Word: thailand
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Thousands of protesters swarmed Thailand's parliament Nov. 24, disrupting a legislative session and calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. The demonstrators, who call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, surrounded government buildings, cut electrical lines and declared the rally to be the "final push" of their six-month campaign to oust the ruling party. The protests came at the same time as an announcement that Thailand's economy, which has been badly hit by the global financial crisis, is in even worse shape than had previously been predicted...
With a demure smile and a garland of jasmine, Thailand has always welcomed the world. China and Japan may have screened themselves off for centuries, but the ancient kingdom of Siam, as Thailand was once known, thrived on trade and tourism. Even today, the country depends on visitors lured by golden spires and white-sand beaches...
...Thailand abandoned its traditional hospitality when antigovernment agitators swarmed Bangkok's international airport, grounding one of Asia's busiest air hubs. "Basically, we are hostages," said Irish tourist Dermuid McAnoy, expressing almost as much frustration toward the protesters as toward airline staff, who seemed to melt away as soon as the crowds armed with bamboo sticks and iron bars appeared. "Yes, we can leave, but we have no place to go."(See pictures from the Thai protests...
...Thailand's airport takeover marked an ominous turning point in a months-long political battle that has morphed from sideshow farce to center-stage emergency. "When you close down the gateway to the country, then you have reached the point of a national crisis," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a national-security expert at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "In fact, because this now affects Thailand's connection to the wider world, it is becoming an international crisis...
...Hollywood writer couldn't make this stuff up. But satire aside, Thailand's leadership crisis is derailing what once was one of the region's most promising economies. Political street violence in Bangkok has claimed several lives over the past couple months, and spooked investors and tourists, on whose dollars Thailand depends. Growth forecasts for 2009 hover at a bleak 3%. But even as these troubles mount, neither the government nor the opposition appears willing to give ground. Somchai has refused to resign, and the PAD vows to keep up its campaign even if it means further tarnishing Thailand...