Thai protesters block airport road, strike fails

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Protesters blocked the expressway to Thailand's main international airport on Tuesday, the latest twist in an increasingly desperate six-month campaign to unseat the elected administration.

Channel 3 television said the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters had obstructed all but one lane of the multi-lane expressway to Suvarnabhumi airport, the main gateway for 13 million tourists who visit each year.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who has rejected PAD demands he resign, is due to return on Wednesday from an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru.

Earlier, the protesters surrounded Bangkok's old Don Muang airport, north of the city, where ministers have been running the country since the PAD invaded Government House in August.

"It is time to make a clear-cut choice between good and evil, between those who are loyal and traitors," PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk told 10,000 yellow-shirted supporters waving hand clappers and shouting anti-government slogans.

Domestic flights were operating as usual from Don Muang, and there was no disruption to road or rail services despite a strike called by state sector unions in support of the PAD.

Any serious labour disruption would deepen the economic impact of the long-running political crisis, which has stymied government decision-making and raised fears about the export-driven economy's ability to cope with a global crisis.

The government forecast this week that the economy would grow just 4.5 percent this year, its slowest rate in seven years.