THAILAND:THOUSANDS OF holidaymakers were attempting to board flights out of Thailand yesterday after anti-government protesters occupied airport runways at the country's most popular beach destinations.
The political chaos that has engulfed the capital, Bangkok, and regional cities in the past week threatens to unseat the prime minister.
Three major Thai airports - Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai - were closed for most of the weekend and the state's rail network paralysed by strikes co-ordinated by the People's Alliance for Democracy (Pad).
At the heart of the dispute is the role of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup. Mr Thaksin, now owner of Manchester City football club, fled to Britain to escape an array of corruption charges. The protesters allege that the coalition government in Bangkok is operating as his political proxy.
The movement's decision to target the wealth-providing tourist industry indicates how much is at stake.
"We closed the airports to tell them we can do this on a much, much bigger scale if they don't listen to us," said the alliance's founder, Sondhi Limthongkul, at the weekend.
For several days Phuket and Krabi airports were blockaded and protesters staged sit-ins on runways. As many as 20,000 passengers, many tourists, were prevented from boarding flights home.
On Saturday protesters released their grip on the southern airport of Hat Yai, while yesterday the people's alliance withdrew from terminals at Phuket and Krabi.
Thailand's parliament went into emergency session last night in an attempt to resolve the crisis, which has prompted demonstrators to occupy the compound surrounding the prime minister's house.
The people's alliance began the protests last week, demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, and his entire cabinet. - (Guardian service)