Thailand in Emergency

Thailand on Saturday cancelled a summit of Asian leaders for security reasons after more than 1,000 anti-government protesters stormed the meeting venue in Pattaya.

The red-shirted protesters, who were demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Abhisit Vejjajiva, smashed through the glass doors of the convention hall in Pattaya and ran through the building, overturning tables, blowing horns and waving Thai flags.

Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the city and the area surrounding it on Saturday.

"In this case I have used my authority to announce an extreme state of emergency in Pattaya and Chon Buri province," he said.

The state of emergency decree gives the military the right to restore order, allows authorities to suspend civil liberties, bans public gatherings of more than five people and bars the media from reporting news that "causes panic."

Abhisit said the ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, summit meeting had been "postponed".

"I have met with other ASEAN leaders and have told them my decision and they all understood the situation," Abhisit said on local television.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said all the ASEAN leaders were safe.

Meanwhile in Bangkok around a hundred protestors went to the Prime Minister's house, the latest in a series of targets in the capital.

Most of the protesters however remained in Pattaya.

Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December after a court dissolved a government led by Thaksin's allies for election fraud.

The protesters say Abhisit took office illegitimately and should step down so new elections can be held.

The summit, which began Friday morning with a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was supposed to swing into action on Saturday when ASEAN leaders were set to meet with counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea.

The meetings was scheduled to conclude on Sunday with the full-fledged East Asia Summit, which also includes India, Australia and New Zealand for a total of 16 nations.

(News Source: APTN, Pic Source: Ben)