3 December 2008
AFP
BANGKOK: Crisis-hit Thailand has postponed a summit of the Southeast Asian bloc Asean scheduled for mid-December to March, a government spokesman said Tuesday.
News of the delay came shortly after the countrys Constitutional Court dissolved Thailands ruling party and barred Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years.
The Asean summit has been postponed to March next year, government spokesman Nattawut Saikaur said after Somchais final Cabinet meeting in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
The summit had been scheduled for December 15 to 18, also in Chiang Mai. It had already been moved out of Bangkok because of the turmoil, which has seen protesters occupy both of the capitals airports.
Protesters said later Tuesday they would lift the airport siege, which has cost Thailand economically and in terms of its international image both as a tourist haven and a beacon of stability in the region.
The Asean charter, which commits the blocs 10 member-nations to promote democracy and human rights and was expected to be signed at the summit, will now be adopted in Indonesia.
The Cabinet agreed to the foreign ministrys proposal to declare the Asean charter in Jakarta and the ministry will write a letter to inform group members, Nattawut said.
Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a former Thai foreign minister, said he had not yet been informed of the decision.
I am not yet aware of it. I am still waiting for the decision, he told Agence France-Presse by telephone from Hong Kong. But so far I am aware there is no government in Thailand now, therefore the foreign ministry must handle this issue.
Thailand holds the rotating chairmanship of the association.
Asean guests
Asean leaders had been set to be joined at the summit by heads of government from East Asia as well as the heads of organizations, such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
Surin said Sunday that time was running short for Thailand to hold the summit, adding that a delay would enable better preparations.
The statement said Surin had reassured Thai authorities that a postponement will not negatively affect Asean work plans too much.
Member-nations Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had called for a postponement while others had expressed concerns over the situation in Thailand.
In 2006, the Philippines rescheduled a December summit for the following month after two powerful storms threatened to batter its central region, although some sources said it was linked to security threats.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
News of the delay came shortly after the countrys Constitutional Court dissolved Thailands ruling party and barred Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years.
The Asean summit has been postponed to March next year, government spokesman Nattawut Saikaur said after Somchais final Cabinet meeting in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
The summit had been scheduled for December 15 to 18, also in Chiang Mai. It had already been moved out of Bangkok because of the turmoil, which has seen protesters occupy both of the capitals airports.
Protesters said later Tuesday they would lift the airport siege, which has cost Thailand economically and in terms of its international image both as a tourist haven and a beacon of stability in the region.
The Asean charter, which commits the blocs 10 member-nations to promote democracy and human rights and was expected to be signed at the summit, will now be adopted in Indonesia.
The Cabinet agreed to the foreign ministrys proposal to declare the Asean charter in Jakarta and the ministry will write a letter to inform group members, Nattawut said.
Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a former Thai foreign minister, said he had not yet been informed of the decision.
I am not yet aware of it. I am still waiting for the decision, he told Agence France-Presse by telephone from Hong Kong. But so far I am aware there is no government in Thailand now, therefore the foreign ministry must handle this issue.
Thailand holds the rotating chairmanship of the association.
Asean guests
Asean leaders had been set to be joined at the summit by heads of government from East Asia as well as the heads of organizations, such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
Surin said Sunday that time was running short for Thailand to hold the summit, adding that a delay would enable better preparations.
The statement said Surin had reassured Thai authorities that a postponement will not negatively affect Asean work plans too much.
Member-nations Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had called for a postponement while others had expressed concerns over the situation in Thailand.
In 2006, the Philippines rescheduled a December summit for the following month after two powerful storms threatened to batter its central region, although some sources said it was linked to security threats.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
1 comment:
fuck that ...dats bushit surin u dumb shit................take asean to indo not thailand those fuckers are just stallin thats fucked up man..........EVERYONE WAKE UP ...THAILAND IS NOW RULED BY THE FUCKING TRANSFORMERS
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