Friday, 28 November 2008

Govt 'ready to consider' Asean

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on November 28, 2008

Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat said yesterday the government was considering a suggestion from Asean members that the Kingdom postpone the group's upcoming summit due to the political unrest in the country.

Thailand holds the rotating chair for the group."Yes, we would take the suggestion into consideration but let see how the situation at home develops," Sompong told The Nation via telephone from Frankfurt, where he was stranded after Suvarnabhumi Airport was closed by anti-government protesters.

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam wrote to the Asean headquarters in Jakarta asking Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan to consult the Thai government on the possibility of postponing the summit. Surin said he received a letter from Laos's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith urging Thailand to postpone the 14th Asean Summit due to the crisis.

Surin said he was concerned about the situation and appealed for "maximum restraint on all sides for the sake of the country".

Foreign Minister Sompong said he was trying to reach Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, counterparts from other Asean members and Surin to discuss the matter.

Sompong was stranded in Frankfurt while was on his way back from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Peru.

The Asean summit is scheduled to be held in the northern province of Chiang Mai from December 15-17.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said there was "a cloud of uncertainty" over the upcoming summit. But as member countries had assumed it would be held, Yeo said there has been no contingency plan for this.

"We are very troubled by it. We hope that all groups in Thailand will have the political will to compromise and find a way out for the country. The tourism industry is badly affected. I worry that the Asean summit will be affected," Yeo was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia.

Arin Jira, chairman of the Asean Business Advisory Council, said if he were the foreign minister, he would recommend to Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat that he postpone the Asean summit by one or two months.

"There is no reason to be embarrassed," Arin said. "As some leaders have raised the proposal, people from the outside have shown us the way. It could have been worse if they suggested others take the summit's chairmanship. We should have the sense to know that there are problems," he said.

If the summit were postponed, the annual Asean Business and Investment Summit (Asean-Bis) would also be postponed from December 13-15 in Bangkok.

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