Protesters clear out of Thai airports
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 | 7:14 AM ET
CBC News
Thai riot policemen guard the main road leading to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday. Anti-government protesters lifted their blockade of the airport but there is no end in sight to the wider political crisis. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)Thousands of anti-government protesters ended their week-long siege of two Thailand airports after a Thai court dissolved the three largest parties in the country's ruling coalition.
A Thai Airways flight was the first commercial airliner to arrive at Suvarnabhumi international airport in a week when it touched down at 7:15 GMT from the resort island of Phuket.
Although it was still unclear when full operations of the airport would resume, Thai Airways said its flights will take off from Suvarnabhumi airport for Sydney, New Delhi, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Seoul and Copenhagen later Wednesday
Vudhibhandhu Vichairatana, the chairman of the Airports of Thailand, hugged and shook hands with leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy, the group that had staged the siege, in a makeshift handover ceremony.
Passengers from a Thai Airways flight come out from the plane after arriving at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Vincent Thian/Associated Press)Hundreds of soldiers inspected the airport for bombs and weapons, as airport security officials dismantled blockades and checkpoints set up by the protesters.
More than 300,000 passengers from around the world have been stranded since demonstrators took over the two airports last Tuesday. About 2,000 Canadians were affected by the protests.
The end of the siege followed a decision by Thailand's Constitutional Court, which ruled that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's People's Power Party, the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party were guilty of having committed electoral fraud in late 2007. Somchai and other party executive members were found guilty and banned from politics for five years.
However, rank-and-file members of the three parties can join other factions and try to cobble together a new coalition and choose a new prime minister. Somchai is expected to remain caretaker prime minister until then.
Demonstrators who blocked access to the airports believe the country's government is controlled by close allies of the ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They were calling for the resignation of Somchai. He is the brother-in-law of Thaksin, who fled the country two years ago to escape corruption charges.
Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the protest leaders, warned that demonstrators would return if "another proxy government is formed."
With files from the Associated Press
