Scrapped summit seen as lost chance to tackle crisis

BLOOMBERG
Prime Minister Hun Sen leaves U-Tapao military airport in Thailand on Saturday. Cambodia’s leader returned to Phnom Penh early after the planned summit in Pattaya was cancelled due to protests.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Martin Abbugao
Monday, 13 April 2009

Instability in Thailand that led to cancellation of the ASEAN Summit means regional leaders were unable to talk on how to fend off economic turmoil

PATTAYA

THE dramatic cancellation of an Asian summit after rampaging Thai protesters stormed the venue has set back a regional effort to tackle the global downturn, analysts said.

ASEAN was to have hosted two days of talks with the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea and other allies in the biggest international gathering since the G20 summit in London this month.

But the 16-nation meeting was aborted Saturday when anti-government protesters broke through cordons of troops and riot police - forcing presidents, prime ministers and a monarch to be evacuated by helicopter from the rooftop.

"The opportunity to work out collective measures has been set back. It is a setback to Asia's contribution to the global economic recovery," said former ASEAN chief Rodolfo Severino.

"I hope they can meet soon and work it out because Asia has a lot of potential to help in the global economic recovery," said Severino, head of the Singapore-based ASEAN Studies Centre.

The meeting was to have discussed ways to further open up markets, ditch protectionist measures and flesh out the details of a US$120 billion crisis fund for countries under financial stress.

"It is not easy to gather leaders of this magnitude, including the leaders of China, Japan and India. It would have been an opportunity for Asia to let its voice be heard," said an unnamed Southeast Asian diplomat.

The scrapping of the summit shows how the 10-nation ASEAN has become a hostage to the political dramas of its members - a diverse group of democracies, a military dictatorship, a monarchy and communist states, analysts said.

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Asia has a lot of potential to help in the global economic recovery.
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"The main effect is on perceptions of Thailand, [but] indirectly ASEAN's image is affected," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia specialist at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

"That all are safe and unharmed is good, but it points to one of the underlying challenges for the organisation - how to deal with the dynamics within countries in the region," she said.

While military-ruled Myanmar's iron grip and human rights abuses have been perennial thorns in ASEAN's side, political instability in democracies such as Thailand and the Philippines have also hurt the regional grouping.

"Thailand's instability is a persistent blow for democracy in the region. It used to be a model, and now it is so polarised that it cannot even hold a regional meeting in a remote stronghold for the governing party," said Welsh.

"The protests feed governments who opt for more draconian measures to address crowds, rather than dialogue and legitimacy through elections."

Unfinished business
Welsh said that until ASEAN's five core members - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - can serve as an "anchor" for the bloc, "nothing substantial will get done".

It was not the first time summits have become victims of domestic problems within ASEAN, which also groups oil-rich Brunei and developing nations Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The Philippines postponed its hosting of the annual ASEAN summit from December 2006 to the following month, publicly citing an approaching typhoon but with speculation rife that it was due to a security threat.

In July 2007, Myanmar passed its chance to host the summit and related meetings after the United States threatened to boycott ASEAN gatherings if it took up the group's revolving leadership.

Seah Chiang Nee, a Singapore-based veteran political commentator, said any impact on ASEAN's international reputation would be temporary.

"The big impact will be on Thailand. I don't see how they can live down this reputation of publicly being disgraced in the eyes of the world," he said. AFP

Inflation falling at start of year

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
An attendant fills a car with petrol in Phnom Penh. The weighting for petrol under the new CPI methodology has doubled.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Hor Hab
Monday, 13 April 2009

Consumer Price Index inflation fell from 8 percent in January to 6.2 percent in February month-on-month according to new methodology employed by National Institute of Statistics

THE National Institute of Statistics (NIS) on Friday said it had revised its methodology for calculating Consumer Price Index (CPI) data in a press conference in which it also announced new figures for the first two months of the year that showed a decline in inflation month-on-month.

The institute, which is under the Ministry of Planning, said that prices increased 8 percent in January, and 6.2 percent in February, compared with the same periods the previous year, data that was produced using the new methodology.

"The inflation is expected to drop further to the lowest point this year," said Khin Song, deputy director general of NIS.

As of January 1, the NIS has calculated CPI based on Phnom Penh prices to represent the whole country when previously an aggregate of the capital, rural and urban areas and an average of these figures combined was used, said San Sy Than, director of the NIS. The institute had also changed the base-year figure to 2006, it said, from 2000 previously. The base year will be changed again for 2013, he added.

Similarly, the weighting for different commodities has also been modified, said the NIS.

The new base year 2006 is calculated according to the prices of 259 items that are classified into 12 groups, while there were only eight groups used previously, most of which were based on goods from five markets in the capital.

The weighting of the Phnom Penh CPI figure has also been adjusted, said San Sy Than. Previously food represented 42.7 percent of the overall figure which has been changed to 44.8 percent in Phnom Penh, he said, and 58 percent for the whole country.

"The new methodology is very good and it's accurate and timely," said San Sy Than, adding that "price changes and the weight attributed to commodity items are the two factors that impact[calculating] inflation".

According to February's CPI report, prices of foods and non-alcoholic beverages increased 8.5 percent, rice was up 32.1 percent and beef prices rose 13.9 percent. The cost of medical products increased 2.9 percent, and clothing and footwear prices climbed 5.3 percent between February 2008 and February 2009.

An Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) update last month projected that inflation in Cambodia would slow sharply to an average of 0.5 percent this year before increasing again to 4.7 percent for 2010 in response to rebounding demand-side pressure.

"The prices for rice and petrol have fallen sharply since mid-2008, and we forecast that they will continue to do so in 2009 as domestic prices decline in line with projected global trends," said the report.

A lower oil price in 2009 will put downward pressure on inflation in Cambodia, the EIU added.

The NIS has doubled the weighting for petrol to 5 percent, it said.

