THAILAND TRAVEL NEWS: The predominantly government owned Airports of Thailand (AoT) has been awarded a Bt522 million (about $US17.126 million) judgment against the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) political group, who invaded Bangkok International Airport in 2008 forcing it to suspend operations.

The judgement by the Thailand Civil Court late last week against 13 core leaders of the PAD found they and their followers led a large number of people to rally inside the airport between November 26 and December 3, 2008, resulting in its closure and the standing of hundreds of thousands of foreign and domestic travelers.

Thailand Travel News reported on the closure of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports at the time (see: Bangkok Airport Closure), as well as on the decision by national carrier, Thai Airways International (THAI), to sue the protest leaders (see: Thai Airways Strikes Back Over 2008 Airport Closures), who included current Thailand Foreign Affairs minister Kasit Piromya, former Bangkok governor Chamlong Srimuang, and Manager Daily newspaper and ASTV media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, over the closures.

Both Limthongkul and Srimuang were amongst the defendants in the AoT case decided last week and are likewise named defendants in a criminal case also filed by the AoT.

The defendants in the AoT case attempted to argue that, “the protests at the airports did not harm the aviation business, because the airports were not closed, and airplanes were allowed to take off or land as normal.

“The protesters allowed any persons to freely enter or leave the premises of both airports”… and “the suspension of air operations was a decision by AoT director Serirat Prasutanond”.

Rejecting the defenses argument, the court ruled the group had violated the principles of peaceful assembly and had gone beyond the constitutional sanction for peaceful public assembly by putting on masks and wielding wooden and iron sticks to raid the the two airports.

The court ordered the PAD leaders to pay Bt12 million ($US393,720) for damage to AoT’s property, such as broken glass doors, toilets, closed-circuit video cameras, with the balance due for the commercial damage it suffered. Interest at the the of 7.5 per cent was also applied from the date the occupation began.

Though the PAD leaders are expected to appeal last weeks ruling, there still remains the criminal complaint filed by the AoT, the separate civil claim by THAI, and a bevy of criminal charges, including terrorism.

Thailand Travel News for March 29, 2011

By John Le Fevre