Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

In the leaked phone conversation, Shinawatra called Sen “uncle” and criticised a Thai military commander, sparking public anger and a petition for her dismissal, which the court is now considering.

The Shinawatra ruling coalition is already teetering with a slim majority after a key conservative ally abandoned it two weeks ago.

The Constitutional Court voted 7-2 to suspend her while they consider the case for her dismissal and she has 15 days to present her defence.

In the meantime, the deputy PM will serve as the country’s acting leader.

Shinawatra, however, will remain in the cabinet as culture minister, a new appointment following a cabinet reshuffle that was endorsed hours before she was suspended.

On Tuesday, Shinawatra apologised again, adding that the purpose of her phone call with Hun Sen was “more than 100%… for the country”.

The call was about the border dispute between the two countries – although it’s decades old, tensions have risen again since late May when a Cambodian soldier was killed.

The leaked audio especially angered conservative lawmakers who accused her of appeasing Hun Sen and undermining Thailand’s military.

But she defended herself on Tuesday, saying, “I had no intent to do it for my own interest. I only thought about how to avoid chaos, avoid fighting and to avoid loss of lives.

“If you listened to it carefully, you’d understand that I didn’t have ill intentions. This is what I’ll focus and spend time on explaining thoroughly.”

If she is eventually dismissed, Shinawatra will be the second prime minister from the Pheu Thai party to be removed from premiership since August last year.

At that time, her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed, also by the constitutional court, for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer who was once jailed.

Days later, Shinawatra – whose father is Thailand’s deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra – was sworn in as prime minister.

Tuesday’s decision once again underscores the constitutional court’s power to unmake governments, which critics say can be weaponised to target political opponents.

(BBC)

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Thai PM Paetongtarn suspended following leaked call controversy

Thailands Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has been suspended by the Constitutional Court following a leaked phone conversation with Cambodias Hun Sen.

Thailand’s political landscape is currently embroiled in uncertainty following the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The Constitutional Court’s decision stems from allegations of dishonesty and ethical violations, arising from a leaked phone call with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The conversation revealed criticism of a high-ranking Thai military official, a highly sensitive issue in the country. While Paetongtarn remains culture minister, a deputy prime minister will assume the role of caretaker leader. This suspension comes amidst a crumbling coalition, public protests calling for her resignation, and a looming no-confidence vote.

Paetongtarn maintains the call was a strategic negotiation tactic to alleviate border tensions with Cambodia. Recent events in Thailand, including a political rally led by Paetongtarn, her baby’s birth, an election where she cast her vote, and a building collapse in Bangkok, have all played out against this backdrop of political turmoil. A press conference by Cambodia’s Prime Minister’s spokesperson addressed the leaked conversation.

Another embattled member of the powerful Shinawatra family is facing removal from office. Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin was ousted in a coup, and her aunt Yingluck faced a similar fate. Is history repeating itself?

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s youngest prime minister, was suspended Tuesday while the Constitutional Court considers a petition for her removal.

Her suspension comes after a protest in Bangkok over the weekend called for her ouster following a leaked phone conversation between Paetongtarn and Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, over an escalating border dispute.

Her perceived deference to Hun Sen ignited public anger in Thailand. Paetongtarn was accused of undermining the country’s national interests.

For her opponents, Paetongtarn’s suspension is “their first victory,” according to Puangthong Pawakapan, an associate professor of political science at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

“Paetongtarn has destroyed the legitimacy of her Pheu Thai party [to run the country], especially after her call with Hun Sen,” she told DW.

“The parliament will vote for a new prime minister and Pheu Thai could probably hold out a bit longer, but not long, no more than three months,” she predicted.

The sweeping power of Thailand’s Constitution Court

Paetongtarn now has 15 days to present her defence. In the meantime, Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit will serve as acting leader.

Paetongtarn will remain in the Cabinet as culture minister following a reshuffle.

“She will most likely be dismissed, given how things have gone previously,” Punchada Sirivunnabood, a professor of political science at Thailand’s Mahidol University, told DW.

If Paetongtarn is eventually removed, the 38-year-old would be the second prime minister from Pheu Thai to be dismissed since August last year.

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Her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was removed by the Constitutional Court after less than a year in power on charges of ethics violations.

The same court also disbanded the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the 2023 election. Its leaders were banned from politics for 10 years.