Govt expects boost in domestic tourism

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Hor Hab and Chun Sophal
Monday, 13 April 2009

New Year bookings strong, say provinces, as ministry expects growth in domestic travellers

DOMESTIC tourism could increase by as much as 15 percent in 2009 as more Cambodian tourists shun international destinations in favour of local ones, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said at a press conference last week.

Thong Khon said he had based his prediction on reports from provincial tourism departments.

He attributed the expected trend to political unrest in Thailand as well as the prospect of further violence with Thai troops near Preah Vihear temple.

Thailand and Vietnam are the two most popular international destinations for Cambodian tourists, he said.

He also said the economic downturn had made relatively cheap domestic trips more attractive than trips abroad.

Cambodia weathers crisis
He said Cambodians were generally less affected by the downturn than people in other countries, adding that many were still looking to travel, particularly during holidays such as this week's Khmer New Year.

"Our people still have money in their hands because they are not affected by stock markets like people in other countries," he said. "So they continue to go on holiday."

Thong Khon's prediction follows a Ministry of Tourism report released in February that found that the number of Cambodians travelling abroad fell by 21 percent last year, from 995,763 in 2007 to 785,896 in 2008.

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Our people still have money ... because they are not affected by stock markets.
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New Year rush
Thong Khon said he expected Khmer New Year to be a boon to domestic tourism, citing anecdotal reports that many guesthouses and hotels in Sihanoukville, Kep and Koh Kong were fully booked.

He said roughly 70 percent of Phnom Penh residents would visit their home provinces for the holiday.

"It is good for provincial economies because they [the urban population] bring money from the city to spend in all places and to make the rural economy work."

Som Chenda, director of Preah Sihanouk's tourism department, said his office plans to throw a "special event" at Occheuteal Beach to celebrate Khmer New Year and to "promote our Kingdom of Wonder to attract more tourists".

The event, to be held Wednesday, will include a concert, beach sports and popular Khmer New Year games, he said.

"With this event, we expect more than 100,000 tourists to visit the province during the Khmer New Year, and they will continue to come in the future," he said. "People are not bored with nature."

Koy Sang, director of the tourism department in Siem Reap province, said he expected about 210,000 tourists to visit Kulen Mountain during Khmer New Year, in part because his office had organised events to welcome tourists.

Analysis: Dealing with the dollar dilemma

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by James Lowrey
Monday, 13 April 2009

ANALYSIS
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James lowrey

Cambodia’s reliance on the greenback may not be the best path to a stable economy

THE function of money in Cambodia is served by the national currency, the riel, and a handful of foreign currencies, including the Vietnam dong, the Thai baht and the US dollar. In fact, approximately 90 percent of all transactions today are conducted in greenbacks.

Cambodia is not on its own as a heavily dollarised economy. Many countries have adopted the US dollar either officially or unofficially, and in the Asian region it is widely used in Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Some say the arrival of UNTAC forces in 1992 and 1993 led to the dollarisation of Cambodia's economy with an estimated $1.7 billion brought in over the period. This represented a substantial proportion of money supply, with annual gross domestic product estimated at between $2 billion and $3.1 billion through the early to mid-1990s.

A large proportion of the dollar deposits in the country were via net private transfers from abroad. Up until 1996, the annual private US dollar inflows exceeded the country's official foreign exchange reserves.

Monetary dollarisation is often viewed as favourable for economic growth because it can help firms and households protect the value of financial assets from depreciation in local currency terms. However, not all people view it as positive, with critics saying it introduces a mechanism for capital flight from domestic to foreign currencies.

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An uncertain or weak currency limits the usefulness of money
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It can also make an economy more vulnerable to both domestic and external shocks and can restrict the ability of local authorities to manage monetary policy. If dollarisation is entrenched, manipulating the local currency or interest rates has little effect on money supply.

One key advantage of dollarisation is a reduction in transaction costs for international trade. Being able to domestically on-sell imported goods paid for in US dollars nets out foreign exchange risks. Or does it?

Even when a country is completely dollarised, it is still exposed to foreign exchange risk when exchange rates fluctuate among international currencies. For example, if the US dollar depreciates against the currencies of trading partners, it erodes the purchasing power of the dollar abroad, exposing Cambodia to the risk of importing inflation. Imports to Cambodia are diverse in terms of country of origin, but around 90 percent are paid for in dollars.

On the flipside, a stronger US dollar may hurt exporters. Tourism is a key growth sector for Cambodia, generating much-needed foreign exchange. But as tourists are faced with US dollar expenses, if their currency weakens against the US dollar, a non-dollarised country may become a relatively more attractive holiday destination.

In Cambodia, dollarisation is not an official policy. The government has retained the Khmer riel as the currency of choice for utility payments, government fees, charges and taxes. Riels are also widely used in everyday markets and provinces where the engine room of the economy resides.

However, the US dollar is the predominant currency for business transactions. Imports, exports, retail purchases and property transactions are all conducted in US dollars.

Time for a change?
The question being asked today is whether Cambodia benefits from unofficial dollarisation and whether it should move to official dollarisation. Many would suggest not and would like to see riels more widely used.

It is claimed that dollarisation helps reduce uncertainty and country risk, which in turn reduces interest rates and inflation. Not so in Cambodia where interest rates remain high compared with the US and other main trading partners. Dollarisation also does not necessarily help keep inflation low.

While dollarisation infers the opportunity to share the stability of the dollar with countries that adopt it, this can be a dangerous assumption. The ability to remain flexible and change currency of trade to match the country of origin, in order to maintain purchasing power and deliver better priced goods to market is paramount and can help the government better serve its people.

The benefits of maintaining a flexibile currency position will be measured not just in terms of GDP, but in terms of fulfilling human potential. An uncertain or weak currency limits the usefulness of money, limiting choice, innovation and investment. The accumulation of wealth that a trustworthy currency permits enables children to have better educations, families to take out longer-term mortgages for home ownership and provides retirees protection for their accumulated savings.

