- Title: THAILAND: : Thai P.M lifts state of emergency
- Date: 12th April 2009
- Summary: PATTAYA, THAILAND (APRIL 11, 2009) (REUTERS) ASEAN FLAGS PROTESTORS OUTSIDE OF MEDIA CENTRE VARIOUS OF PROTESTORS POLICE TALKING TO PROTESTORS PROTESTORS FILLING THE HOTEL GROUNDS
- Embargoed: 27th April 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Thailand
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA7NGHOKQNQ9FYHPTU1915NH4E1
- Story Text: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he had lifted a state of emergency imposed earlier on Saturday in the town of Pattaya after anti-government protesters forced the cancellation of an Asian summit there.
A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday (April 11) after anti-government protesters swarmed into the meeting's venue, renewing doubts about the durability of the government.
The events will pile more pressure on an economy teetering on the brink of recession, especially if foreign tourists are put off by the scenes of chaos and emboldened protesters intensify the fight to kick out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Abhisit imposed a state of emergency for a few hours in Pattaya, a resort about 150 kms (90 miles) south of Bangkok best known for its racy nightlife and as a port of call for U.S. sailors, which was to host the East Asia Summit.
He lifted it after the foreign leaders had left the country. About half of them had had to be evacuated by helicopter from the venue to a nearby military airbase.
"We have accomplish the task(of securing safty departure of leaders). So, it is not necessary to keep impose of the state of emergency here. So I declare to lift the state of emgency in Pattaya and Chonburi province", Abhisit told reporters.
The summit fiasco is a huge embarrassment for Abhisit's government, which came to power in December through parliamentary defections that the opposition says were engineered by the army.
The weekend's events will also raise questions about how enduring his government can be.
Earlier thousands of red-shirted, anti-government protestors broke into the venue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) venue on forcing Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to declare a state of emergency in Pattaya and cancel the meetings.
The protestors who were blocking the venue from morning, broke into the hotel compound, shattering a window in the media centre.
Military and police put up little resistance as the crowd surged in chanting slogans and waving plastic hand clappers.
The blue-shirted pro-government activists who arrived in Pattaya on Friday (April 10) had clashed briefly with the red-shirts, and the UDD are accusing them of having ties with the government and that they used violence.
A meeting between the Japanese, Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers was also cancelled because of the blockade at the hotel. It would have been their first opportunity to discuss last Sunday's launch of a North Korean rocket seen as a long-range missile test.
END - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None