April 10th, 2009, 17:17
Thousands red shirt protesters carrying banners of deposed ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra have massed outside and broke through a police barrier in front of the foyer of the venue of the Pattaya Asean summit demanding the resignation of the government of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Red shirt go away, I say.
A/P
Protesters mass at Asia summit in Thailand
14 minutes ago
PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) тАФ Thousands of anti-government protesters converged Friday on the venue of an Asian summit in Thailand, threatening to disrupt a meeting of 16 leaders from China, Japan and other nations meant to tackle the global financial crisis.
Chanting slogans against Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, protesters broke through a line of about 200 soldiers in riot gear to an area directly outside the entrance of the convention center. The soldiers regrouped to position themselves in several rows between the protesters and the glass-walled foyer of the hall.
A leader of the red-shirted protesters demanded that a representative from one of the 15 other Asian countries тАФ excluding Thailand тАФ come to receive a letter from the demonstrators. They threatened to enter the venue if their demand was not met, said Arisman Pongreungrong, a protest leader.
"Our conditions are simple. Abhisit must go. This government must go," Arisman said.
>Anti-government demonstrators march through police lines as they converge on the 14th Asean Summit in Pattaya, >Thailand on Friday, April 10, 2009. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have gathered outside the Asia summit >venue, saying they will enter the complex unless the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resigns.
Five protesters were allowed past the soldiers and were waiting to hand the letter to an official from another Asian country.
The protesters are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a 2006 military coup and has fled into exile. Most come from the rural poor majority that benefited from Thaksin's populist policies.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban sought to assure visiting heads of state that they will be safe.
"Nothing untoward will happen to the leaders. We will make sure of that," Suthep said. "We have to make sure the meeting can go on."
The summit, which began Friday morning with a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, gets into full swing Saturday when ASEAN leaders meet with counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea.
The meetings conclude Sunday with the full-fledged East Asia Summit, which also includes India, Australia and New Zealand for a total of 16 nations. With Asia's export-dependent economies reeling, the primary focus of the meeting is coping with the global slowdown, although North Korea's recent rocket launch is likely to come up.
The meeting was being held at a hilltop hotel complex in Pattaya, a beachside town about 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of Bangkok, the capital.
Deputy National Police Chief Wiroj Pahonvej estimated there were 2,000 protesters. He said earlier that about 8,000 policemen, including riot police, have been deployed in Pattaya. It was unclear how many soldiers were deployed.
Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December after a court dissolved a government led by Thaksin's allies. The protesters say Abhisit took office illegitimately and should step down so new elections can be held.
"We want Abhisit out. He is not picked by Thailand," said Upin, a 63-year-old housewife from Pattaya who declined to give her family name. "He doesn't know how to care for Thai people. He only helps the rich people, not the poor people."
The protests are an embarrassment for the Thai government, which has trying to move beyond a protracted political crisis. In November, anti-Thaksin protesters shut down Bangkok's two airports for about a week.
"If they (pro-Thaksin protesters) manage to derail the summit, it will certainly be damaging to the status of the government in the eye of the international community," said Prapas Thepchatree, director of ASEAN studies at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
The demonstrations "will draw attention from the other agendas like North Korea and the financial crisis to the Thai political turmoil," Prapas said. "This strategy will make it harder for the government to ignore" the demonstrators, he said.
Abhisit arrived at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Center by helicopter Friday, a government spokesman said. Other leaders were scheduled to arrive Friday or Saturday.
On Thursday, the demonstrators, whose numbers have swelled to 100,000 in recent days, brought areas of Bangkok to a standstill. They blocked a major intersection and other choke points in the capital. More than 100 taxi drivers parked to block traffic, and other protesters later joined them and rallied into the night despite rain.
Vast traffic jams тАФ dubbed "political gridlock" by local media тАФ plagued thousands of commuters and the government declared Friday a holiday in hopes of calming the situation.
