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BANGKOK, Nov 28, 2008 (AFP) - Thailand's premier said Friday that talks are under way to persuade anti-government protesters to leave Bangkok's main airports before a potentially bloody crackdown.
Demonstrators stormed Suvarnabhumi international airport on Tuesday and blockaded domestic Don Mueang airport early Thursday in the latest twist to their months-long attempts to unseat the government.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared emergency rule at both airports late Thursday, but a day later he said that officials were negotiating with the activists.
"The government does not want to trigger any violence or casualties, so to implement the law under international practice, as of now negotiations are under way," Somchai told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai. "I am not setting a deadline but I have intructed officials to carry this out according to the plan. Therefore it's up to the officials," he said.
Bangkok Metropolitan Police commander Lieutenant General Suchart Mueankaeo said the prime minister had instructed to handle the situation with care and to avoid a clash with protesters.
"Initially police will negotiate and we have talked with them on the telephone, but we have not yet made a precise appointment," said Suchart, who has been tasked with dispersing protesters from Don Mueang.
He said police will now go to the rally site and explain to protesters that their acts violate the law.
With tensions running high between the government and the military, the army has already said it is opposed to the use of force to drive protesters from the airports.
Clashes between police and demonstrators in central Bangkok on October 7 left two people dead and around 500 wounded in the deadliest such incident in Thailand for 16 years.
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