Yudhoyono returns from Thailand after ASEAN summit`s cancellation

            Anti-Thai government protesters at the venue of a regional summit had resulted in the cancellation of the Asian Summit to be attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Visiting Asian and ASEAN leaders got a taste of Thailand`s political turmoil when thousands of anti-government protesters swarmed over the venue of the summit, threatening to distrupt it unless Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjva resigned.

This unfavorable political situation in the neighboring country prompted Yudhoyono to decide to return home on Saturday afternoon after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajive had cancelled the meeting. Minister/State Secretary Hatta Rajasa said President Yudhoyono was expected to arrive back in Jakarta at 6.15 pm after the Thai prime minister announced the cancellation of the meeting on security concerns following the demonstration near the venue of the meeting.The demonstrators gathered outside the summit site and threatened to break into the convention hall at one point. They retreated Friday evening but said they would likely return Saturday morning.

Street demonstrations to remove Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva from office have grown in recent days in Bangkok, swelling to 100,000 earlier this week. With this weekend`s East Asia Summit being held in the beach resort town of Pattaya, about 2,000 protesters came loaded in buses and trucks to the convention hall to air their complaints. The all-day standoff is the latest episode in Thailand`s long-running political crisis and comes less than five months after Bangkok`s airports were shut for a week by a rival group of protesters.

"This government is illegitimate," Arisman Pongreungrong, a protest leader, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "We will return tomorrow if our demands are not met."The protesters are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a 2006 military coup and has fled into exile. Most come from the rural poor majority that benefited from Thaksin`s populist policies.

Abhisit, who has repeatedly refused to step down, said the summit would continue as planned. But what has happened after that was only the cancellation of the event. After the protesters withdrew, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said all delegates were "breathing a deep sigh of relief," allowing the countries to focus on the "very, very pressing problems before them."

Abhisit was appointed by Parliament in December after a court dissolved a government led by Thaksin`s allies for election fraud. The protesters say Abhisit took office illegitimately and should step down so new elections can be held According to ANTARA journalist who was among President Yudhoyono`s entourage, Yudhoyono was unable to continue his journey to the meeting, after arriving at U Tapao military airbase at around 11.10 am on Saturday.

In response to the cancellation, Yudhoyono said member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were ready to help Thailand.  "Certainly in the near future the Thai prime minister would invite leaders of the other Asean member countries for talks and we would tell what the Asean secretariate general could do to help," he told newsmen at the U Tapao airbase before returning home on Saturday afternoon.

According to him, Indonesia and other Asean member countries would not take steps that would make the Thai government misunderstand because cooperation among Asean member countries were based on mutual respect. ?Asean indeed needs to talk to seek a solution jointly based on mutual respect." President Yudhoyono was earlier scheduled to be in Pattaya, Thailand, from Saturday through Monday. His entourage had arrived at the airbase in Rayong which was an hour drive to Pattaya.

Among his entourage were the Coordinating Minister for the People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman M Lutfi, and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman MS Hidayat.  Finance Minister and Acting Coordinating Minister for Economy Sri Mulyani had already arrived in Thailand.

As a matter of fact, Yudhoyono was scheduled to meet bilaterally with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd The ASEAN summit, which began Friday morning with a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member organization, gets into full swing Saturday when ASEAN leaders meet with counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea.

The meetings conclude Sunday with the full-fledged East Asia Summit, which also includes India, Australia and New Zealand for a total of 16 nations. The primary focus of the meeting is coping with the global slowdown, although North Korea`s recent rocket launch is likely to come up.

The president and entourage stayed for an hour at the airport waiting for the Thai decision before it finally proceeded to Kantary Bay in Rayong which was a resort for lunch. After communicating with foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda, President Yudhoyono and entourage finally decided to return home at 4pm. His entourage included several ministers of his cabinet. President Yudhoyono arrived at Halim Perdanakusumah here at 7pm.