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[Emperor's Clothes]
Soros caves in to protesters, cancels trip to
Thailand
Agence France Presse, January 29, 2001
International financier George Soros Monday cancelled a
planned trip to Thailand after nationalist groups angry over his
role in the Asian financial crisis threatened to target him with
protests.
"He saw some of the controversy that erupted over his visit
and said he didn't want to be part of the problem," said a
spokeswoman for his Open Society organisation in Bangkok.
"I think it dismayed him to see the intensity of feeling
against what was actually a private visit."
An alliance of 12 protest groups had vowed to stage
demonstrations outside the famous Oriental Hotel where Soros was
to address business leaders and journalists on "The Crisis
of Global Capitalism" Thursday night.
More than 30 protest leaders descended on the event's organisers,
the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) Monday,
calling for the speech to be cancelled "for the benefit of
the country and the Thai people."
They submitted a letter that denounced Soros for "trampling
on Thai dignity" and blamed him for helping launch the 1997
Asian financial crisis by mounting attacks on regional currencies.
"We regard Mr. Soros as a Dracula -- he sucks the blood from
the poor. If speculators like him had some ethics in their minds,
our situation would not be so bad," said Confederacy of
Democracy leader Weng Tojirakarn.
Amid reports that some demonstrators were planning to pelt Soros
with excrement and rotten fruit, Weng said he could not guarantee
that other groups would stick to the plan to hold a peaceful
protest.
"If Soros insists on coming to Thailand I don't know what
will happen. I can guarantee there will be no attacks from our
organisation, but I can't speak for others."
***
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