PATTAYA - MONTHS of preparation lay in ruins as foreign leaders here were hurriedly evacuated in the face of rampaging mobs of protesters. hurriedly evacuated in the face of rampaging mobs of protesters.
It was an embarrassing moment for Asean as crucial meetings between its leaders and key regional partners on the global economic crisis were abandoned.
The signing of an investment agreement with China on Saturday was scuttled, as were discussions on a regional currency swap fund to help Asian economies.
An Indonesian trade official, a veteran of five previous summits, told The Sunday Times the manner of its disruption was 'humiliating for Asean as a whole and Thailand as a host', especially when the eyes of the world were trained on it.
Asking not to be named, the official said the Thais 'need to learn the difference between democracy and demo-crazy. They should learn what is appropriate behaviour in a democracy and what happened today is not it'.
This is believed to be the first time that the annual Asean-led summits have been disrupted due to protests, in this case by nearly 2,000 red shirts - opponents of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
Mr Rodolfo Severino, a former Asean secretary-general and head of the Asean Studies Centre in Singapore, said it was a missed opportunity for Asean to come up with initiatives in response to the worsening economic crisis. But he laid the blame squarely on Bangkok.
'Asean doesn't have anything to do with the cancellation. The problem is that Thailand was assuring everyone that things would be all right,' he told The Sunday Times over the phone.
At a hastily called press conference around noon, a visibly rattled Thai government spokesman still held out hope of the summit continuing. 'It is a very difficult situation to operate in, to let the demonstrators have freedom of expression while also applying international security procedures for meetings like this,' he said.
But it was all over after the red shirts literally smashed their way into the convention centre.
This led to the cancellation of almost all the meetings, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's meeting with Asean leaders. It was to have been held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, where the Asean leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were staying.
It was an embarrassing moment for Asean as crucial meetings between its leaders and key regional partners on the global economic crisis were abandoned.
The signing of an investment agreement with China on Saturday was scuttled, as were discussions on a regional currency swap fund to help Asian economies.
An Indonesian trade official, a veteran of five previous summits, told The Sunday Times the manner of its disruption was 'humiliating for Asean as a whole and Thailand as a host', especially when the eyes of the world were trained on it.
Asking not to be named, the official said the Thais 'need to learn the difference between democracy and demo-crazy. They should learn what is appropriate behaviour in a democracy and what happened today is not it'.
This is believed to be the first time that the annual Asean-led summits have been disrupted due to protests, in this case by nearly 2,000 red shirts - opponents of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
Mr Rodolfo Severino, a former Asean secretary-general and head of the Asean Studies Centre in Singapore, said it was a missed opportunity for Asean to come up with initiatives in response to the worsening economic crisis. But he laid the blame squarely on Bangkok.
'Asean doesn't have anything to do with the cancellation. The problem is that Thailand was assuring everyone that things would be all right,' he told The Sunday Times over the phone.
At a hastily called press conference around noon, a visibly rattled Thai government spokesman still held out hope of the summit continuing. 'It is a very difficult situation to operate in, to let the demonstrators have freedom of expression while also applying international security procedures for meetings like this,' he said.
But it was all over after the red shirts literally smashed their way into the convention centre.
This led to the cancellation of almost all the meetings, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's meeting with Asean leaders. It was to have been held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, where the Asean leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were staying.