Taking leadership to manage a strong currency is imperative to the long term economic prospects of this country.
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James Lowrey is head of corporate and institutional banking at ANZ Royal.
Contact him via james.lowrey@anz.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

New year predictions

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
San Vannak tells the fortune of a customer on the riverside Sunday. The soothsayer said that this week his customer numbers have doubled as many people seek to know their fate for the Year of the Ox.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Mom Kunthear
Monday, 13 April 2009

While traditional almanacs predict the Year of the Ox will be inauspicious for Cambodians, many say otherwise

The Year of the Ox will be ushered in this Tuesday at 1:36am, and Cambodians are busy preparing fruits and flowers to offer to the angel Reaksadevi.

According to traditional almanacs, this year is an inauspicious one for Cambodia, bringing suffering and loss. However, officials argue that such predictions are rarely true and should be ignored.

The Year of the Ox is symbolically begun by Reaksadevi, a female angel who, according to legend, rides into Cambodia on the back of an ox, said religious adviser Prom Din.

"This year the angel is to drink blood, so Khmer people are afraid that there will be problems in our country. It is my prediction that we won't have any problems, and we shouldn't be worried," Prom Din said.

The Moha Sangkran Almanac, a traditional almanac adorned with pictures of the Buddha and published in time for Khmer New Year, agrees that this year will not be a good one for Cambodians.

The almanac predicts that farmers in particular will face many problems, as it anticipates a large flood. According to the almanac, only half of the crops will be available for harvest, and the other half will be destroyed.

"This year there will be storms, with rain early and in the middle of the year, but less rain at the end of the year. The people will face chaos throughout the country. They will not have enough food and will be afraid of death," the Moha Sangkran predicts.

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This year the angel is to drink blood, so khmer people are afraid that there will be problems...
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Chea Kean, deputy secretary general of the National Committee for Organising National and International Festivals, disagreed with the Moha Sangkran predictions.

"Some people are afraid because this year the angel drinks blood, but I think they shouldn't worry about it.... I think sometimes the predictions of fortune-tellers are wrong," Chea Kean said.

It remains to be seen whether this year's Moha Sangkran prediction, and the ominous blood-drinking of the angel Reaksadevi, are accurate prophesies for the year ahead. In the meantime, Prom Din says: "This year, we all just have to do good and help each other in order to avoid bad things happening to us."

Police Blotter: 13 April 2009

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Lim Phalla
Monday, 13 April 2009

PORNO COFFEE SHOP RAIDED, 13 ARRESTED
District police and members of the Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau on Thursday raided a coffee shop suspected of showing pornographic films in Chamka Loeu district, Kampong Cham province. The shopowner and 13 patrons were arrested, and police confiscated pornographic materials and 13 motorbikes. Provincial deputy police Chief Chem Seng Hong said the raid was the result of a long investigation, adding that the closing of the shop would help promote human dignity and social morality.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY

SMOKER ATTACKED AT SWORD-POINT
Kong Bunthoeun, 24, was savagely attacked Wednesday while smoking a cigarette on the street in Kakab commune in Phnom Penh's Dangkor district. The attacker, Mas Shou, is said to have accosted the victim with a sword before beating him. The victim, who is being treated at Kosamak Hospital, told police that while he was being beaten, his attacker said he was exacting revenge.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY

MAN RAPES GIRL, THEN PROPOSES
Mith Ratana, 18, was arrested for the suspected rape of a girl on April 6 who he said he had been in love with for a long time, following a complaint by the victim. The suspect later confessed to the crime during interrogation by police from the Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau, saying he was very drunk and tried to comfort the young woman afterwards by asking her to marry him. She refused and reported him to police.
KOH SANTEPHEAP

ARMED BANDITS NICK MOTORBIKE
A man was robbed of his motorbike on Wednesday by two men with guns while driving with his girlfriend on Cekong bridge in Stung Treng province. Duong Sivutha, police chief of the Serious Crimes Bureau, said the victim was Sen Ratha, 21, who told police two unidentified men chased him on a motorbike, firing a warning shot in the air to get him to pull over. Neither the victim or his girlfriend were injured in the theft.
KOH SANTEPHEAP

Miniramp could spark new craze

Photo Supply

Siem Reap's rooftop miniramp.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kyle Sherer
Monday, 13 April 2009

SIEM REAP

THE rooftop of Siem Reap's X-bar is now home to the province's first miniramp - a U-shaped ramp, or halfpipe, used by skateboarders and BMX bikers to perform tricks.

X-bar co-owner Carlo Tarabini, who built the miniramp almost entirely by himself and has stocked his bar with BMX bikes and skateboards for willing patrons, told The Post that he hopes the structure will spark a skateboarding craze among local Cambodians.

The madcap behaviour of motorbike drivers shows a natural Cambodian flair for extreme sports, but skateboarding has not yet caught on in Khmer culture.

Tarabini believes the problem lies in a lack of infrastructure.

"Cambodians are already picking up on the Rollerblades because it's easy to set up Rollerblade rinks. But the kids just sort of roll around on a track. It's completely different to skateboarding," he said.

However, Tarabini thinks that if halfpipes are built, the skaters will follow.

"Kids are fairly resilient [to injury] around here," he said. "There's a large population of them, so I can see it happening. Look at Thailand and Indonesia. It's what kids in the world are doing these days, if they've got access to it."

Tarabini came up with the idea to build the miniramp two years ago.

"We talked about it as something that can help kids," he said. "We had it growing up and it was a good release for us. Kids over here don't really seem to have a lot to occupy their time. They've got some kick-a-thong-around-type sports, but not a lot. I saw the potential."

Labour of love
The ramp took six months to build, with work being done by Tarabini in his spare time and others when needed.
"A couple of local expats helped me put the wood down," he said.

The result is a "smooth and fast" 2-metre-tall ramp that overlooks Siem Reap's popular Pub Street.

The halfpipe is open to customers during the day, and plans are under way to install lighting so it can be used at night. Tarabini also hopes to start skateboarding classes for Khmer kids and is approaching organisations that could help him get this off the ground.

"We're talking it out with a couple of local NGOs. We're also looking into organisations like the Tony Hawk Foundation. When Tony Hawk came to town ... it was something he wanted to do."

