BANGKOK - THAI prime minister Somchai Wongsawat on Wednesday dismissed a call by the country's powerful army chief to hold fresh elections and resolve a months-long political crisis, as a Thai court ordered anti-government protesters to end a siege that has forced the closure of Bangkok's international airport.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Somchai said anti-government protesters who have occupied Bangkok's international airport and government offices were trying to subvert the democratic process.
Italy sets up crisis cell for tourist trapped in Thailand
ROME - THE Italian government set up a crisis cell on
Wednesday to plan how to help a group of around 70 nationals who are stuck in Thailand after anti-government protests forced the closure of Bangkok airport.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini was being kept fully updated on events, said a statement from his ministry, adding that Italians on holiday in Thailand should get in contact with the embassy in Bangkok.
One killed in clash between Thai protest groups: police
BANGKOK - A MAN was killed in a clash between pro- and anti-government supporters in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai Wednesday, shortly after the prime minister arrived in the city, police said.
Fighting between the rival groups broke out after premier Somchai Wongsawat flew in from a foreign trip to receive the news that the army chief had asked him to call elections in a bid to end months of political protests.
BANGKOK - THAI Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat must step down before anti-government demonstrators agree to talks on ending their occupation of Bangkok's main airport, protest leaders said on Wednesday.
'The condition is that the prime minister must resign first and then we are ready to hold talks,' Pibhop Dhongchai, a core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy protest movement, told AFP.
Flights were cancelled at Thailand's mainairport on Tuesday after anti-government protesters stormed the terminal building, leaving thousands of tourists stranded and threatening the country's tourism industry.
The move came after members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) breached police lines and roamed through the sprawling Bangkok terminal as startled tourists looked on.
Thai authorities on Wednesday began evacuating passengers who were stranded overnight at Bangkok international airport after anti-government protesters stormed the building, an AFP reporter said.
Hundreds of weary travellers were herded out of the arrivals area at Suvarnabhumi airport on to buses provided by the facility's operator, the correspondent said.
The airport officials urged tourists and relatives to call 02-132-1888 and call tourist police at 02-643-5522 to find out latest developments at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
The Thai Airways International Airport also prepared 18 flights for transporting stranded tourists to Don Muang Airport.
Thai army chief calls urgent meeting amid protests
BANGKOK - THAILAND'S powerful army chief on Wednesday called an urgent meeting of military and business top brass as anti-government protesters shut down the main airport.
Army head General Anupong Paojinda will chair the meeting at army headquarters in Bangkok, said spokesman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong.
'I reassure the people that this government, which is legitimate and came from elections, will keep functioning until the end,' Mr Somchai said from the northern city of Chiang Mai after returning from a foreign trip.
Army chief General Anupong Paojinda earlier urged Somchai to dissolve the government and hold elections after protesters occupied Bangkok?s international airport and left thousands of travellers stranded.
But Mr Somchai rejected the call, saying: 'Thai people, please be reassured that my government will preserve democracy with the king as head of state and for national interests.'
Mr Somchai said he had called an 'urgent' cabinet meeting 'to map out measures to restore nomalcy'.
'The protesters have broken the law with arms, have seized government house (his Bangkok office) and the airport, they have destroyed democracy with mob rule,' he said.
Meanwhile, a Thai court ordered anti-government protesters to end a siege that has forced the closure of Bangkok's international airport.
The Bangkok Civil Court granted an injuction sought by the operator of Suvarnabhumi airport, saying that the protests had infringed on peoples' rights.
Mr Somchai earlier landed in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Air force spokesman Montol Suchookorn said Mr Somchai landed at 6pm (7pm Singapore time), an hour after General Anupong Paojinda urged him to call new elections as thousands of demonstrators forced the closure of Thailand's main airport.
Mr Somchai has been in Peru for an Apec summit, and in his absence protests aimed at toppling his government have escalated.
Thailand's army commander urged protesters on earlier on Wednesday to leave Bangkok airport and called for elections to end the country's political crisis after a day of chaos in which thousands of travelers were stranded.
