BANGKOK: Thousands of truckers went on strike in Thailand yesterday demanding government help against rising fuel prices, the latest in a series of protests that have swept across Asia and Europe.

Transport groups said they were ready to block roads into Bangkok next week, piling more pressure on a government already besieged by a weeks-old street protest over its links to Mr Thaksin Shinawatra.

The protest has sparked fears of a military coup less than two years after the army booted out pro-business former prime minister.

"If the government doesn't meet our demands by June 17, we will mobilise our trucks in Bangkok," Mr Thongyu Khongkan, secretary-general of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand, which has 400,000 trucks under its banner, told Reuters.

Specific demands included a discount of 3-baht (S$0.16) per litre of diesel for six months, as well as cheap loans to convert engines to compressed natural gas, he said.

State-run Thai refineries agreed last month to sell diesel to Bangkok bus companies at an 8 per cent discount. Other sectors, such as fishermen and truckers, are expected to benefit from a similar arrangement.

The soaring cost of fuel, stemming from world crude prices that touched a record US$139 (S$190.8) a barrel last week, has sparked protests around the world by consumers and transport groups.

Thai Airways raised its fuel surcharges by up to 64 per cent yesterday.

The airline also suspended its Bangkok-New York service from July 1 to cut costs.

In Europe, Spaniards have started stockpiling food for fear a truckers' strike that has disrupted deliveries could cause shortages. Traders at Madrid's main food wholesale market said supplies of fresh food would start to run out soon.

Portuguese drivers have joined the strike and there were also protests in France.

In Asia, where many countries are net oil importers, governments have been forced to cut fuel subsidies and let pump prices climb, putting a squeeze on households already struggling with higher costs of basic food such as rice.
South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak said Asia's fourth-largest economy could be heading into crisis because of surging resource prices and slowing growth. Producer price inflation in the country was near a 10-year high last month.

South Korean truck drivers voted to strike on Monday, ignoring a US$10.2 billion government aid package designed to cushion the impact of fuel price rises. -- REUTERS