BANGKOK, Nov 28: Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat fired his national police chief on Friday for mishandling the latest escalation in a six-month old political crisis that has seen protesters blockade Bangkok’s airports.

Police commanders on the ground said there were no immediate plans for an assault on protesters staging sit-ins at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, where all flights are cancelled and thousands of travellers are stranded.

“Tonight, we are staying here,” Police Colonel Sutin Meekajit said in the hotel car park at the $4 billion Suvarnabhumi airport, gateway for nearly 15 million tourists last year.

Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan’s transfer to an inactive post capped a week of high drama that saw police melt away as protesters invaded one of Asia’s biggest airports.

“The removal was the result of his performance during this current crisis,” government spokesman Nattawut Saikuar said a day after Somchai declared a state of emergency to end the sieges, already costing tens of millions of dollars in export delays.Dozens of riot police with truncheons and shields gathered at Suvarnabhumi, but took no action against the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters camped outside the main terminal.

Police at Don Muang airport ordered protesters there to leave immediately, but softened the edict by saying they hoped the situation would return to normal within three days.

In a televised address, Somchai said he would avoid violence.

“Don’t worry. Officials will use gentle measures to deal with them,” he said, inviting rights groups and journalists to watch.

Four days into the blockades, Thai exporters are struggling to find ways to get perishable goods and essential components to customers around the world.

Some cargo owners are moving their goods in container trucks south to Malaysia, where they are airlifted from Kuala Lumpur.

A prolonged closure of Suvarnabhumi, which can handle 3 million tonnes of cargo a year, would do serious damage to an export-driven economy already struggling to cope with a global slowdown, experts say.

TARNISHED IMAGE: Repairing Thailand’s tarnished image as a safe place to do business and travel may also take time.

The government began shuttling thousands of stranded tourists by bus to U-Tapao, a Vietnam War-era naval airbase 150 km east of Bangkok, as an alternative landing site for airlines, but travellers reported delays and confusion.

“Last time it was like shooting yourself in the kneecap, but this time it’s in the head,” Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said, referring to the PAD’s brief closure of the airport on the tourist island of Phuket in August.

Dug in behind a series of barricades of fire trucks, razor wire, car tyres and luggage trolleys at Suvarnabhumi, the PAD say they are ready for a prolonged siege.

Pressure has built on the army to step in since Somchai rejected military calls to quit, but pro-government forces threaten to take up arms if the elected administration is ousted, raising fears of major civil unrest.

Army chief Anupong Paochinda has said he will not take over, arguing the military is powerless to heal fundamental political rifts between the Bangkok elite and middle classes who despise Thaksin, and the poor rural and urban majority who love him.—Reuters