Thai police surround two airports

Bangkok’s two main airports were surrounded by riot police early today in the government of Thailand’s latest gambit to disperse protesters who have blockaded air traffic and cut the Southeast Asian nation off from the world.

Police at the domestic Don Muang airport, overrun by members of the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy, or the PAD, said early Thursday that “necessary measures” would be taken if protesters did not stand down.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport, one of the busiest international air hubs in Asia, 100 police officers were deployed, but they only watched as demonstrators reinforced roadblocks and sang protest songs in a makeshift camp at the main entrance.

With fears of bloody clashes escalating, the founder of the protest movement rejected a plea from Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to negotiate.

“Today the prime minister contacted me on the telephone to negotiate. There are no talks,” the PAD’s Sondhi Limthongkul told supporters at Don Muang.

Somchai declared a state of emergency Thursday to restore air traffic and social order. On Friday, he removed the national police chief, Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwanbut, for failing to move against the occupiers.

Senior army officials have made it clear that they would not use force to remove the PAD protesters, adding to rampant rumors of a military coup. In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Somchai rejected army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda’s call for the prime minister to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.

Somchai, brother-in-law of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, reportedly will remain indefinitely in the northern city of Chiang Mai, his hometown, because of concern for his safety. The PAD has vowed to remain entrenched at the airports and Government House, Thailand’s top administrative center, until Somchai steps down.

This week, senior PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk said the group’s followers were prepared to “fight to the death.”

“This is bad for Thailand, and I think it will just go on,” Murkda Songte, a manager at the Novotel hotel, said as she looked across the road toward the demonstration at Suvarnabhumi. In front of the Novotel, a group of police officers and 20 ambulances stood at the ready.

“I haven’t seen my family for three days,” she said.

For the thousands of foreign travelers stuck in Bangkok, the capital, the wait has been much longer.

Linda Edwards of Richmond, Va., arrived at the Novotel on Tuesday. She and her son were sharing a room with a married Australian couple. Each day, the group goes to the airport for the free food dispensed by the PAD.

Although the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced Friday that it would cut the cost of hotel rooms, the strain was showing on Edwards.

“The [U.S.] Embassy says they can’t do anything, and we’ve really got nowhere to go,” she said. “Everyday we have a new plan; today the airline gave us a ticket for Dec. 7.”

Some American tourists left the country by land for neighboring Cambodia or Malaysia. But a U.S. Embassy spokesman said hundreds of Americans were still marooned in Thailand.

“My dream is that it will be like ‘Miss Saigon,’ and we’ll all jump on a helicopter and get out of here,” said Edwards’ son, Nathan Sydnor.