Hundreds of anti-government protesters converged on the venue of an Asian summit today, threatening to disrupt the annual meeting unless Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resigns.
Chanting “Abhisit get out”, several hundred red-shirted protesters pushed past riot police lines outside the convention centre, located at the top of a hill in the beachside town 90 miles south-east of Bangkok.
There was no reported violence, but columns of hundreds of soldiers with riot gear were seen marching toward the site.
The weekend summit brings together leaders from 16 countries including the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The main focus of the summit will be tackling the global financial crisis, although North Korea’s recent rocket launch was also likely to come up.
Deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban sought to assure visiting heads of state that they will be safe from the protesters.
“Nothing untoward will happen to the leaders. We will make sure of that,” Mr Suthep said. “We have to make sure the meeting can go on.”
Demonstrators massed outside the meeting hall, letting vehicles with delegates pass, but said they would change their strategy and block entrances if Abhisit rejected their demands to step down.
The protesters are supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a 2006 coup. Most come from the rural poor majority that benefited from Thaksin’s populist policies.
Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December after a court dissolved a government led by Thaksin’s allies. The protesters say Abhisit took office illegitimately and should step down so elections can be held.
“We will block the hotel and enter if he doesn’t resign,” said Chukiat Doungehana, a 61-year-old off duty policeman.
Mr Suthep said he was sending the national police chief to negotiate with protest leaders to clear access to the venue.
“If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to decide what to do next,” he said.
Prapas Thepchatree, director of ASEAN studies at Thammasat University said: “If they manage to derail the summit, it will certainly be damaging to the status of the government in the eye of the international community.”
The government has said it will allow peaceful protests and police showed no sign of breaking up the gathering, as protesters reclined under trees at a golf course outside the convention hall and trampled across its tropical gardens.
Mr Abhisit arrived at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Centre by helicopter. Other leaders were scheduled to arrive later today or tomorrow.
Yesterday the demonstrators, whose numbers have swelled to 100,000 in recent days, brought areas of capital Bangkok to a standstill.
Protesters say Mr Thaksin was wrongfully ousted in a September 2006 military coup. His allies, however, quickly regained power, setting off months of protests last year by his opponents that culminated in the week-long occupation of Bangkok’s airports.
Wires