Media-friendly Asem 6 labelled 'biggest political event ever held'
Although there are no banners lining the streets, the Finnish government has showered the 639 media representatives at the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) summit with VIP treatment.
With reporters from Asia and Europe coming from various time zones and facing different deadlines, the media centre inside the Helsinki Fair Centre is open 24 hours. There is a lounge area where reporters can lie down on "fat boy" big pillows. Beverages and snacks are served round the clock. Asem 6, attended by 38 world leaders, is the biggest political event ever held in Finland. The meeting itself is news, even though the summit has never produced earth-shaking results. Launched in Thailand in 1996 when Asian economic growth was the source of envy to many, the Asem buzz subsided after the 1997financial crisis. Later, the agenda for the talks was dictated by immediate events, such as terrorism. This year, the Finnish government, whose European Union presidency began in July, hoped Asem would be rejuvenated through an Internet-based "virtual secretariat" that would help give the forum a status similar to that of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Finland began preparing for this summit a year ago. Visa Noronen, head of media arrangements, said ¤10 million (Bt476 million) had been earmarked for the event, with actual spending expected to be higher. To accommodate this biggest-ever gathering of Asem leaders, the government had to enlarge the Helsinki Fair Centre, which was constructed when Finland assumed the EU presidency in 1999. The hall covers 70,000 square metres, of which 10,000 square metres accommodate the media centre. The centre will be the venue for the EU summit later this year. More than 5,000 staff are assisting guests in the building, with regular and mounted police and security guards ensuring maximum security around Helsinki. A team of 100 interpreters is help-ing Asem leaders communicate with each other, even though when the leaders come to the press briefing rooms, most tend to speak in their own language with no translation, unless they are asked by foreign reporters to repeat what they said in English. There were demonstrations against the Chinese government in the city centre, but the rallies were peaceful, although sometimes they interrupted the bus and tram schedules. Tolerant Finnish officials said demonstrations in their country were legal and that they added a human face to the summit.
Jeerawat Na Thalang The Nation Helsinki
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