Further updated: Anti-democrats (?) threaten airport

In a flashback to 2008 when the People’s Alliance for Democracy, supported by the Democrat Party, occupied Bangkok’s airports, the commercial farmer’s wing of the anti-democrat movement is threatening the airport today.

PPT has long held that PAD has never “died,” been “finished” or “disbanded.” PAD remains the core of the current anti-democrat movement. Its strategists and activists have been at the sharp end of every anti-democratic action since 2005, and they are critically important for the current anti-democrat action, especially now that it is essentially a violent and armed movement.

The Nation reports that some 10,000 farmers, “travelling on more than 1,000 farm tractors in a long convoy from the upper northern and central provinces, will today arrive in Bangkok and move to Suvarnabhumi Airport in a concerted attempt to pressure the caretaker government to resign.”

Led by former Chart Thai Pattana Party MP Chada Thaiset, some of the farmers “would be heading to Suvarnabhumi Airport, for a purpose he did not specify. But, they insisted that they would not obstruct air traffic or raid the airport.”

Another farmer leader who claims he “would not cooperate with the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee,” warned “capital residents to stockpile food supplies for seven days.”

Update 1: Some of the farmers threatening the international airport have accepted a government offer. Bangkok Post reports:

Matichon quoted Mr Chada as saying the payment in question would amount to 3 billion baht for Uthai Thani farmers. He provided no details about plans to pay thousands of others.

The farmers had been threatening to descend on Suvarnabhumi Airport to step up their protest but they turned around on hearing the news from Mr Chada.

Some thought they should move on to Suvarnabhumi as planned, because they did not believe the caretaker government would be able to make the delayed payments.

It is not clear what kind of promise Mr Chada extracted from Ms Yingluck. He is angry with the Pheu Thai Party after it ran a candidate against him in the Feb 2 election, which he ended up losing.

However, the farmers promised to return and to rally at the international airport if they do not get paid next week as promised.

Khaosod, which distinguishes between Chada’s group and the anti-democrats, suggesting our header is misleading, states:

But the tension was defused today when leader of the farmer protesters, Mr. Chada Thaiseth, a former MP of Chart Thai Pattana Party, said he has personally consulted with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday about the farmers′ distress, and he has been assured by Ms. Yingluck that the rice payment would arrive by next week.

Explaining that he is satisfied by the Prime Minister′s response, Mr. Chada urged the farmers to call off the protests and return to their home districts.

However, Mr. Chada also threatened to come back to Bangkok and besiege Suvarnabhumi Airport if the government breaks it promise.

We altered the header in response.

Update 2: Readers will have noticed that the anti-democrats initially cheered Chada and his farmers. After they accepted a deal, they are now chided by the anti-democrats. The more extreme of their propagandists now claim that the Chada’s group was a fake one, paid by Thaksin Shinawatra and a deliberate distraction and political stunt. This kind of line is played out in Veera Prateepchaikul’s latest op-ed at the Bangkok Post.