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Updated Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:37 pm TWN, By AMBIKA AHUJA, AP

Thai government refuses to disclose its location to avoid provoking protests

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The Thai government insisted Tuesday it was "fully functional" but refused to disclose where officials were working to avoid provoking more protests with anti-government activists who have vowed to bring the administration to a standstill.

Spokesman Nattawut Saikau indicated the Thai government had effectively gone into hiding to avoid thousands of protesters who surrounded the prime minister's temporary headquarters at Bangkok's domestic airport and embarked on a cat-and-mouse chase to block their meetings.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was in Peru for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders and not expected back until Wednesday. But when he returns he will confront the latest twist in Thailand's political crisis - and the need to find a new office space.

Protesters seeking Somchai's resignation have occupied his Bangkok headquarters, known as Government House, since Aug. 26, forcing him to relocate to a makeshift office in the VIP area of the former international airport.

Thousands of protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, surrounded the government's makeshift offices at Don Muang airport Tuesday, a day after blockading Parliament and forcing the postponement of an important parliamentary session.

Protest leaders said their goal is to block the government from meeting - whenever and wherever that may be.

"We'll protest until there is no Cabinet meeting," said a protest leader, Somsak Kosaisuk. "We'll interrupt their every attempt to ruin the country further."

The weekly Cabinet meeting is usually held Tuesdays but was changed to Wednesday because of Somchai's absence.

A few thousands protesters marched later Tuesday from the airport to the nearby Thai army headquarters, where they believed a government meeting was taking place.

Nattawut said he would not confirm where the government was meeting.

"The government is fully functional and continues to work as usual but we cannot disclose where the government is working right now because it will provoke PAD and might cause a lot of trouble," he said, speaking by telephone.

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▪	Protesters move to Bangkok's besieged airports



	Anti-government protesters arrival at an old airport terminal building, a temporary prime minister's office, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Protest leaders are vowing to intensify their efforts to oust the current elected government. Thailand's Parliament postponed a joint session Monday after protestors surrounded the building and cut electrical power. (AP) Enlarge Photo


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