THAILAND: For APEC Summit, Gov’t Wants Bangkok Smelling Like Roses

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 3 2003 (IPS) - When leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies arrive in Bangkok for an economic summit in mid-October, they will be denied a close encounter with daily scenes of life in this country, ranging from democracy to the sex industry.

That is because the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is giving the Thai capital a makeover to leave the city beaming with a clean and orderly face.

This week, Thaksin warned activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) flirting with the idea of staging protests during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum that they better think again.

As Thaksin sees it, this summit, which will include the participation of U.S. President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, is being hosted ”for the good of the nation,” he was quoted by local media as saying.

”No one should attempt to ruin it by creating a public disturbance,” the prime minister said. ”Any protesters will be the last to receive government help.”

These tough words come amidst a simmering test of wills between the city government and leading democracy advocates over plans to celebrate a key date in the country’s struggle for political and civil liberties, Oct. 14.

It was on that day 30 years ago that the then military government of this South-east Asian country brutally suppressed university students following the protest they had launched earlier calling for a constitution that respects democracy.

But this anniversary falls in the midst of the APEC events, which run from Oct. 13 to 23, including the summit of government leaders on Oct. 21-22. What is more, the area considered sacred ground for the champions of democracy is also the setting Thailand wants to display as one of the many beautiful features of its capital, given its ancient temples.

The trail that led to the country’s free-wheeling political activism being hidden from the eyes of APEC delegates comes with precedents – of other features in this city being scrubbed out of the picture that represents life in this teeming metropolis.

The prostitutes in some of Bangkok’s tourist hotspots and the go-go bar girls who entertain the thousands of foreign men in the red light areas have already felt the government’s pinch. Sex workers have been ordered off the streets and bar girls have been warned against dancing topless or performing other sexually explicit routines.

This fit of cleansing has also extended to the world of beggars, the homeless, flower vendors and the stray dogs in this increasingly traffic-choked city. Local officials, like Bangkok Governor Samak Sundaravej, have backed such a makeover of the cityscape with tough words.

”Homeless drifters are a nuisance and should be treated like stray dogs,” he was quoted in the ‘Bangkok Post” shortly after this campaign began a month ago. ”There are no excuses for being a vagabond.”

What will be in the spotlight, in contrast, are elaborate pageants steeped in Thai history. Among the most colourful that government leaders will witness is a procession of 50 royal barges at night along the Chao Phaya River, a body of water that snakes its way through the Thai capital. This event has its antecedents in the 16th century.

In a reminder of contemporary Thailand, the leaders will get the chance of hopping aboard the country’s famous ‘tuk-tuks’ or three-wheel taxis, for a short ride through the city.

Further, the government’s effort to win praise for its hospitality has seen an army of workmen and women relaying pavements, covering potholes. Taxi drivers been encouraged to take short courses in English to aid the crush of visitors expected for the summit.

Brass elephants have also roped into this spectacle. This week, five life-size statues of pachyderms were unveiled along Silom Road, the heart of this city’s financial district.

Such efforts to please visiting eyes stems from the fact that the APEC summit is the biggest international event this country has ever hosted.

During this forum, APEC members are expected to touch on pressing global issues such as terrorism and trade.

Thai foreign ministry officials have hinted to the local media that talks during APEC meeting will seek to revive some of the contentious issues that led to the collapse of the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico in September.

”The meeting will discuss five subthemes, which (include) knowledge-based economy, promotion of human security (and) financial architecture for a world of differences,” Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.

The 21 members of APEC are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

In the countdown to the APEC leaders’ summit, the Thai authorities are on edge with reports about possible terrorist strikes in the city and that the Bangkok airport is vulnerable to a surface-to-air missile attack.

Thai officials have been on the alert for security threats in the wake of events such as the August arrest in Thailand of Riduan Issamuddin or Hambali, who is alleged to be linked to the Bali terrorist blasts last year.

Close to 20,000 Thai troops have been deployed to join police forces at strategic locations in the city.

Already, the calm and inviting entrances to some of this city’s most expensive hotels have given way to martial trappings. Uniformed, armed guards with watchful eyes now come with five-star comfort.