Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Thailand Government has postponed the various ASEAN Summits along with dialogue sessions among partners, after hundreds of protesters stormed the hotel, the venue of the summit on Saturday.
Thailand’s Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry, Tharit Charungvat, announced the decision on Saturday.
“Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva convened a meeting with ASEAN leaders already present at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort [meeting venue], and made telephone calls to the other three leaders from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, who had come for the ASEAN Summits and Related Summits to inform them of the decision to postpone the Summits to a later date,” Charungvat told the press.
The three-day summit of government leaders, of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its six Asia-Pacific regional counterparts and ASEAN-UN Summit, which began on Friday, was due to end on Sunday in Pattaya city of Chon Buri Province.
The meetings were postponed, due to demonstrations which caused huge disturbances and disorder, led by a group called the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or the red shirt group. They are supporters of former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who is currently in exile abroad.
On Friday, around 10 people were injured in a clash, between the protesters and the government-sponsored security men. The protesters have accused the Thai government of using force against them.
On Saturday morning, Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Chon Buri province, to control the situation after the protesters broke into the summit venue.
The Thai Prime Minister also tendered his apology for the inconvenience caused. The Thai side will coordinate with the leaders regarding the new schedule of meetings.
“All the ASEAN leaders and dialogue partners expressed their understanding and hope that the Royal Thai Government would be able to find an early solution to the situation. They also reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate towards the reconvening of the Summits, on a date which would be set later,” Charungwat said.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his regret at the delay of the summit.
“I understand the circumstances that led the Thai government to take this difficult decision. While I had hoped to have exchanges with the leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, I continue to look forward to engaging with them again in the near future,” he said.
“I strongly value the long-standing relationship between ASEAN and the United Nations and their cooperation in various fields. I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand, and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means,” he added, according to a report on the CNN website on Saturday.
Currently, the Thai PM has announced lifting the state of emergency in Pattaya, on Saturday evening.
The anti-government protesters held simultaneous rallies for several weeks in Bangkok and provincial halls of several northern and northeastern provinces. The protesters have accused the Privy Council President, who is His Majesty the King's Chief Adviser, of being the mastermind behind the September 19, 2006 coup, which overthrew the Thaksin Shinawatra government. It is a charge denied by him. They also demanded that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down; saying the PM was not democratically elected and the government should schedule new elections.