The Phnom Penh Post News In Briefs

In Brief: Cambodia shines in US Law competition

Written by Christopher Shay
Monday, 13 April 2009

Tan Tepi Kanika, 20, and Theng Tith Maria, 19, from the Royal University of Law and Economics, reached the semi-finals at the International Client Counseling Competition, an English-language legal tournament held earlier this month in Las Vegas. The pair beat out teams from Canada and New Zealand as only the second-ever Cambodian team in the tournament.


In Brief: New whiskey launched

Written by May Kunmakara
Monday, 13 April 2009

CAMBODIAN palm wine producer Confirel this month launched a palm juice whiskey, the company said, adding it hoped to export the product abroad. After three years of product development, Jaya whiskey - named after Angkorian King Javaraman - is available for US$6 per 500ml bottle, Confirel Manager Chea Ravuth said. "We plan to distribute nationwide ... in order to gain a segment of market share among people who would usually buy imported whiskey," he said, adding that 1,000 bottles would be distributed for sale in the beginning.


In Brief: Ministry defends Cambodian Embassy

Written by CHRISTOPHER SHAY AND KHUON LEAKHANA
Monday, 13 April 2009

The Foreign Ministry shot back at criticism from a Cambodian NGO that accused Cambodian embassy officials in Malaysia of turning their backs on a family of six Cambodians who found themselves in legal limbo after losing their jobs.The ministry said that, despite a lack of cooperation from the family, the embassy was still able to ensure their return to Cambodia. "If the Cambodian embassy did not pay attention and help them, how could these people have returned to Cambodia? They would surely have been condemned over illegal immigration in Malaysia," a recent press release said. Ya Navuth, the executive director of CARAM - the NGO critical of embassy - said on Sunday it was CARAM's efforts, not the government's, that helped the family return home.


In Brief: Heng Pov sentenced to 18 more years

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Monday, 13 April 2009

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday sentenced Heng Pov, the capital's former police chief, to 18 years in prison for conspiring to murder the editor of Koh Santepheap newspaper, court officials said. Already serving 74 years for various murder, extortion and kidnapping convictions, Heng Pov's total jail time now stands at 92 years, but could top the century mark if he is convicted in a 10th case that is now being investigated.

Thai declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and ordered armored vehicles into the streets

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra celebrate after seizing an armoured personnel carrier in Bangkok April 12, 2009 a day after the ASEAN Summit was cancelled. Troops fired into the air as Thai anti-government protesters stormed the country's interior ministry on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the capital.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ride motorcycles beside an armoured personnel carrier returning to a military base in Bangkok April 12, 2009 a day after the ASEAN Summit was cancelled. Troops fired into the air as Thai anti-government protesters stormed the country's interior ministry on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the capital.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra watch armoured personnel carriers returning to a military base in Bangkok April 12, 2009 a day after the ASEAN Summit was cancelled. Troops fired into the air as Thai anti-government protesters stormed the country's interior ministry on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the capital.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT)

Anti-government demonstrators capture a Thai Army armored personnel carrier near the Foreign Ministry Sunday, April 12, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. Bands of anti-government protesters are roaming areas of Bangkok as a state of emergency was announced, with some smashing a car carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and others beating up motorists who hurled insults at them.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, center, arrives for a meeting before declaring a state of emergency at Interior Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and ordered armored vehicles into the streets to stem a tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo)

A Thai Army armored personnel carrier waits for instructions near the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday in an attempt to stem the tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A Thai Army armored personnel carrier waits for instructions near the government House in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday in an attempt to stem the tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A Thai Army armored personnel carrier waits for instructions near the government House in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday in an attempt to stem the tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Thai anti riot-policemen stand guard on the streets near Government House in Bangkok on April 12, 2009. Tanks and armoured vehicles rolled through the streets of Bangkok on Sunday as premier Abhisit Vejjajiva cracked down on anti-government protesters in the most serious crisis yet of his rule.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Soldiers stand guard with weapons as supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra block the main road during a state of emergency in Bangkok April 12, 2009. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told anti-government demonstrators on Sunday to end their protests or face tough measures allowed under a state of emergency that he declared earlier in the capital.REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra beat up an occupant of a government vehicle after dragging him out of the car at the interior ministry in Bangkok April 12, 2009. Troops fired into the air as Thai anti-government protesters stormed the country's interior ministry on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the capital.REUTERS/Stringer (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT)

Red-shirted anti-government protesters and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra circle to attack the car of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as Abhisit's security guards, black jackets, try in vain to stop them after Abhisit declared a state of emergency at Interior Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and ordered armored vehicles into the streets to stem a tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo)

Soldiers watch a TV broadcast of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's speech during a news conference at the Government House in Bangkok April 12, 2009. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told anti-government demonstrators on Sunday to end their protests or face tough measures allowed under a state of emergency that he declared earlier in the capital.REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY)

Red-shirted anti-government protesters and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attack the car of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva with clubs and various objects as Abhisit's security guards, black jackets, try in vain to stop them after Abhisit declared a state of emergency at Interior Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, April 12, 2009. Thailand's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and ordered armored vehicles into the streets to stem a tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo)

Thai anti-government demonstrators gather round a vandalized car leaving the Thai Interior Ministry on Sunday, April 12, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. The country's embattled government, humiliated by demonstrators who shut down a 16-nation Asian summit, declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and ordered armored vehicles into the streets to stem a tide of protest across the country.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Vietnamese, Cambodian youths promote exchange

VOV News
04/12/2009

A sports delegation from Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province is joining Vietnamese youth in an exchange programme in the Central Highland province of Dak Nong from April 9-11.

Vietnamese and Cambodian representatives shared experiences in boosting youth movements and affirmed the youth’s key role in preventing crimes, social evils and abolishing backward customs to ensure peace for the people.

They pledged to actively take part in social activities and poverty reduction, as well as providing assistance to underprivileged people, overcoming the aftermath of natural calamities and protecting the environment. They also held cultural exchange and sports competitions to strengthen friendship.