Safety concerns were heightened this week when a car carrying Abhisit was attacked by protesters in Pattaya. Abhisit was not hurt, but a rear window was shattered.
Red shirt go away, I say.
A/P
Protesters mass at Asia summit in Thailand
14 minutes ago
PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) тАФ Thousands of anti-government protesters converged Friday on the venue of an Asian summit in Thailand, threatening to disrupt a meeting of 16 leaders from China, Japan and other nations meant to tackle the global financial crisis.
Chanting slogans against Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, protesters broke through a line of about 200 soldiers in riot gear to an area directly outside the entrance of the convention center. The soldiers regrouped to position themselves in several rows between the protesters and the glass-walled foyer of the hall.
A leader of the red-shirted protesters demanded that a representative from one of the 15 other Asian countries тАФ excluding Thailand тАФ come to receive a letter from the demonstrators. They threatened to enter the venue if their demand was not met, said Arisman Pongreungrong, a protest leader.
"Our conditions are simple. Abhisit must go. This government must go," Arisman said.
>Anti-government demonstrators march through police lines as they converge on the 14th Asean Summit in Pattaya, >Thailand on Friday, April 10, 2009. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have gathered outside the Asia summit >venue, saying they will enter the complex unless the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resigns.
Five protesters were allowed past the soldiers and were waiting to hand the letter to an official from another Asian country.
The protesters are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a 2006 military coup and has fled into exile. Most come from the rural poor majority that benefited from Thaksin's populist policies.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban sought to assure visiting heads of state that they will be safe.
"Nothing untoward will happen to the leaders. We will make sure of that," Suthep said. "We have to make sure the meeting can go on."
The summit, which began Friday morning with a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, gets into full swing Saturday when ASEAN leaders meet with counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea.
The meetings conclude Sunday with the full-fledged East Asia Summit, which also includes India, Australia and New Zealand for a total of 16 nations. With Asia's export-dependent economies reeling, the primary focus of the meeting is coping with the global slowdown, although North Korea's recent rocket launch is likely to come up.
The meeting was being held at a hilltop hotel complex in Pattaya, a beachside town about 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of Bangkok, the capital.
Deputy National Police Chief Wiroj Pahonvej estimated there were 2,000 protesters. He said earlier that about 8,000 policemen, including riot police, have been deployed in Pattaya. It was unclear how many soldiers were deployed.
Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December after a court dissolved a government led by Thaksin's allies. The protesters say Abhisit took office illegitimately and should step down so new elections can be held.
"We want Abhisit out. He is not picked by Thailand," said Upin, a 63-year-old housewife from Pattaya who declined to give her family name. "He doesn't know how to care for Thai people. He only helps the rich people, not the poor people."
The protests are an embarrassment for the Thai government, which has trying to move beyond a protracted political crisis. In November, anti-Thaksin protesters shut down Bangkok's two airports for about a week.
"If they (pro-Thaksin protesters) manage to derail the summit, it will certainly be damaging to the status of the government in the eye of the international community," said Prapas Thepchatree, director of ASEAN studies at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
The demonstrations "will draw attention from the other agendas like North Korea and the financial crisis to the Thai political turmoil," Prapas said. "This strategy will make it harder for the government to ignore" the demonstrators, he said.
Abhisit arrived at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Center by helicopter Friday, a government spokesman said. Other leaders were scheduled to arrive Friday or Saturday.
On Thursday, the demonstrators, whose numbers have swelled to 100,000 in recent days, brought areas of Bangkok to a standstill. They blocked a major intersection and other choke points in the capital. More than 100 taxi drivers parked to block traffic, and other protesters later joined them and rallied into the night despite rain.
Vast traffic jams тАФ dubbed "political gridlock" by local media тАФ plagued thousands of commuters and the government declared Friday a holiday in hopes of calming the situation.
Safety concerns were heightened this week when a car carrying Abhisit was attacked by protesters in Pattaya. Abhisit was not hurt, but a rear window was shattered.