Thai deputy PM: No protests allowed at Asia meet

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said no political protests will be allowed at the ASEAN Regional Forum to be held July 17-23 in the southern resort island of Phuket.

An Asian summit at the seaside resort of Pattaya in April was shut down when protesters seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva government overran the hotel where the meeting was taking place. Regional leaders and delegates fled the venue by helicopter and speedboats.

On Friday, the Internal Security Act took effect, allowing security forces to impose curfews and restrict freedom of movement in situations deemed harmful to national security. The law puts the prime minister and the army chief in charge of security in Phuket and the surrounding area.

The act, approved by the Cabinet last month, will expire in two weeks.

"We will not allow any political protest, peaceful or otherwise," said Suthep, who oversees security affairs. "We have experienced chaos at the summit in April and we haven't recovered from that."

The Pattaya incident caused deep embarrassment for Thai authorities who had already postponed the summit from December when thousands of anti-government protesters blockaded Bangkok's two main airports for eight days.

Foreign ministers and senior officials will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue partners from across the Asia- Pacific, Europe and the United States.