Cha-am
Published on March 2, 2009
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that one major success of the 14th Asean Summit was the unprecedented meeting on Saturday between the grouping's leaders and representatives from civil society.
He said the meeting might not have been completely satisfactory for both sides but it was a good beginning. And more things could be done for further openness in Asean.
"The reports of some friction indicate that we actually arranged the meeting," the PM said.
"We could organise one that looked really good, but we didn't do it. We respect the honour of all sides."
He was referring to the controversy over the ban on two civil-society representatives from Burma and Cambodia from Saturday's meeting by the prime ministers of their countries.
The premier saw the issue as a "common challenge" for Asean leaders and activists from the civil society.
"Instead of quarrelling, we should start walking together," he said. "Although we still see things differently and still are unable to solve all the problems, at least it's better than concealing them."
Abhisit, who acted as chairman of the summit, and nine other government leaders met the civil-society representatives at the summit venue. He said that the arrangement - in addition to similar meetings with youths, parliamentarians and businesspeople - was part of an effort to turn Asean into a people-centred organisation.
The prime minister was speaking in his post-summit talk to the Thai public before a large group of mostly Thai reporters. The 30-minute talk was recorded for broadcast. Panitan Watanayagorn, the deputy secretary-general to the PM and caretaker government spokesman, posed questions for Abhisit to answer.
On what Thailand had gained from the summit, Abhisit said he believed the global community's confidence in Thailand was restored, and there could be more tourists coming to Thailand and the hosting districts - Phetchaburi's Cha-am and Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin.
He said the summit provided him a chance to meet all the Asean leaders in one place. Since becoming prime minister a little over two months ago, Abhisit has made trips to Laos and Indonesia to introduce himself to the leaders of the two countries.
"Over the past few days, I could meet all the leaders," he said.
The prime minister thanked all the people responsible for organising the summit. He said it was hard work and involved several complex and difficult steps. He also thanked the residents of the hosting districts for their patience despite the difficulties during the summit period, such as frequent traffic blockade for the motorcades of VIPs.
Source: The Nation
