THAILAND HESITATES TO DELAY ASEAN SUMMIT

BY D. ARUL RAJOO

BANGKOK, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Asean Secretary-General, Surin Pitsuwan said
he is in favour of postponing the 14th Asean Summit to be held in Chiang Mai
from Dec 13 to 18 but expressed his understanding at the hesitation of Thai
leaders to delay it.

In statement released after meeting Thai officials here, Surin said
although Thai leaders hesitated to delay it for fear of upsetting the momentum
of the organisation, he had reassured them that a postponement would not
negatively affect Asean's work plans too much.

"The Thai leaders have told me that their hesitation to postpone the Summit
is due to a fear of complicating Asean progress on work already laid out due to
the entry into force of the Asean Charter on Dec 15," said the former Thai
Foreign Minister who flew from Jakarta to Penang before travelling by land to
Bangkok due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport since Nov 25.

Thousands of anti-government protesters have forced the closure of the
Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in the Thai capital and are seeking the
ouster of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. The summit was moved from Bangkok
due to security fears, but Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have asked the
Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat to delay it.

Surin said he was willing to work with the Thai government to find a
solution.

"I certainly empathise with the Thai leaders and am grateful for their
consideration of the matter. But I assured them that we can rearrange our work
plans if Thailand, which currently holds the rotating chair of Asean and who is
hosting the 14th Summit, decides to postpone it for a few weeks," he
said.

Surin said he reminded Thailand's leaders of other advantages of a
postponement.

"As time is running short, a delay would enable the Secretariat to prepare
better for the Summit. This will be the first Summit with the Asean Charter in
place, so there is a need to make it special. A postponement would be good for
Asean officials to prepare everything well with the Thai officials," he
added.

According to him, 16 leaders from East Asia are expected to agree on a
package of strategies and action plans to face the unfolding global financial
turmoil as a unified front, and would be joined by heads of organisations such
as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade
Organisation.

"There are many declarations, agreements and MOUs that await endorsement at
the Summit. Many important meetings, activities and projects are also being
lined up under the Thai chairmanship in the coming year," he said.

Still, Thailand cannot sign the pacts as it has yet to be approved by its
Parliament due to the ongoing crisis.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said
Saturday that the final decision on the status of the Summit would be decided
by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
-- BERNAMA