Оригинал Рейтера
Командующий призвал правительство отступить и подать в отставку
By Nopporn Wong-Anan
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's army chief told the elected government on Wednesday to step down and call a snap election as a way out of a deepening political crisis.
At a news conference in Bangkok, Anupong Paochinda also told the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement to withdraw from Bangkok's international airport and cease its anti-government campaign.
Anti-government protesters had tightened their grip over the airport on Wednesday, causing chaos in the terminal and triggering speculation of imminent intervention by the military.
The leader of the protesters, Sondhi Limthongul, had rejected a government offer of talks to end the airport blockade.
"You must quit first before we sit down and talk with you," he told cheering supporters at the airport, repeating the PAD's demand that Somchai resign.
Anupong has insisted many times he will not launch a coup only two years after the military's removal of Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister, although he has publicly pressed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to stand down.
(Additional reporting by Martin Petty; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Valerie Lee)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/ ... TX20081126