Dak Nong and Mondulkiri share a 130 km long border. People of ethnic minority groups in the two provinces regularly hold joint activities to promote their unity, friendship and cooperation.

Cambodian nationals arrested for drug trafficking

VOV News
04/12/2009

The criminal investigation department under the Ministry of Public Security on April 10 prosecuted and arrested four drug traders and traffickers, including two Cambodian nationals.

The detainees were Ho Minh Loi, 33, and Pham Thai Son, 37, both from Long An province, Khuon Khmoi, 29, and Kim Phuc, 42, both Cambodian nationals.

The four established a ring to transport synthetic drugs from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City across the Tho Mo border gate in Long An province to be distributed in cafés, bars and discos.

According to initial investigations, the ring, led by Khuon Khmoi, had been operating for nearly 10 years.

In March 2009, the criminal investigation department caught Pham Thai Son and Ho Minh Loi red handed trafficking 200 amphetamine tablets and 100gr of powdered drugs.

Son and Loi confessed that they were hired by Khuon Khmoi to transport the drugs to Vietnam. Later, police arrested Khuon Khmoi and Kim Phuc in Long An province.

Thai protesters storm interior ministry

Reuters; Thai riot police

TVNZ (New Zealand)
Sunday April 12, 2009
Source: Reuters

Troops fired into the air as Thai anti-government protesters stormed the country's interior ministry after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the capital.

About 50 protesters broke through security at the interior ministry in Bangkok while Abhisit was in the building, but the prime minister escaped by car, a TV channel said.

Reuters journalists at the scene said soldiers initially made no effort to stop the protesters from entering the building but later fired into the air to prevent more from joining them.

Red-shirted protesters were also gathering at the capital's police headquarters while a crowd at Government House had grown to over 4,000.

The latest unrest comes a day after protesters stormed the venue of a summit of Asian leaders, forcing the event to be cancelled and seriously undermining confidence in the government.

In a weekly address to the nation, Abhisit said arrest warrants were being drawn up for those responsible for the unrest.

Police said they had already arrested Arismun Pongreungrong, a popular singer prominent in the summit assault, and were holding him at a police station north of Bangkok.

"In the current situation, what I have to do is to bring peace to the country, bring back governance and have a process of political reform," Abhisit said.

Political humiliation

Abhisit suffered a political humiliation when the summit he had presented as a sign of the country's return to normality had to be cancelled after red-shirted supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke into the venue, sending Asian leaders fleeing by helicopter.

Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit only became premier because of a parliamentary stitch-up engineered by the army. They want new elections, which they would be well placed to win.

The events will pile more pressure on an economy teetering on the brink of recession, especially if foreign tourists are put off by the scenes of chaos.

Thai financial markets are closed until Thursday for a holiday. After months of falls, many Asian stock markets have rallied in recent weeks but the Thai market has been held back by the political unrest and is flat on the year.

Patareeya Benjapolchai, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, was concerned.

"It's really up to the government now how it manages the situation within this five-day break. What happened was a loss for the country. The Asean summit was supposed to be a step-up for our economy," Patareeya told Reuters.

Newspapers were outraged both by the pro-Thaksin supporters' insult to foreign leaders and by the government's inability to put proper security in place. Police and soldiers put up little resistance as the demonstrators marched towards the summit hotel.

"Yesterday was a truly shameful day for our country, which had its international image destroyed," the Bangkok Post said in a front-page editorial.

Khmer Rouge survivors give voice to their 'silent suffering'

Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times
Born Pach, 40, survived a Khmer Rouge work camp in Cambodia and made it to Long Beach in 1989.

Los Angeles Times
By Joe Mozingo
April 12, 2009

At night, the old woman hears the voices of her children crying out for her. She knows they will never stop.

Um Sath is 89, and it has been three decades since the Khmer Rouge laid waste to Cambodia. But she shuts her eyes and furiously taps her temples to show exactly where the genocidal regime still rules with impunity. "We miss you, Mama," the voices cry.

Viasnah Cragn, 58, recalls the executions, the dead bodies, the screaming — and how soldiers killed children with clubs to save bullets.
(Ann Johansson / Los Angeles Times) April 9, 2009

Um Sath, left, at a Cambodian New Year celebration, lost her sons and husband.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) April 2, 2008

Sath spends much of her day sitting in silence and fighting her mind. For years she rarely left her old clapboard house in central Long Beach. Though she now finds slivers of peace chatting with the other haunted figures at her senior center, she has mostly kept the caroming echoes of the "killing fields" sealed tightly inside her head.

One bright spring morning last month, she let them out -- joining dozens of survivors at a recreation center in Long Beach to face their memories head-on. They wanted to see just a bit of reckoning for the perpetrators of one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

Since February, a United Nations-backed tribunal in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh has been trying the first of five Khmer Rouge leaders charged with crimes against humanity, for the brutal experiment in communism that took at least 1.7 million lives between 1975 and 1979.

Activists in the United States are trying to get refugees outside Cambodia to submit their testimonies to the tribunal, in an effort to spur a judicial process beset by delays, limited funds and allegations of corruption. They hope, along the way, that they can relieve the emotional torture of survivors who rarely speak about what happened.

"I'm hoping it will allow them to tell the world what happened 34 years ago," said Leakhena Nou, an assistant professor of sociology at Cal State Long Beach, who is leading the outreach effort in Southern California, home of the largest Cambodian refugee community in the world. "The Khmer Rouge leaders are getting old, the victims are getting old. This is their chance to have their voices be heard before it's too late."

Nou has found that survivors of the Khmer Rouge era living in Cambodia and the U.S. have endured what she calls a prolonged "silent suffering."

"What we're seeing with Cambodians is anomie -- a state of hopelessness and helplessness and this feeling of being disconnected from society."

In a children's day-care room at the rec center in McBride Park, Nou explains to Sath and other victims the importance of submitting their written testimony to the tribunal.

