By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Anti-government protesters consolidated their positions at Thailand’s besieged main airport on Monday as attention shifted to a court verdict that could end the crisis.

Officials from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) said they were shifting the focus of their protest from Government House in central Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Airport, which they took over last Tuesday night, paralyzing flight traffic and leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

Anchalee Paireerak said the PAD would maintain a presence through its “security guards” at Government House, which it overran in August, but would no longer be running a round-the-clock protest at the site.

“Everything has been moved to Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang,” she said, referring to the two airports that the protesters have taken over.

Thousands of yellow-clad PAD protesters defied police and occupied Suvarnabhumi for a seventh day on Monday in a campaign to topple Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom they accuse of being a pawn for his brother-in-law, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup and exiled since.

The main domestic hub, Don Muang, has also been occupied, and the air cargo industry ground to a halt.

Forecasts for an economy already suffering from the global financial crisis are grim. On Monday, rating agency S&P revised Thailand’s outlook from stable to negative, saying there was a possibility of widespread violence.

Finance Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech told Reuters on Monday the economy might be flat next year, or grow by just 1 to 2 percent, after earlier growth forecasts of between 4-5 percent.

Thailand’s Board of Trade director said the cost of the airport closure was “incalculable,” but a senior board member offered a figure, telling the Nation newspaper lost export earnings ran at around 3 billion baht ($85 million) a day.

The chaos has worried Thailand’s neighbours, due to meet in two weeks for a regional summit. Surin Pitsuwan, head of Southeast Asia’s 10-nation grouping, ASEAN, said a postponement might be wise, although Indonesia has also offered to host some of the allied meetings.

COMPROMISED

The general manager of Suvarnabhumi said it could take a week to resume operations when the protesters finally leave, because security and computer systems had been compromised during the blockade.

“Normally, checking the IT systems takes one week,” Serirat Prasutanond told Reuters, adding the delay would be even longer if any of the airport’s systems needed repair.

Somchai has been in the north of the country since returning from an overseas trip last week but is supposed to attend a ceremony in Bangkok on Tuesday to mark the king’s birthday.

Also on Tuesday comes the end of a vote fraud case that could deliver a crippling blow to the six-party coalition government.  Continued…