- Title: THAILAND: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon kicks off his Asian tour
- Date: 27th October 2010
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (OCTOBER 26, 2010) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE OF FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) POLICE WITH SHIELDS GUARDING AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE BANNER READING AS WELCOME BAN KI-MOON SECURITY AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE THAI FLAG AND UNITED NATIONS FLAG UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ARRIVING WITH THAI PRIME MINISTER ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA VARIOUS OF BAN KI-MOON SIGNING GUEST BOOK BAN SHAKING HANDS WITH ABHISIT MEDIA BAN AND ABHISIT WALKING TO ROOM ABHISIT BAN ABHISIT AND BAN TALKING THAI FOREIGN MINISTER KASIT PIROMYA BAN AND ABHISIT TALKING RED-SHIRTED PROTESTERS GATHERING OUTSIDE U.N. BUILDING PROTESTERS HOLDING PLACARDS PLACARD PROTESTERS PROTESTERS FACING WITH POLICE LINE PLACARD READING AS "WE NEED FREEDOM, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE" PLACARD SHOWING "STOP KILLING" MORE OF PLACARDS PLACARD "WE WANT IN PARTIAL INVESTIGATION, THE THAI GOVERNMENT MUST RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS" POLICE LINE PROTESTERS HOLDING PLACARDS
- Embargoed: 11th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Thailand
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA5MYIUL3X3QYWKJUINAO0QKY7U
- Story Text: U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon met with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday (October 26) during his four-nation Asia tour.
The security was tight around the Government House compound to prevent the red-shirted protesters from interrupting the meeting as they gathered outside the U.N. building, about 500 metres away from Government House, to denounce Abhisit's handling of the protest crackdown in May.
Ban was welcomed by Thai senior officials including Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya who just visited the refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border last week.
Kasit rejected a plan to repatriate displaced people, who have fled Myanmar after general election's there on November 7th.
After meeting Thai officials, Ban will chair an Asia-pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting at a U.N. building which include the heads of U.N. Agencies for the Asian Region and the South East Asia Sub-region before heading to Cambodia.
Outside the U.N. office building, protesters gathered and urged more investigation into the handling of red-shirt protests last May in which 91 were killed 91, and almost 2,000 wounded.
Beside the red-shirted protesters, dozens of Burmese activists also held peaceful demonstrations to call on the U.N. chief to support the release of all political prisoners and end attacks against ethnic communities.
Ban will later travel to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and then onto Vietnam to attend a summit of the Association of South-East Asian nations and then to China where he will hold talks with President Hu Jintao. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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