New Year Revolution?

Thailand has been proud of being the site for the Asean summit meeting, under the leadership of seasoned diplomat Surin Pitsuwan, well in advance of the event. Pattaya, the beachtown formerly known as Sleaze City was regaining some luster as the chosen venue, along with some desperately needed revenue--and then this weekend all of this was cancelled because of a crowd of people with dynamite (well, "giant firecrackers" the Nation reported), Molotov cocktails, and slingshots with bolts.

The Australian Prime Minister was airborne when the cancellation took effect, so he will arrive to find he embarked upon a trip that wasted both time and money. The businesses in Pattaya that prepared for a barrage of statesmen and journalists and TV cameramen will have to eat their loss--probably by stepping up the sleaze factor because that brings in necessary revenue. This is a sad way to end the old year.

I cringe when I think of what I posted here yesterday--true, there were no deaths. But thugs with slingshots and Molotov cocktails--maybe my cultural bias is showing but to me this is not a symptom of democracy in any form, in any culture.