Smash hit

All through the day the militants ensconced in Suvarnabhumi airport have waited, seemingly very relaxed, for orders from their leaders. Elderly women, young fathers with babies, and very ordinary men and women dozed on sleeping mats in the white-tiled departure hall of Suvarnabhumi. Once the region's busiest transport hub, the gleaming terminal has been transformed into a quasi-holiday camp, with volunteers handing out takeaway packages of food and Styrofoam cups of coffee.

Others among the crowds of yellow-clad royalist PAD supporters gathered on the terminal's forecourt, listening to endless speeches and shaking their plastic hand clappers. Meanwhile thousands of stranded tourists – including as many as 2000 Britons – waited and wondered when they could go home

In a televised address from the government stronghold of Chiang Mai, 400 miles north of Bangkok, Mr Somchai said the export- and tourism-driven economy would be destroyed if the blockade continued.

"I need to do something to restore peace and order," he said.

A similar declaration in September aimed at dislodging protesters occupying Government House was ignored by the army.

If police riot squads are sent in to drag the protesters out from behind the coils of razor wire and barriers of tethered trolleys there will inevitably be casualties. Many Thais believe bloodshed at Suvarnibhumi will trigger a military takeover.

While army chief General Anupong Paojinda has repeatedly denied he would mount a coup, he also on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to dissolve the government and call snap elections.

It is likely Mr Somchai's People Power Party would again win a mandate, thanks to a strong following in the poor north-east of Thailand, yet there are technical reasons which make him reluctant to call an election.

The People Power Party is facing prosecution on a case of vote buying. If the party is dissolved by the courts, moving party members into a new party will take time and planning. Snap elections, then, could effectively sideline MPs now in power.

Political analyst Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, from Chulalongkorn University, told The Times that he mostly feared the red-shirts of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship taking matters into their own hands.

Fervent supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law, the current prime minister, the red-shirts will forcefully resist any coup, and they may take steps to solve the airport occupation, Dr Thitinan said. "My worst fear is that the red-shirts will mobilize," he said. "There would be a melee."

Dr Thitinan said part of the reason for the lack of resolve to end the airport gridlock, which he noted would not be tolerated in any western nation, was the PAD's powerful backing. "This is a power grab," he said. "They're not thinking about Thailand."

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