BANGKOK — Thai commandos staged a raid on Friday to capture some leaders of the anti-government protests that have gridlocked parts of Bangkok for more than a month, a senior government official said.
The official, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, said on national television that a special forces unit had surrounded the SC Park Hotel in downtown Bangkok, where some of the leaders have been staying. It was the first military action since a failed attempt to disperse the demonstrators last Saturday resulted in 24 deaths and hundreds of other casualties.
Initial reports from the government and from protest spokesmen on Friday indicated that some of the leaders had been captured while others had escaped, one by sliding down a rope from the hotel.
“As I am speaking, the government’s special team is surrounding the SC Park Hotel where we have learned that there are terrorists and some of their leaders hiding,” said Mr. Suthep, who is in charge of security.
“Innocent people should leave the protests because the authorities have to take decisive measures against terrorists,” he said, adding that Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva has taken refuge in a military camp. He said Mr. Abhisit would address the nation on Friday afternoon after five days of silence.
The protesters, widely known as the Red Shirts, had expanded their sit-in on Thursday, turning Bangkok’s central shopping area into a tent city and vowing to make it their “final battleground” in an attempt to force Mr. Abhisit’s government to resign and hold new elections.
Though Saturday’s clash was the worst political violence in Thailand in nearly 20 years, it resolved nothing: The protesters held their ground and the government refused their demand to step aside.
“The resulting violence destroyed any remaining room for compromise, deepening a political impasse that will not necessarily be resolved by any obvious political solution, such as resignations or even compromise between the key parties,” said the consulting firm Control Risks’ Prime service.
The standoff has begun digging into Thailand’s economic prospects, including commerce, investment and tourism, which accounts for 6 percent of gross domestic product. Officials warned it could affect growth, which had been forecast at 4.5 percent this year.
Already the protest has cost Thailand $300 million in lost tourism revenue, said a spokesman for the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations, Charoen Wangananont. He said hotel occupancy rates were down to 30 percent at a time when the industry was expecting occupancy rates of 80 to 90 percent.
The demonstration, which had occupied two locations, now involves tens of thousands of people camping out at a major intersection in the heart of the city’s upscale commercial district, an area visited by many foreign tourists.
The area is home to Central World, the second-largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia, and to the Grand Hyatt, the Four Seasons, the Marriott Courtyard and other luxury hotels and serviced apartments.
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