Anti-Govt Protest Swarms ASEAN Summit -All Asian Leaders Evacuated By Helicopter

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Run time: 03:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbGD5RktERE   Posted on YouTube: April 11, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 11, 2009 By DU Member: tomm2thumbs Views on DU: 453

 
(pre-sorry about the audio - but here's info)

Thailand's Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency in two provinces after protestors stormed an ASEAN summit in the country.

Earlier, the Thai government postponed a summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) More.. and China due to security concerns. Helicopters have begun evacuating foreign leaders from the roof of their hotel in the seaside city of Pattaya to a nearby military airport, a security official said on condition of anonymity. In this extremely serious situation, the government has decided to impose a state of emergency in Pattaya and Chonburi to deal with the situation, Abhisit said.

Meanwhile, government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told local television, "As soon as the situation is under control the state of emergency will be lifted. The state of emergency bans public gatherings of more than five people and gives the military and police the right to restore order including by detaining suspects for between seven and 30 days without charge.

Some 1,000 of protesters calling for the resignation of the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva smashed earlier through the glass doors of the convention hall and ran through the building where the summit was to be hold. The current protests follow mass rallies in Bangkok Wednesday. The protesters insist that Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power undemocratically by toppling the allies of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Ten ASEAN members along with other Asian states including China, South Korea and Japan had gathered in Thailand for a summit on economic crisis and North Korea's recent rocket launch.