ASEAN summit begins under Thaksin shadow

The ASEAN summit, currently underway in Hua Hin has already been mired in some controversy, with Cambodia’s Prime Minsiter, Hun Sen, expressing his support for the deposed PM of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Cambodian leader compared Thaksin, who was ousted from power in a 2006 military coup, to Burma’s Aaun Saan Suu Kyi–the Nobel Peace Laureate who currently lives under house arrest in Burma.

Thaksin Shinawatra faces conviction for various charges filed after his departure as Thailand’s Prime Minister, and is currently living abroad in self-imposed exile.

Thailand’s Prime Minsiter, Abhisit Vejajiva reacted strongly to the Cambodian Prime Minister’s remarks, saying his comments had nothing to do with the actual purpose of the leader’s visit to Thailand. PM Abhisit Vejajiva added that the ASEAN had no time to devote attention to anyone bent on jeopardising Asean unity, and that he hoped PM Hun Sen would receive the right information and change his mind on the matter. The Thai Prime Minister said Thaksin’s case could not be compared with that of Aaun San Suu Kyi.

Last year in November, hundreds of “yellow-shirt” protestors caused havoc at Suvarnabhumi when they took over the airport in a bid to topple the then-in-power government, which was seen as being loyal to Thaksin.

Airport services were suspended, and thousands of travellers were stranded in Bangkok, unable to take flights to their destinations. Many stranded tourists took buses or vans to other Thai cities like Phuket and Chiang Mai, to catch hastily arranged flight services out of the country. Travellers hoping to fly into Bangkok also faced considerable inconvenience.

The airport shut-down is thought to have had a crippling effect on Thai tourism, which had already been suffering due to the global recession.