APA

APA is here in town. the first delegates arrived on the 24th and my delegates (Thai) arrived on the 25th. it wasn’t much of a trouble, actually, for the embassy already covered most of the task. they picked-up the delegate, went for lunch at the ambassador’s residence, and returned them in the evening to the Sultan. i was stuck at the airport and accompanied Syrian delegate to the Sultan. he can’t speak English, only Arabic, and therefore i contacted Mas Budi, and they had a short conversation over the phone. my Thai delegate arrived shortly after i reached the Sultan. the next morning (26), they left for Bandung. and than we heard the bad news. demonstrators were in full control of Suwarnabhumi airport, leaving at least 3000 passengers stranded. and among those passengers, there were Laos and Pakistan’s delegates. they were unable to continue their journeys. during welcome reception (at the same time there was a concert of Indonesian female singer) hosted by Pak Abdillah, the secretary to the delegate told me that they have decided to go home early. the situation will cost the members their position at the House, and they need to be home as soon as possible. i reminded him about the programme for the following days, and they can only stay until the day after tomorrow. we had fun at the Opening Ceremony and tree-planting programme. but Thai head of delegates did not seat at his designated chair because it was "occupied" by the delegation of Iran. Iran came with 40 delegates including security personnel's and three secretaries whom, according to Sani, were busy with protocols. the most populated country in the world takes the seats, and it has become our joke during the programme. Thai delegates leave today, through KL, and i hope the operation of the airport will resume at no time, and the situation soon resolve.