BANGKOK, Thailand – Thousands of protesters occupied Thailand's main international airport Wednesday, halting all flights in a blow to the country's already-fragile tourism industry as they pressed their demand for the government's resignation.
Anti-government protester sleep at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok in the early hours of Wednesday Nov. 26, 2008 as they continue to besiege parts of Bangkok's main international airport demanding the resignation of Thailand's Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat.
The airport takeover was one of the boldest gambles yet by the People's Alliance for Democracy in its four-month campaign to topple Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom it accuses of being the puppet of a disgraced fugitive predecessor, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra.
The alliance vowed to bring its campaign to a final showdown this week, and violence has spiked, including streets clashes between supporters and opponents of the government Tuesday that included the first open use of firearms by the anti-government protesters. Police said 11 government supporters were injured, some with gunshot wounds.
Early Wednesday, assailants threw an explosive at anti-government protesters camped out at a separate domestic airport in Bangkok, injuring at least three people, police said.
Demonstrators — some masked and armed with metal rods — had swarmed the international Suvarnabhumi Airport overnight, breaking through police lines and spilled into the passenger terminal.
The airport was fully shut down early Wednesday, with incoming flights being diverted to other points in Thailand including Chiang Mai and Phuket, and as many as 500 passengers remained stranded, airport director Serirat Prasutanont said.
"We have to close the airport because of (alliance) protesters blocked the entire airport," Serirat said.
"However, we are trying to negotiate them to allow outgoing passengers stranded by the protest to fly," he said. "The incident has damaged Thailand's reputation and its economy beyond repair."
The alliance said the airport would be shut down until Somchai quits. The prime minister was scheduled to return late Wednesday from an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru and would land at a military airport, officials said.
The protesters appeared intent on forcing the military to intervene and bring down the elected regime. Army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda has repeatedly ruled out a coup, though he has also said the army "will keep peace and order to protect the public and uphold important institutions like the monarchy."
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 ended with two people dead and hundreds injured.
Support for the alliance has been waning in recent weeks, and the group appeared to be edging toward bigger confrontations — involving fewer though more aggressive followers — in hopes of creating chaos.
"They had been losing steam and have so far failed to achieve their goal. Now, they are openly creating instability and provoking a military coup," said Thitinan Pongsidhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
Their brazen tactics could backfire if a majority of Thais begin seeing the disruptive tactics as a threat to the country's economy which depends heavily on foreign tourists.
The airport blockade is a fresh blow to Thailand's $16 billion a year tourism industry, already suffering from months of political unrest and the global financial crisis. Suvarnabhumi is the world's 18th largest airport in passenger traffic, handling over 40 million passengers in 2007.
The anti-government protesters are mostly better educated, more affluent, urban Thais demanding that the country move away from a Western-style electoral system, which they say Thaksin exploited to buy votes. They instead favor a system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups.
They are vastly outnumbered by Thaksin's supporters in the rural majority, who delivered his party two resounding election victories. Their loyalty was sealed by generous social and economic welfare programs for previously neglected provincial areas.
The anti-government forces are well organized, and have the behind-the-scenes support of elements of the military and parties close the royal palace, the country's most influential institution.
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