15th ASEAN Summit will not be disrupted

BANGKOK, 15 October 2009 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban vows the government will not let the anti-government United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) derail the coming 15th ASEAN Summit hosted by Thailand again.

Mr Suthep said the protesters would be prohibited from gathering in the summit venues of Cha-am and Hua-Hin districts of Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan provinces. He expressed his confidence that the Internal Security Act (ISA) enforcement would help prevent the summit from being obstructed.

The ISA takes effect on Thursday for the first day to deal with the UDD’s planned major rally on 17 October in Dusit district in Bangkok. The UDD’s protests in April this year in Chon Buri province forced the government to cancel the 14th ASEAN Summit held there.

Mr Suthep added that the government had supporting measures to tackle possible chaos incited by the UDD. The anti-government protesters would be allowed to gather peacefully only in the capital city of Bangkok, he said.

The UDD has planned its mass gathering for 17 October in Bangkok to ask for the progress of a royal pardon petition for ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The group has threatened to stage a rally at the 15th ASEAN Summit venues if the government obstructs its demonstration in Bangkok.