Thai government to negotiate with airport protesters

Government spokesman Nattawut Sai-Kau said police would avoid violence and attempt to negotiate with the protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which has been campaigning for months to oust the government.

Police have been instructed to get the protesters out of airports "as soon as possible" in a "peaceful manner," Nattawut told The Associated Press.

"Firstly, the police should open negotiation with the protesters. If they refuse to go, police should do whatever is necessary to open the airports on the basis of nonviolence," he said.

The comments came hours after Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency at the Bangkok airports, authorizing police to take back the terminals that signaled an imminent crackdown.

The protesters occupied the main international Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and the secondary Don Muang airport on Wednesday, forcing both facilities to be shut down indefinitely. All flights to the airports have been canceled, leaving the capital completely cut off to air traffic and stranding thousands of local and foreign travelers.

Among those stranded are Thai Muslims planning to go on pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia this week. Thai Airways said it will arrange a special flight for about 250 pilgrims from Hat Yai in southern Thailand later Friday. More such flights are planned, said Narongsak Sangapong, a senior airline official.

On Friday, there was no sign of police at the airport. Cleaning crews in uniforms were seen going into the terminal, wading their way through hundreds of protesters camped inside and outside the building, to clear garbage piling up.

"We were instructed by the government not to use any violent force against protesters. We will definitely follow the instructions strictly," said national police chief Kowit Wattana.

The government's unwillingness to deploy security forces has raised doubts about whether Somchai has the support of police and the army, a powerful institution that has traditionally played a key role in the country's politics.

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