Mizzima News

Chiang Mai – The 2008 ASEAN Summit, which will include delegates from Burma, is to be held in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai in December.

Previously, the 14th ASEAN summit was scheduled to be held in the capital city of Bangkok, but the location has now been changed to Chiang Mai's Shangri La Hotel from the 15th to 18th of December.

According to an official Thai Foreign Ministry Statement, the venue has been changed to Chiang Mai on account of its better climate.

However, speculation is rife that the venue was changed due to continuing anti-government protests in Bangkok.

"Though there are some protests in Chiang Mai against the government, the numbers of are not as many as in Bangkok and controllable. I think this is why they changed the venue," a Thai security official told Mizzima.

Hotel rooms have been booked for the summit's delegates at the Shangri La Hotel, the venue of summit, he added.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded on the 8th of August 1967, initially comprised of members Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.