Thai tensions overshadow summit Source

Leaders join hands for a group photo during the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit Retreat Session in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Friday. From left to right: Laos Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan of Thailand. (AP)

Apr 9, 2010
By BEN STOCKING AP

HANOI, Vietnam: Unrest in Thailand intruded for the second straight year on a summit of Southeast Asian leaders as the Thai prime minister was forced to abandon his trip at the last minute Thursday amid fears of violence.

One day after declaring a national state of emergency, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced he would skip the 16th annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vietnam to deal with thousands of “Red Shirt” anti-government protesters who have paralyzed parts of the Thai capital.

The tensions seized the attention of ASEAN leaders, who pride themselves on keeping one another's political affairs out of the limelight.

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