October 22 2003

Goodbye APEC and good riddance

When I stopped for a drink on Soi Zero last Friday, one of the girls asked if I had brought my passport with me. She said that the police had come looking for foreigners the previous day. Those who couldn't produce their passports were taken away in handcuffs. Photocopies were not acceptable. The victims of these arbitrary arrests were ordinary western tourists.

I didn't have my passport with me, so I decided to call it a night. On the way home, my taxi was held up at several police check points. Fortunately, I got through unchallenged but the experience was a bit stressful.

The reason for my ordeal was this week's Bangkok APEC summit. Thai authorities have gone overboard with heavy-handed clean-up and security measures. We've seen the homeless detained, migrants deported and demonstrations suppressed. Guest of Honour, President Bush, has been careful to distance himself from the measures.

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Street vendors have been swept away, road closures have caused traffic chaos and thousands of travellers have missed their flights. Most people are staying at home to avoid the hassle. Retail trade has dropped 80% and many businesses are closed. Even the Craig David concert was cancelled. Bangkok looks like a ghost-town.

In one bizarre episode, thousands of ordinary people were booted out of Lumpini Park so that Australian Prime Minister John Howard could jog privately. If he repeated this arrogance in Australia, he would soon be an ex-prime minister.

Thankfully, the misery ends today and it will be 21 years before it returns. Last night, APEC journalists and officials tried to use up the last of their free meal coupons but were stunned to discover that a ban had been slapped on exchanging them for beer. After spending two billion baht on their most honoured guests, this gaff made the Thai organisers look like mean-spirited kill-joys.

Obsessed with handicrafts and temples, the authorities seem to have forgotten that a shortage of beer or girls will kill any party. This applies to tourists as much as it does to APEC delegates. Freedom to walk the streets without fear of arrest would be nice too.

[Posted to Diary by David]

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