19 luxury Bangkok hotels housing Apec leaders to be off-limits
Apart from the Apec Summit venue, 19 Bangkok hotels where attending leaders and their entourages are staying will be kept off-limits to protesters from Monday to Saturday.
The directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, issued on Tuesday and published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, went into effect on Saturday.
Citing the Public Assembly Act, the directive prohibits all public demonstrations at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC), where leaders from 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation will convene on November 18-19. Related meetings kick off on Monday.
The order also marks 19 luxury hotels where the leaders and their entourages will be staying next week as off-limits.
The hotels are Grand Hyatt Erawan, Anantara Siam, Park Hyatt Bangkok, Rosewood Bangkok, The Okura Prestige, The Athenee, Conrad Bangkok, Kimpton Maa-Lai, Sindhorn Kempinski, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Siam Kempinski, SO/ Bangkok, Waldorf Astoria, St Regis Bangkok, Marriott Marquis Queen's Park, the Sukhothai, Banyan Tree, Mandarin Oriental and Shangri-La.
The Public Assembly Act empowers any government minister to designate places where “no public assembly shall obstruct their gateway, impede the performance of their duties, or hinder access to their service”.
These locations are in addition to ones clearly specified in the legislation’s Article 8, namely state agency offices; airport, wharf, rail station or any other public transport station; hospital, education institution and religious establishment; and embassy, consulate or international organisation office.
