January 7, 2009
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Wednesday that the venue for a key regional summit next month had now been moved from Bangkok to a seaside town, partly due to possible anti-government protests.
In the latest in a series of changes since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting was postponed from December, Abhisit said the February 27 to March 1 summit would now be in the resort of Hua Hin.
Meetings with regional partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand -- which were were meant to occur simultaneously with the summit -- have been pushed back in April, he added.
"The first section of the summit among 10 ASEAN leaders would be held in Hua Hin on February 27, 28 and March 1, because security officials have advised that it will be easier for security issues," he told reporters.
His announcement came just a day after the foreign ministry gave the same dates but insisted that the conference would take place in the Thai capital.
Abhisit conceded that one of the reasons behind the move was a threat by supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006, to blockade the ASEAN summit.
"It's one of the factors because we don't want any problems to occur during the meeting," Abhisit said.
Thaksin loyalists have vowed to derail the summit in protest at the appointment of new foreign minister Kasit Piromya over his involvement in a blockade of Bangkok's airports by anti-Thaksin forces late last year.
The airport siege not only helped to topple the previous, pro-Thaksin government -- after which Abhisit came to power -- but it also caused the postponement of the ASEAN meeting from its initial mid-December date.
Abhisit said the second section of crucial meetings between ASEAN leaders and its heavyweight regional partners would be held in late April due to a "conflict of schedules."
The premier insisted there would be no more changes to the main summit.
"It's our resolution -- nothing can be changed now, neither the venue nor the date. I can reassure you that we will host ASEAN summit in Hua Hin," he said.
