ID :
54989
Mon, 04/13/2009 - 07:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/54989
The shortlink copeid
Thai unrest forces cancellation of summits, Asian leaders evacuated+
PATTAYA, Thailand, April 11 Kyodo - Asian leaders who were here to attend regional summits over the weekend abruptly evacuated the Thai beach resort city of Pattaya on Saturday after antigovernment protesters swarmed into a meeting venue.
The leaders and foreign ministers from ASEAN members and countries outside the
region were evacuated by helicopters from the rooftops of hotels or by Thai
navy vessels.
''The leaders and ministers were evacuated by choppers, the other delegates
were evacuated, some in boats and others by road,'' one ASEAN official said on
condition of anonymity.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Pattaya
and surrounding Chonburi province after the protestors broke through a security
cordon of Thai soldiers.
Later in the day he said he had lifted the order after all the visiting Asian
leaders had safely departed.
''I have completed my task and have ordered the lifting of the state of
emergency,'' he said in a brief televised statement.
A Thai government spokesman said the regional summits scheduled over the
weekend, such as the so-called ASEAN-plus-three summit on Saturday and the
16-nation East Asia Summit on Sunday, would be postponed two or three months.
The red-shirted protests by supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra intensified after they smashed the glass entrance of the media
center and streamed through the building, causing chaos. At least one person
was injured when the glass door came crumbling down.
There are concerns that the abrupt cancellation of the meetings could be a huge
embarrassment for Thailand and also hurt the credibility of the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
''It's disappointing. I'm afraid the credibility of ASEAN might be affected
because we can't even host the ASEAN-related summit,'' an Indonesian official
said.
He expressed concern that ASEAN's dialogue partners from outside the region
''will have to do a reassessment whether to take ASEAN seriously.''
''We talk of ASEAN wanting to be in the driver's seat, but how can we be in the
driver's seat if we are not even united as a people?''
After forcing their way into the convention center, the protestors left
journalists alone as they continued their march toward another part of the
building where the delegates were, apparently looking for Abhisit.
''I was in a room of the convention center working on some documents when the
red-shirted protestors came in. They just marched by,'' an ASEAN official said.
''It was scary to the delegates because suddenly the room was full of
protestors. All the delegates ran away in another direction. My delegation
locked ourselves inside one of the rooms,'' he said.
''One of our senior officials was just indignant, it was intolerable why the
soldiers could not control the situation.''
A Thai government spokesman said the protests left 13 people injured, five
seriously.
Duty officers of the Pattaya police station said several clashes erupted before
the state of emergency was imposed. In one of the clashes on the road leading
up to hilltop hotels where the summit meetings had been scheduled, two
antigovernment protesters were shot in the legs, but the injuries were not
serious.
Three pro-government demonstrators also sustained minor injuries in the clash
shortly before 9 a.m. local time.
Protest leader Arisman Phongrueangrong claimed that a taxi driver was shot dead
during the clashes, but police and hospitals in the Pattaya area said no one
had died so far.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security affairs,
rejected claims that troops used excessive force, saying none of them were
carrying weapons and they were ordered not to harm the people.
''The unfortunate incident today was all about the attempts of the red-shirt
people to disrupt the summit meetings and to humiliate the government,'' he
added.
ASEAN delegates are now considering to avoid having next ASEAN meetings in
Thailand again, officials said. Ever since political turmoil forced Thailand to
postpone the hosting of the ASEAN Summit in December last year to earlier this
year, some ASEAN countries have called for the meetings to be held in an
alternative location, such as Vietnam, which is slated to be the next ASEAN
chair after Thailand, or at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
ASEAN held its own summit in Thailand about six weeks ago, but the series of
meetings with dialogue partners was scheduled for this weekend.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyod
The leaders and foreign ministers from ASEAN members and countries outside the
region were evacuated by helicopters from the rooftops of hotels or by Thai
navy vessels.
''The leaders and ministers were evacuated by choppers, the other delegates
were evacuated, some in boats and others by road,'' one ASEAN official said on
condition of anonymity.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Pattaya
and surrounding Chonburi province after the protestors broke through a security
cordon of Thai soldiers.
Later in the day he said he had lifted the order after all the visiting Asian
leaders had safely departed.
''I have completed my task and have ordered the lifting of the state of
emergency,'' he said in a brief televised statement.
A Thai government spokesman said the regional summits scheduled over the
weekend, such as the so-called ASEAN-plus-three summit on Saturday and the
16-nation East Asia Summit on Sunday, would be postponed two or three months.
The red-shirted protests by supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra intensified after they smashed the glass entrance of the media
center and streamed through the building, causing chaos. At least one person
was injured when the glass door came crumbling down.
There are concerns that the abrupt cancellation of the meetings could be a huge
embarrassment for Thailand and also hurt the credibility of the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
''It's disappointing. I'm afraid the credibility of ASEAN might be affected
because we can't even host the ASEAN-related summit,'' an Indonesian official
said.
He expressed concern that ASEAN's dialogue partners from outside the region
''will have to do a reassessment whether to take ASEAN seriously.''
''We talk of ASEAN wanting to be in the driver's seat, but how can we be in the
driver's seat if we are not even united as a people?''
After forcing their way into the convention center, the protestors left
journalists alone as they continued their march toward another part of the
building where the delegates were, apparently looking for Abhisit.
''I was in a room of the convention center working on some documents when the
red-shirted protestors came in. They just marched by,'' an ASEAN official said.
''It was scary to the delegates because suddenly the room was full of
protestors. All the delegates ran away in another direction. My delegation
locked ourselves inside one of the rooms,'' he said.
''One of our senior officials was just indignant, it was intolerable why the
soldiers could not control the situation.''
A Thai government spokesman said the protests left 13 people injured, five
seriously.
Duty officers of the Pattaya police station said several clashes erupted before
the state of emergency was imposed. In one of the clashes on the road leading
up to hilltop hotels where the summit meetings had been scheduled, two
antigovernment protesters were shot in the legs, but the injuries were not
serious.
Three pro-government demonstrators also sustained minor injuries in the clash
shortly before 9 a.m. local time.
Protest leader Arisman Phongrueangrong claimed that a taxi driver was shot dead
during the clashes, but police and hospitals in the Pattaya area said no one
had died so far.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security affairs,
rejected claims that troops used excessive force, saying none of them were
carrying weapons and they were ordered not to harm the people.
''The unfortunate incident today was all about the attempts of the red-shirt
people to disrupt the summit meetings and to humiliate the government,'' he
added.
ASEAN delegates are now considering to avoid having next ASEAN meetings in
Thailand again, officials said. Ever since political turmoil forced Thailand to
postpone the hosting of the ASEAN Summit in December last year to earlier this
year, some ASEAN countries have called for the meetings to be held in an
alternative location, such as Vietnam, which is slated to be the next ASEAN
chair after Thailand, or at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
ASEAN held its own summit in Thailand about six weeks ago, but the series of
meetings with dialogue partners was scheduled for this weekend.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyod
