vithoon Amorn; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Jason Szep and Alex Richardson)
