AFP
BANGKOK: The secretary general of Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN will travel to Thailand to assess whether the kingdom can still host a summit as protests shutter the main airports, the group secretariat said.
In a statement late Thursday out of Singapore, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat said Surin Pitsuwan - a former Thai foreign minister - would "clarify this matter with Thailand."
A Thai foreign ministry official said Friday that Surin had not yet arrived in the kingdom, and said he was not aware that the secretary-general had any plans to look into the situation in the kingdom.
Current ASEAN chair Thailand has insisted it will go ahead with the December summit in the northern city of Chiang Mai, even as anti-government protesters stepped up a six-month campaign to topple the prime minister.
They swarmed the main Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and shut it down, and on Thursday, the smaller Don Mueang was also forced to shut its doors when protesters surrounded it, cutting almost all air travel in and out of Bangkok.
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had raised the possibility of postponing the ASEAN summit due to the worsening political crisis in the country.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared emergency rule at the two airports on Thursday to try to rein in the protests, after holding a special cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai to discuss the escalating turmoil.
He has rejected calls by the army chief to hold new elections.
Thailand announced in late October that the ASEAN summit would be moved from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, a government stronghold.
The government said it was because of northern Thailand's cooler climate, but the anti-government protests are believed to be a key factor.
In a statement late Thursday out of Singapore, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat said Surin Pitsuwan - a former Thai foreign minister - would "clarify this matter with Thailand."
A Thai foreign ministry official said Friday that Surin had not yet arrived in the kingdom, and said he was not aware that the secretary-general had any plans to look into the situation in the kingdom.
Current ASEAN chair Thailand has insisted it will go ahead with the December summit in the northern city of Chiang Mai, even as anti-government protesters stepped up a six-month campaign to topple the prime minister.
They swarmed the main Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and shut it down, and on Thursday, the smaller Don Mueang was also forced to shut its doors when protesters surrounded it, cutting almost all air travel in and out of Bangkok.
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had raised the possibility of postponing the ASEAN summit due to the worsening political crisis in the country.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared emergency rule at the two airports on Thursday to try to rein in the protests, after holding a special cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai to discuss the escalating turmoil.
He has rejected calls by the army chief to hold new elections.
Thailand announced in late October that the ASEAN summit would be moved from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, a government stronghold.
The government said it was because of northern Thailand's cooler climate, but the anti-government protests are believed to be a key factor.
1 comment:
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