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April 10, 2009

Thai Protesters Break Through Summit Security, Besiege Convention Hall
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=237D623:A6F02AD83191E160999FC2992B9DD186F47489ACC27D21EE&
 
2,000 opponents of prime minister, dressed in red shirts, clash with
security forces 
Protesters clash with police in Bangkok, 10 Apr 2009Anti-government
protesters at an Asian summit in Thailand retreated Friday after they
clashed with troops in riot gear in the coastal town of Pattaya. About
2,000 opponents of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, dressed in red
shirts, clashed with security forces. Protesters supporting ousted prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra insisted on presenting a petition for Mr.
Abhisit's resignation to participants at the meeting. They thronged the
area around the Pattaya beach hotel where foreign leaders are gathering
for three days of talks about strategies to cope with the global
economic crisis. A spokesman for Mr. Abhisit's Democrat Party said prime
ministers and other top leaders will meet as scheduled Saturday despite
the protests, and that all security measures are in place. Ten members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, as well as the
leaders of six other major Asian nations - Australia, China, India,
Japan,!
  New Zealand and South Korea - are attending the summit in Pattaya,
which began Friday with talks by foreign ministers. The meeting was
originally scheduled to take place in Bangkok last December, but was
postponed due to massive protests against the previous Thai government,
which led to the temporary closure of the capital's two major airports.
Mr. Abhisit took up government leadership last December after a court
decision removed Mr. Thaksin's allies from power. Over the past week,
supporters of the ousted former prime minister have stepped up attacks
on Mr. Abhisit's four-month-old government. The prime minister has
refused to bow to the protesters' demands.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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