Prayut cheered by supporters and jeered by protesters in Milan Skip to main content

Prayut cheered by supporters and jeered by protesters in Milan

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was cheered by supporters and jeered by anti-coup protestors in Milan where he met with world leaders at the Asia-Europe Meeting.
A group of Thais with a national flag and posters were waiting for Gen Prayut when he arrived at the Starhotels Rosa Grand Wednesday, Thai News Agency reported from Milan on Thursday. They gave him flowers as his entourage arrived at the hotel.
People demonstrate against Gen Chan-o-cha on the first day of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting on Thursday in Milan. The prime minister is due in Milan for the summit of European and Asian leaders to the fury of democracy activists, who have urged the European Union to increase its pressure on the regime. (AFP photo)
Gen Prayut said he was impressed with the greeting following reports about a planned rally against him during the Asem summit, TNA added.
The rally by Thais and Italians still took place Thursday in Milan, with demonstrators urging the European Union to increase pressure on the Thai government to restore democracy. They also demanded justice for Fabio Polenghi, an Italian photographer killed during the crackdown on red-shirt protesters on May 19, 2010.
A group of Thais shows support for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in front of the Starhotels Rosa Grand in Milan on Wednesday after he arrived for the Asia-Europe Meeting.
"There is no sign that Prayut has any intention of allowingThailand to return to the democratic process," exiled academic and activist Junya Yimprasert said on Wednesday. "The EU should not have given him a visa to travel here and they should not be engaging with him. They should be telling him to restore democracy in Thailand immediately."
The EU has been sharply critical of the military's latest intervention in politics. The bloc suspended official visits to and from Thailand after the May coup and put a proposed new cooperation agreement with the Southeast Asian state on ice.
Despite the sanctions, EU governments agreed last month that there would be little point in preventing Gen Prayut from attending the Asem summit.
Gen Prayut on Wednesday stressed unity of officials and the private sector in talks with Thai ambassadors based in European countries and the private sector shortly after arriving in Milan.
He carried the messages to ensure Thai cooperation with the international community in the post-coup era and a pledge to restore democracy in Thailand to the summit, which was his first international meeting since taking office in August.
He was scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Cambodian leader Hun Sen and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ahead of the summit.
Gen Prayut and the Japanese prime minister agreed to develop bilateral relations in the political and economic fields, Kyodo News reported.
The two leaders met for the first time since Gen Prayut was named prime minister.
Gen Prayut on Wednesday urged the media not to press him on the date of new elections and indicated that reforms would be undertaken beyond the one-year timeline as it was earlier planned.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/437925/prayut-met-by-supporters-and-riled-by-protesters
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Post a Comment
Read more

ARSA claims ambush on Myanmar security forces

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Sunday claimed responsibility for an ambush on Myanmar security forces that left several wounded in northern Rakhine state, the first attack in weeks in a region gutted by violence. Rakhine was plunged into turmoil last August, when a series of ARSA raids prompted a military backlash so brutal the UN says it likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority. The army campaign sent some 650,000 Rohingya fleeing for Bangladesh, where refugees have given harrowing accounts of rape, murder and arson at the hands of security forces and vigilantes. Myanmar's military, which tightly controls information about Rakhine, denies any abuses and insists the crackdown was a proportionate response to crush the "terrorist" threat. ARSA have launched few attacks in recent months.  But the army reported that "about ten" Rohingya terrorists ambushed a car with hand-made mines and gunfire on Friday morning
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
1 comment
Read more