08.01.09 Hua Hin to host Asean Summit
Source: The Nation
The 14th Asean Summit will be held from February 27 to March 1 in the beach-resort town of Hua Hin.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
yesterday said threats by anti-government protesters to jeopardise the
summit had been a key factor in deciding to move the meeting venue from
Bangkok to there. It will be easy for relevant agencies to provide security in Hua Hin, he said. Abhisit
said the Hua Hin summit would be limited to only the 10 Asean leaders,
while follow-up meetings with dialogue partners, including the East
Asia Summit, would be held in April. The government
decided to separate the meeting into two parts because key partner
China was busy with the National People's Congress meeting late next
month. Dialogue partners from Japan, South Korea, India,
Australia and New Zealand will also have to wait until April to meet
with Asean. The date and venue of the summit has been changed more than once, due to internal political chaos and leaders' tight schedules. It
was originally supposed to be held about the middle of last month but
postponed after People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters shut
down Suvarnnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in late November, to protest the previous government. The
anti-government Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) has
threatened to use the same tactic to obstruct the Asean Summit. Known locally as red shirts, the DAAD said they would follow the meeting to Hua Hin. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has instructed police chief General Patcharawat Wongsuwan to take any measures necessary for safety. Officials
from Asean members have complained about the inconvenience of the
summit venue being 200 kilometres from the capital. Leaders will have
to travel by road, since the airfield there is not big enough to
accommodate large aircraft.
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