Needless to say, if a huge crowd of protesters were to turn up on Siam Paragon's doorstep, shoppers would surely be discouraged from entering the mall.

Another concern is how the mall will maintain law and order. Just think about the number of people who would need use bathrooms - another headache for would-be shoppers.

Some people take a positive slant and think this is a good opportunity for the complex to catch international attention, given that the protest will be televised globally.

We don't know what Siam Paragon's executives are thinking. Yesterday, they refrained from issuing a statement after the meeting. Indeed, it is terribly hard to say anything which would not hurt the protesters or the other side, at a time when society is so bitterly divided.

A spoonful of …

Exactly a year ago President Fidel Castro declared that Cuba's 300-year history as a sugar-growing island had come to an end.

"This country will never again live off sugar," were the words Castro used last March to wake his countrymen up to the new reality.

"This culture belongs to the time of slavery and to the time of a nation of semi-literates."

Cuba's economic future lay in the service sector and in high-value produce, primarily oil, Castro said.

But the greying revolutionary leader has been forced to realise that he spoke too soon. With world sugar prices on the rise, Cuba wants to start re-cultivating its cane fields, and quickly.

There is another reason. The lack of sugar has also hit rum production.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro declared that sugar production doubled last week from 7,000 tonnes to 14,000.

Obviously, Castro has changed his mind. He should not be blamed. Leaders around the world should be given the right to take back any policy that is not good for the citizens, no matter how much they would suffer from losing respect.

It is better than proceeding with money-losing policies just to save face.

achara_d@nationgroup.com