Thursday, October 22, 2009

Police turn out in force for ASEAN conference

Amsterdam News.Net
Thursday 22nd October, 2009

A huge security operation is in place in Thailand, with more than 36,000 military and police officers standing by on the sidelines of a summit of Asian leaders.
The police are in Cha-am, a beach resort 200 kilometres south of Bangkok, to prevent anti-government demonstrators from overrunning the meeting.
Thailand’s government is still being cautious after the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the seaside city of Pattaya, where protesters charged through thin police ranks, forcing several leaders to flee the area.
Leaders of 16 Asian and Pacific nations, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will gather on Friday for the annual conference of the Association of South East Asian Nations which gathers together the 10-member ASEAN leaders and those of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The ASEAN group includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
This year it will unveil a human rights body for Southeast Asia, sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, disaster management, bio-energy and economic integration.

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