APR 10, 2009
PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP)-- Hundreds of Thai anti-government protesters Friday reached a hotel hosting a major Asian summit after breaking through a final security cordon, AFP reporters said.
About 200 protesters passed through the last line of unarmed riot police with little resistance, chanting anti-government slogans, cheering, and clapping their hands.
Some arrived on pick-up trucks and on scooters, moving to within 50 meters (yards) of the front doors of the luxury hotel where a meeting of 16 nations is being held this weekend.
The demonstrators were part of a group of about 1,000 supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra that gathered in the resort town of Pattaya after causing chaos Thursday with traffic disruptions in the capital Bangkok.
The main crowd briefly clashed with police guarding the summit venue before a smaller number forced their way closer to the building.
They waved red posters reading "Get out" and "Thailand needs change," in their campaign for the ouster of current premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has resisted calls to step down and order early elections.
An earlier AFP report said hundreds of riot police and troops were guarding the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, the summit venue.
Pattaya is the site for the summit, which groups the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
