Thousands of frustrated travellers were stranded in Thailand today after protesters shut down the main airport in a major escalation of their four-month campaign to oust the prime minister.
Demonstrators swarmed the international airport overnight
The Thai army commander has told the government to dissolve Parliament and call new elections to solve the crisis.
At a news conference in Bangkok, Anupong Paochinda also told the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement to withdraw from Bangkok's international airport and cease its anti-government campaign.
Hundreds of tourists were ushered down stairs and escalators to waiting buses for transportation to area hotels. Others sprawled across suitcases, luggage carts and even security conveyor belts in largely unsuccessful attempts to sleep.
Among the 4,000 people stranded at the airport were Americans trying to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow.
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.
As tempers rose, yellow-clad protesters from the PAD distributed flyers trying to explain their action.
"The People's Alliance apologizes for any inconvenience the closure of the Suvarnabhumi Airport may cause to the public and international visitors to the kingdom of Thailand. But the alliance believes the measure is crucial to bring an end to the traitorous killer government," the flyer said.
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?" Judd said, waiting in a crowd inside the terminal to get bused to a hotel.
Earlier, alliance distributed ham sandwiches and packets of rice.
"We'd rather they just go home so we can go home," said Kay Spitler, 58, from Glendale, Arizona.
The protesters showed no sign of budging. They appeared intent on forcing the military to intervene and bring down the elected regime.
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 Wednesday, assailants threw four explosives at anti-government demonstrators, including one targeting a group about a half-mile (one kilometer) 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.
Army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda has repeatedly ruled out a coup.
The armed forces called an urgent meeting Wednesday afternoon with high-level government officials, academics, economists and security officials, said army spokeswoman Col. Sirichan Ngathong.
"The army wants to hear from different people about how to resolve this crisis. We will not use violence, but the situation needs to be resolved," she said.
The bold takeover — carried out while Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was attending the Asia-Pacific summit in Peru — 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 said authorities were trying to negotiate with the protesters to allow passengers whose flights were canceled to fly out.
"The incident has damaged Thailand's reputation and its economy beyond repair," he said.
The airport, the 18th-busiest in the world, averages 700 flights a day and 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 Capt. Chokchai Saranon, a control tower official, said 50 masked protesters armed with metal rods demanded to enter the control tower Wednesday, seeking the prime minister's flight schedule. Three were allowed in, but with flights canceled, there were no controllers to provide the information and the protesters eventually left. In any case, Somchai was to land later Wednesday at a separate, military airport.
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 $16 billion-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.
An Australian couple was stranded at the airport following a honeymoon on the resort island of Phuket.
"Our main concern is to get the first flight home and never come back," said newlywed Robert Grieve, 32, of Melbourne.