THAI PROTESTS CANCEL ASIAN SUMMIT!

A summit of Asian leaders in Thailand has been postponed after anti-government protesters broke into the venue in the resort of Pattaya.

The government has announced a state of emergency in Pattaya where leaders of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) had been due to meet.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government's priority was now to ensure leaders got home safely.

Thailand has been in turmoil, with the opposition demanding fresh elections.

As the summit was due to get under way in Pattaya, thousands of red-shirted supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra smashed into the media centre adjacent to the conference hall.

See a map of the summit venue

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says Thais have spent months organising the summit, but security around the venue collapsed in a matter of hours as thousands pushed their way through the police cordon.

A government spokesman said the situation was "too violent" for the meeting to take place.

Hundreds of blue-shirted government supporters turned up

Mr Abhisit said in a statement broadcast live on TV: "The task for me and the government now is to provide security for the leaders to travel back home safely."

Earlier, he had vowed the Asean summit, called to discuss the global financial crisis, would go ahead.

It was due to get into full swing on Saturday before concluding on Sunday with a summit due to include India, Australia and New Zealand.

Earlier on Saturday, riot police intervened to separate the protesters from hundreds of blue-shirted government supporters.

Some government supporters were armed with sticks and bottles and some of the protesters could be seen wielding sticks and at least one knife.

Deputy Thai government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the government was investigating unconfirmed reports that three people were shot and wounded in the clashes.

"There is an informal report of two or three injured, they are blue shirts," he said.

"We don't know exactly but maybe the bullets came from the red shirts?"

The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea had to cancel a trilateral session because of the disturbances.

Another meeting - between China and Asean - was postponed after demonstrators prevented the leaders from leaving their hotels.

"The Asean-China summit has been postponed because of the attempts to block the arrangement of the leaders," Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters.

The meeting would have been the foreign ministers' first opportunity to discuss last Sunday's launch of a North Korean rocket, widely viewed as a long-range missile test.

The Asean summit has already been postponed and relocated because of Thailand's political turmoil.

Mr Abhisit came to power in December. He formed a coalition after a court ruled the previous government, led by allies of Mr Thaksin, was illegal.

The move came after anti-Thaksin protesters shut down the country's airport for eight days and besieged government offices.

Mr Thaksin's supporters in the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) accuse Mr Abhisit's government of being a puppet of the military.

They say he took office illegitimately and should resign so fresh elections can be held.

LOCATION OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE SUMMIT VENUE

BBC EWS REPORT.