Nou understands this tribunal has huge problems. She knows it won't touch even a small fraction of the era's killers. She knows political forces in Cambodia are trying to limit the tribunal's reach. She knows survivors' memories are fragmented and muddled by trauma and time. And she knows that asking them to condense incomprehensible horrors of that time -- the irrevocable turning point in all of their lives -- into a few quotidian lines in tiny boxes on a government form borders on cruel farce.

Description of crime. Date. Who do you believe is responsible for these crimes and why do you believe this?

Nou hasn't even been assured that prosecutors will read the forms. But she still hopes this could be a starting point for Cambodians around the world to rally for justice.

She asks the survivors whether, before filling out the forms, they want to get their stories out into the open and tell them to the group.

A slight, pale figure in a checkered coat stands up. Sath's eyes crinkle before she speaks.

She and her husband were farmers and merchants in the rich land along the Mekong River, south of Phnom Penh. In the middle class, with enough money to own a modest brick house, they were targets when the Khmer Rouge swept into power in 1975, brutally turning the country into a collective society of farm peasants. Intellectuals, teachers, doctors, businessmen, government bureaucrats and army soldiers were executed en masse.

Khmer Rouge soldiers showed up at Sath's home with rifles, took her husband away and told her to start walking with her eight children. "Just walk," she recalls. Mother and children had nothing but their clothes.

The countryside was crowded with people treading the rutted roads. Sath held her 6-year-old boy's hand. Everyone was silent.

For days they wandered, following orders. Anyone who complained or asked questions was dismissed by a bullet to the back of the head.

The soldiers barked questions about her husband at Sath: Why did he travel to Phnom Penh so often? Did he work for the national police?

She told them they were just poor people, doing nothing.

They let her and her children return to where she had lived. The family reunited with her husband and stayed for a month. Their house had been burned to the ground -- just a pile of bricks and the skeleton of a stairway. They slept on the ground. There was no food, and they nearly starved, eating only watery rice soup.

The soldiers forced them back on the road, this time to a work camp near Pursat, where they lived on the dirt floor of a straw hut. The family was emaciated, working to exhaustion in the rice fields day after day.

There were no clocks or calendars, just a malignant silence. Time was elastic and unmoored, like in a nightmare.

The smell of death

One day, soldiers came and locked Sath in chains and took her husband away. She said nothing. Days later she overheard soldiers casually mention his execution. She reeled, but kept it inside for her children.

They came again, in the rice paddy. They asked the children all sorts of questions about their parents. They were kids; they didn't know what they needed to lie about. They said their dad traveled back and forth. They said they had had servants.

The soldiers took her three sons -- two in their late teens, and the 6-year-old.

Some time later, Sath heard that other villagers had seen the boys' clothes in the plowed-up dirt where bodies were routinely buried.

They came for her next. They took her to the same field and beat her unconscious. She woke up naked, amid decaying bodies and the smell that, decades later, could bring every fine grain of this horror back to life. She made it back to her hut, surviving several more near-death moments before Vietnamese soldiers ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

So now she stands in this children's playroom, with its drawings of Cookie Monster and Nemo the clown fish, and the words pour out too fast for the translator to keep up. Sath's eyes are fixed on the middle distance.

"I lost my sons, my grandson. They took my husband away right in front of me. They killed my husband. They took my brothers and sisters away. They were all killed by the Khmer Rouge."

The anguish in her face tells of the unspeakable loss in her heart. A man in a gray suit pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes his eyes. Another takes his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose. Women choke back sobs.

Sath thanks everyone profusely for listening.

A stout little woman in a red floral dress and white sandals takes the microphone next. Her face is swollen with emotion before she can speak.

Born Pach, now 40, was a child when the black-clad soldiers came for her parents. They told her they needed to be "re-educated."

They sent Pach to a camp in the province of Battambang to cut rice. She begged to see her parents. But they shouted at her, no, she would not see them again.

One day, the guards accused her of stealing a rooster and beat her. Another time, when she was ill, they accused her of being lazy and sliced the top and side of her head with a knife, and then stuck a burning piece of metal in her rectum.

She saw them slit other children's throats, or club them to death.

Dreams, nightmares

Pach survived the Khmer Rouge and made it to Long Beach in 1989. She lives alone in a tiny Section 8 apartment, watching Cambodian karaoke shows behind a steel security screen door, venturing out mostly just to collect cans. She had a boyfriend for several years. They had a wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, but they never made it official and he left her for someone else years ago. The photos of his family hang on her wall. They're all she ever had.

On her mini-fridge, she has a small shrine for her parents, with Buddhist statuettes, incense she keeps burning and cans of soda for them to drink. She dreams that her mother is talking to her, telling her to take care of herself. She can still see her face.

Pach has sought counseling for depression, but never kept up with it. She has nightmares that she is being burned alive. She thinks Khmer Rouge spies live in her building and record her every word.

But she says she is not afraid of them. She wants her torturers to go to prison.

"The Khmer Rouge killed my parents when I was 5 or 6 years old," she cries at the rec center. "I wanted to see my parents so much, but the Khmer Rouge wouldn't let me. They tied me up. They said, 'No, you can't see your parents.' "

She recounts her injuries, in between shallow breaths, and sits down.

Viasnah Cragn, 58, steps up and tells how the Khmer Rouge shot her sister-in-law in the head as she begged for her husband's life. Her story follows no chronology, just the messy onslaught of images in her head.

She recalls someone executed for complaining about mosquitoes. She tells of giving birth twice, being forced into the rice paddies immediately and coming home to find the newborns unfed -- and dead. She remembers dead bodies left unburied for the dogs to eat, and the carnivores' otherworldly howling at night. She remembers the ghostly silence of daylight.

She describes her husband, starving, falling off a footbridge into the water while carrying a bag of rice.

"I asked for him to be rescued," she says. "They said, 'Why are you so possessive? Your husband is no longer your husband! Your children are no longer your children! You just need to focus on your work.' "

She describes how they killed children with clubs to save bullets. The adults quickly learned to be silent. The children couldn't help themselves. Cragn constantly hears their screaming -- Mommy, Daddy, help me! -- to this day.

