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| Thai demonstrators leave airports | Thai demonstrators leave airports |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Anti-government protesters have begun leaving Bangkok's main airports after an eight-day siege that paralysed government and stymied tourism. | Anti-government protesters have begun leaving Bangkok's main airports after an eight-day siege that paralysed government and stymied tourism. |
| They packed up bedding and began leaving the international and domestic airports as cleaners moved in. | They packed up bedding and began leaving the international and domestic airports as cleaners moved in. |
| The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) called off the protests and after a court banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics. | |
| The protests have left thousands of tourists stranded in Thailand. | The protests have left thousands of tourists stranded in Thailand. |
| The country has lost millions of dollars in revenue. | The country has lost millions of dollars in revenue. |
| The PAD had been demanding the resignation of the prime minister, who they say is a proxy for deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra. | |
| Mr Somchai, who has been waiting out the siege in the northern city of Chiang Mai, says his allies will be forming a caretaker government with a new leader shortly. | |
| Unpopular | |
| The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the three parties in the ruling coalition must disband. Each of them has since been re-formed under new names. | |
| The same Constitutional Court deposed a pro-Thaksin government in September - that of Samak Sundaravej. | |
| The PAD insisted on fighting on against allies of Mr Thaksin. | |
| This time, although Mr Somchai's allies plan to field a new government, the PAD is claiming victory. | |
| Correspondents noted that the airport blockade was becoming increasingly unpopular, so that Tuesday's court ruling against Mr Somchai offered a face-saving moment for the protesters to back down. | |
| But the divisions that caused the protests, and regular recourse to more activists courts to act against the government, remain, correspondents said. |