PM Abhisit lifts state of emergency in Pattaya

Asian leaders due to attend the ASEAN summit in Pattaya - now postponed indefinitely - were evacuated in helicopters on Saturday after thousands of anti-government protestors stormed the venue. An earlier state of emergency has been lifted.A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand was cancelled on Saturday after anti-government protesters swarmed into the meeting’s venue, renewing doubts about the durability of the government.The events will pile more pressure on an economy teetering on the brink of recession, especially if foreign tourists are put off by the scenes of chaos and emboldened protesters intensify the fight to kick out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.Abhisit imposed a state of emergency for a few hours in Pattaya, a resort about 150 kms (90 miles) south of Bangkok best known for its racy nightlife and as a port of call for U.S. sailors, which was to host the East Asia Summit.He lifted it after the foreign leaders had left the country. About half of them had had to be evacuated by helicopter from the venue to a nearby military airbase.The summit fiasco is a huge embarrassment for Abhisit’s government, which came to power in December through parliamentary defections that the opposition says were engineered by the army.The weekend’s events will also raise questions about how enduring his government can be.Four prime ministers over the past 15 months have failed to resolve Thailand’s deep political rift between the royalist, military and business elite on the one hand, and a rural majority loyal to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on the other.Asked by Reuters after his statement about lifting the emergency, if he planned to resign, Abhisit said: “We have to restore law and order.”