Cragn looks at everyone, desperate, beseeching, alone.

"I live here," she says. "I walk around. But I feel like I'm a person living without a soul."

Digging deep

The levee is broken and the stories are pouring out. One woman gets a roll of paper towels to hand around to wipe the tears.

When they get to the forms, 21 people fill them out. No one remembers dates. Places are vague. Only one victim names an alleged perpetrator. The rest do not remember their tormentors' names, never knew them, or are still scared.

A week later, Cragn says she feels that a great pain -- a physical pressure she carried in her chest -- has been lifted by telling her story that day.

"Ever since I did what I did Friday, I feel like there's nothing left of it," she says. "I don't know where it all goes."

But pain has its own strata, and some layers are too deep to unearth. She didn't tell everything that day. She told of other people getting tortured. When asked about her own torture, tears stream down to her jaw before her face is wrung in agony.

"I can't talk about that," she cries.

Protests Against Asia Summit

Armed security officers draw their weapons after supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tried to enter one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Pattaya, Thailand, has effectively been cancelled after anti-government protesters broke into part of the conference venue, a Thai government spokesman said on Saturday.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY)

Anti-government demonstrators storm through the 14th ASEAN convention hall Saturday, April 11, 2009, in Pattaya, Thailand, at the 14th ASEAN summit. A Thai government officials say a summit of Asian leaders has been canceled for security reasons. The announcement Saturday came after more than 1,000 anti-government protesters smashed through glass doors to storm into the convention hall where some of the meetings were scheduled to take place.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Thai anti-government demonstrators bash their way into the venue of the 14th ASEAN summit on Saturday, April 11, 2009, in Pattaya, Thailand. Visiting Asian leaders got a taste of Thailand's political turmoil when thousands of anti-government protesters converged on the venue of a regional summit, threatening to disrupt it unless the Thai prime minister resigns.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather inside one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Pattaya, Thailand, has effectively been cancelled after anti-government protesters broke into part of the conference venue, a Thai government spokesman said on Saturday.REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra sit outside one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits as an armed security officer keeps watch in Pattaya April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Pattaya, Thailand, has effectively been cancelled after anti-government protesters broke into part of the conference venue, a Thai government spokesman said on Saturday.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT)

An armed security officer aims his weapon after supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tried to enter one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Pattaya, Thailand, has effectively been cancelled after anti-government protesters broke into part of the conference venue, a Thai government spokesman said on Saturday.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY)

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva walks as he arrives at U-Tapao military airport in Sattahip April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through a cordon of troops and swarmed into the meeting's venue. About half of the Asian leaders attending the summit were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase. REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool (THAILAND POLITICS BUSINESS HEADSHOT IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva addresses a press conference at the venue of the 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits, in Pattaya some 180 km southeast of Bangkok. Thai protesters smashed their way into a major Asian summit Saturday, forcing the country's embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting and evacuate foreign leaders by helicopter.(AFP/Christophe Archambault)

Vietnamese, Cambodian youths exchange views

11/04/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – About 100 representatives of the Youth Union and the Education and Training Department in Dak Nong Central Highland province and a youth and sports delegation from Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province participated in activities to exchange experiences on youth movement in Gia Nghia Commune, Dak Nong Province from Apr. 9-11.

The two neighbouring provinces of Dak Nong and Mondilkiri share a 130 km long border. People of ethnic minority groups in the two provinces have close economic, cultural and social relations and regularly hold joint activities to promote their unity, friendship and cooperation.

In the integration and globalisation process, the young people from the two provinces are required to raise local people’s awareness about the law and border regulations as well as the demarcation and landmark planting between the two countries.

The two delegations affirmed the youth’s key role in preventing crimes, social evils and abolishing backward customs to ensure peace for the people.

The young people pledged to actively take part in social activities, contributing to poverty reduction, assistance to underprivileged people, overcoming aftermath of natural calamities and environmental protection.

Youth from the two provinces also held cultural exchange and friendship sports events to strengthen friendship.

VietNamNet/VNA

ASEAN summit cancelled

itnnews

Anti-government protesters force their way inside the ASEAN summit in Thailand.

Cambodian PM returns home after ASEAN summits cancelled in Thailand

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sengreets before his departure back home at U-Tapao military airport, Saturday, April 11, 2009. Anti-government protesters stormed a building where leaders of Asian nations were to meet Saturday, prompting Thailand's government to cancel the summit and declare a state of emergency in the seaside city that was to host it.(AP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul, Pool)

www.chinaview.cn

2009-04-11

PHNOM PENH, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived home from Thailand Saturday afternoon, after the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summits in Pattaya were cancelled due to security reasons.

"The delegations could not enter the meeting place, and we delayed the meetings time after time. The time for the meetings was soon over and finally we decided to return home," Sry Thamrong, adviser for Hun Sen, told reporters at the airport.

"The protesters controlled the meeting place," he said.

It has been scheduled that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will visit Cambodia on April 18, but the plan might change because it depends on the internal situation of Thailand, he added.

While in Thailand on Friday, Abhisit Vejjajiva met with Hun Sen and handed over a piece of ancient Khmer artifact to him as a symbol of the bilateral friendship.

When Abhisit Vejjajiva visits Cambodia, at least 7 out of 24 pieces of ancient Khmer artifacts will be returned to Cambodia, according to Sry Thamrong.

These Khmer artifacts were stolen and trafficked out of Cambodia, but finally arrested by the Thai authorities.

Tha Cambodian delegation left for Thailand on Friday. Hun Sen was originally scheduled to meet with Chinese premier, UN secretary general, Malaysian prime minister and Australian premier over issues of bilateral cooperation.

