Premier to Host ASEAN Meeting In Resort Town
By Tim Johnston
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 10, 2009
BANGKOK, April 9 -- Anti-government demonstrators turned out for a second day in Thailand's capital Thursday amid fears that the focus of the protests could shift to the resort town of Pattaya, where the Thai prime minister is to host a meeting of Asian leaders this weekend.
Demonstrators blocked traffic at choke points throughout Bangkok, but there were many fewer people than the estimated 100,000 who turned out Wednesday, and no reports of violence.
The red-shirted protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, a key adviser to the king. They say they will maintain their presence on Bangkok's streets until Friday, which marks the beginning of the Thai New Year holiday.
The government is worried the protests might spread to Pattaya, 50 miles to the south, where Abhisit will host the leaders of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea this weekend.
"If our demands are not met, we may have to go to Pattaya," Jatuporn Phromphan, one of the protest leaders, told the crowd in central Bangkok. "We want to tell our ASEAN friends and other countries to forgive us in advance if this summit cannot take place."
A window of a car carrying Abhisit was broken Tuesday when protesters spotted him stopped at a traffic light in Pattaya, and he has beefed up security in the town, threatening to call in the army if necessary.
The protesters support the return of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Thaksin, in self-imposed exile to avoid a two-year sentence for breaking conflict-of-interest laws, has addressed the crowds nightly by video link.
Discussions at the Pattaya summit are expected to focus mainly on the region's response to the global financial crisis. Korn Chatikavanij, Thailand's finance minister, will submit a draft of a plan to create a fund for ASEAN that would concentrate particularly on projects to accelerate regional economic integration, such as improving international road networks and railways.
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