All flights were cancelled and frustrated passengers bused to hotels, as protesters shut down Suvarnabhumi Airport in a major escalation of their four-month campaign to oust the prime minister.
'The government should give the public a chance to decide in a fresh election,' Gen. Anupong Paochinda said at a news conference after meeting with high-level government officials, academics, economists and security officials.
Suriyasai Katasila, a spokesman for the protesters, said the group would not abide by the army chief's plea to leave the country's international airport.
'Right now, our demand remains the same. If the government does not quit, we will not quit,' he said.
By late afternoon, most of the 4,000 travelers, some who had been camped out since the night before, had left, a Thai tourism official said.
That left the protesters, a sea of matching yellow shirts, and they appeared to be settling in for the long haul.
They spread blankets on the floor, used luggage trolleys to carry boxes of water around the sprawling terminal and set up stands selling food and the plastic hand-clappers they use at rallies.
There was no word on when flights might resume. The US embassy advised Americans to stay away from the airport, while the Philippines and Singapore recommended that nonessential travel to Thailand be canceled.
Tempers frayed at sprawling Suvarnabhumi Airport, a major hub in Asia that averages 700 flights a day.
'I understand nothing, nothing, nothing,' said French tourist Denis Hapard. 'We don't understand what's happening. We're really upset.' Among those stranded were Americans trying to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Cheryl Turner, 63, of Scottsdale, Arizona, had asked neighbors to pull an 18-pound turkey from her freezer a day ahead of time to defrost so she could cook it for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
'My turkey is sitting in the sink at home,' she said.
Protesters distributed flyers trying to explain their action.
After reading the flyer, Clay Judd, 30, of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said he didn't know what to make of the situation.
'For us to be upset because we can't have a huge turkey dinner - so what?' Mr Judd said, waiting in a crowd inside the terminal to get bused to a hotel.
The protest group, the People's Alliance for Democracy, known as the PAD, appears intent on forcing the military to intervene and bring down the elected regime.
'We sympathise with the passengers but this is a necessary move to save the nation,' top protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said on a makeshift stage at the besieged airport amid resounding applause.
'If he doesn't resign, I will not leave.' Support for the protesters has been waning, and the group appears to be edging toward bigger confrontations - involving fewer though more aggressive followers - to challenge the government.
Early on Wednesday, assailants threw four explosives at anti-government demonstrators, including one targeting a group about a half-mile (one kilometre) from the airport.
A second was tossed into a crowd of anti-government supporters gathered at the domestic Don Muang airport, injuring three others, police said. Two other explosives were thrown in Bangkok, but no one was injured. It is unclear who staged the attacks.
The bold takeover - carried out while the prime minister was abroad - raised the stakes in a standoff that has seen a spike in violence in recent days and has given the tourism-dependent country a massive black eye.
Airport director Serirat Prasutanont, who had tried to negotiate with the protesters to allow passengers to fly out, said the takeover 'damaged Thailand's reputation and its economy beyond repair'.
The airport, the 18th-busiest in the world, handled over 40 million passengers in 2007.
Demonstrators had swarmed the international airport overnight, breaking through police lines and spilling into the passenger terminal.
Group Captain Chokchai Saranon, a control tower official, said 50 masked protesters armed with metal rods demanded to enter the control tower on Wednesday, seeking the prime minister's flight schedule. Three were allowed in, but with flights cancelled, there were no controllers to provide the information and the protesters eventually left.
The People's Alliance for Democracy has been trying to topple Somchai, accusing him of being the puppet of a predecessor, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who was convicted of corruption and other charges. The alliance said protesters would keep the airport closed until Somchai quits.
The alliance has staged a number of dramatic actions in recent months. It took over the prime minister's office in late August and twice blockaded Parliament - one time setting off street battles with police that left two people dead and hundreds injured.
The airport blockade is a fresh blow to Thailand's US$16 billion-a-year (S$24 million-a-year) tourism industry, already suffering from months of political unrest and the global financial crisis.
'We don't have an estimate of financial loss, but it is greatly damaging,' said Vijit Naranong, honorary chairman of Tourism Council of Thailand. -- AP, REUTERS