According to an official press release, the Cambodian delegation for the ASEAN summits included Prime Minister Hun Sen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam Hong, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh and other governmental officials.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

Protesters force Thailand to cancel Asia summit

A military helicopter takes off from the venue of the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009. With protesters still roaming around the sprawling summit venue, about half of the leaders were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase.REUTERS/Vivek Prakash (THAILAND TRANSPORT CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY)

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong walks as he departs from U-Tapao military airport in Sattahip April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through a cordon of troops and swarmed into the meeting's venue. About half of the Asian leaders attending the summit were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase.REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool (THAILAND POLITICS BUSINESS)

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo walks before departing from U-Tapao military airport in Sattahip April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through a cordon of troops and swarmed into the meeting's venue. About half of the Asian leaders attending the summit were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase.REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool (THAILAND POLITICS BUSINESS)

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) walks before departing from U-Tapao military airport in Sattahip April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through a cordon of troops and swarmed into the meeting's venue. About half of the Asian leaders attending the summit were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase. REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool (THAILAND POLITICS)

South Korea President Lee Myung-Bak, left, talks with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva prior to Lee's departure at U-Tapao military airport, Saturday, April 11, 2009. Anti-government protesters stormed a building where leaders of Asian nations were to meet Saturday, prompting Thailand's government to cancel the summit and declare a state of emergency in the seaside city that was to host it.(AP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul, Pool)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, center, walks to a plane for departure at U-Tapao military airport, Saturday, April 11, 2009. Anti-government protesters stormed a building where leaders of Asian nations were to meet Saturday, prompting Thailand's government to cancel the summit and declare a state of emergency in the seaside city that was to host it.(AP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul, Pool)

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen gives a traditional greetings as he depart from U-Tapao military airport in Sattahip on April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through a cordon of troops and swarmed into the meeting's venue. About half of the Asian leaders attending the summit were evacuated by helicopter to a nearby military airbase.REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool (THAILAND POLITICS)

A man is carried away after he was injured when supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the ASEAN summit. Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters have smashed their way into a major Asian summit, forcing the country's embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting and evacuate foreign leaders by helicopter.(AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

Anti-government protesters and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra react to the speech of Thaksin who addresses the crowd via telephone from an undisclose location during a protest outside the government house in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, April 11, 2009. Anti-government protesters stormed a convention center where leaders of Asian nations were to meet Saturday, smashing doors and searching room by room for the prime minister. Thailand's government canceled the summit and airlifted the leaders by helicopter from the seaside city. The red-shirted protesters, who are calling for the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared victory and walked away from the complex after about an hour.(AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A helicopter takes off from a roof of the hotel hosting the ASEAN summit after protestors stormed the venue in Pattaya. Thai protesters smashed their way into a major Asian summit Saturday, forcing the country's embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting and evacuate foreign leaders by helicopter.(AFP/Christophe Archambault)

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra force their way past soldiers through a shattered glass door at one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Miami Herald Media

By AMBIKA AHUJA
Associated Press Writer

PATTAYA, Thailand -- Thailand evacuated Asian leaders by helicopter after hundreds of anti-government protesters stormed into their summit site, forcing the country's embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting.

The latest fiasco in Thailand's political crisis increased the threat of violence and a possible military crackdown.

More than 1,000 demonstrators broke through a wall of unarmed soldiers, smashed through the convention center's glass doors and ran through the building, blowing horns, waving Thai flags and shouting demands for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign.

They declared victory after Abhisit was forced to cancel the 16-country summit, where leaders of regional powers China, Japan and India, and the U.N. secretary-general and president of the World Bank, planned to discuss the global financial crisis.

Abhisit later denounced the protesters on national television as the "enemies of Thailand."

The country's political tension has simmered since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed by a military coup in 2006. Thaksin opponents marched last year to remove Thaksin's allies from power, even shutting down the country's main international airport for about a week in November. After a court ordered the removal of the previous government, Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December - sparking Thaksin supporters to take to the streets.

Their numbers grew to 100,000 in the capital, Bangkok, last week, and some in Pattaya smashed the window of a vehicle carrying the prime minister, who was unharmed.

Seizing the international spotlight of the East Asia Summit this weekend, protesters converged on the seaside city of Pattaya to push for Abhisit's resignation - seeking to embarrass him in front of other Asian leaders.

"We have won. We have stopped them from holding a summit," Jakrapob Penkair, a protest leader, said in Bangkok. "But we have not achieved our goal yet. We will continue to protest in Bangkok until Abhisit resigns."

Abhisit imposed a state of emergency after the summit was overrun, but revoked it six hours later after regional leaders were safely airlifted to a nearby military airport.

The ongoing protests could prompt the military to intervene - a high possibility in a country that has experienced 18 military coups since the 1930s.

"The situation has gotten completely out of hand. Violence and bloodshed is very much possible" if Abhisit does not resign or dissolve Parliament, said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian and former rector of Bangkok's Thammasat University. "If the government cannot control the situation, military intervention is not out of the question."

The incident raises questions about the government's ability to enforce law and order. Despite the presence of hundreds of soldiers in riot gear, the protesters met little resistance as they approached the summit venue. Government supporters believe elements within the police are sympathetic to the protesters, partly because Thaksin was himself an officer.

"Deep down, some government and military leaders also suspect some police have sympathy for Thaksin," said Thitinan Pongsidhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"No one seems to be in charge within the establishment, the government and the military," Charnvit said.

Tens of thousands of the Thaksin supporters continue to ring Government House, the prime minister's office. They say Abhsit took power illegitimately and want fresh elections. They also accuse the country's elite - the military, judiciary and other unelected officials - of undermining democracy by interfering in politics.

The anti-government protests have already spread to rural provinces, where Thaksin remains popular due to his social welfare policies such as cheap health care.

"Right now, there are two possibilities - either a crackdown on the protesters or Abhisit dissolves Parliament," said Charnvit. "The situation has been pushed forward to a dead end."

A tense-looking Abhisit, speaking on national television, promised to restore the country to "peace and stability" as soon as possible.

"That would be my only goal," he said.