The top court ruled in favor of the Election Commission’s petition that Move Forward had attempted to overthrow the monarchy by pledging to reform the lese majeste law, which shields the Thai royal family from criticism.

Thaksin facing his own legal battles

The Constitutional Court’s suspension of Paetongtarn came on the same day as the start of a trial against her father, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin is charged with insulting the monarchy over an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, in 2015.

The former prime minister, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, was widely seen as the driving force behind Paetongtarn’s government.

He returned to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years in exile. Thaksin’s return was part of a grand reconciliation between Pheu Thai and the conservative establishment — its long-time adversary.

Thaksin, the first elected Thai leader to finish a four-year term, rose to power in 2001 on a wave of populist policies. His appeal, albeit waning, has long challenged the military and royalist establishment.

Is this the end for the Shinawatra clan in Thai politics?

Thaksin-backed parties, the main force in Thai politics for the past two decades, have been repeatedly ousted after court rulings and street protests.

In 2014, Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck, was removed by the Constitution Court for abuse of power just days before her civilian government was ousted in a coup. Yingluck was facing growing protests calling for her resignation.

Thailand’s Pita Limjaroenrat: ‘No intention of treason’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Paetongtarn is now also facing protests. Many in the demonstrations over the weekend are longtime supporters of the conservative, pro-royalist “Yellow Shirt” movement, who opposed Paetongtarn’s father and aunt.

“The power of Thaksin and the Shinawatra family has weakened. There are ups and downs. It will be extremely difficult for the Shinawatra family to hold onto power,” said Punchada.

But the Shinawatras are not expected to relinquish power. Analysts predict that Chaikasem Nitisiri, Pheu Thai’s third and final prime ministerial candidate in the 2023 election, will be nominated to be the next person to lead Thailand.

Puangthong believes the potential appointment of Chaikasem, who served as justice minister in the Yingluck cabinet until his dismissal in the 2014 coup, would not quell the anti-government protests.

The establishment’s ideal candidate, according to Puangthong, would be someone who is “loyal [to the monarchy] like Prayuth,” the army chief behind the coup that toppled Yingluck’s government and who remained in power until 2023.

What’s next for Thailand?

Puangthong stressed that Thailand will not progress “without politicians who dare to go against the bureaucracy, the capitalists, and the monopoly. Pheu Thai doesn’t have the courage and is incapable of doing so.”

Thaksin ended almost two decades of self-imposed exile when he returned on August 22, 2023 Image: Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images

She added that the main opposition People’s Party, which was founded after the dissolution of its predecessors, Move Forward and Future Forward, “seems to be the only party with the most courage, but they couldn’t do anything.”

Despite winning the most seats in the 2023 election, Move Forward’s leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, was blocked from taking the top job by the Senate, whose members were hand-picked by the former military junta.

“It’s been the same for the past 20 years. Thailand is still in the same cycle. There is a coup, then an elected government, then street protests,” said Punchada.

“I hope that this time around the demonstrations won’t bring the military back into politics,” she added.

Edited by: Karl Sexton

She has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the dispute, which involved an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed.

In a call with Cambodian senate president Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions, but instead set off a string of complaints by critics who accused her of being too fawning.

Ms Paetongtarn’s suspension raises the possibility of renewed instability in Thailand, a still fragile democracy which has suffered several similar bouts of uncertainty.

At the root of much of that were concerns from the conservative establishment, including the military, that the political dynasty started by Mr Paetongtarn’s father – the popular but divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – was becoming too powerful.

She is the third member of her family to hold the prime minister’s office — and the third to face the possibility of removal before her term ended.

Thaksin was removed from office in a 2006 coup and driven into exile, while his sister, Yingluck Shinawtra, was removed by a court order in 2014 followed shortly after by a coup.

The suspension comes at a time when the country is facing an economic slowdown and growing discontent with Ms Paetongtarn and her Pheu Thai party in general, with critics saying her government’s performance has been underwhelming.

The judges voted unanimously on Tuesday to take the petition accusing her of a breach of the ethics, and voted 7-2 to immediately suspend her from duty as a prime minister until the ruling is given. The court gave her 15 days to give evidence to support her case.

After the court order, she said she would accept the process and defended her actions.

“I only thought about what to do to avoid troubles, what to do to avoid armed confrontation, for the soldiers not to suffer any loss. I wouldn’t be able to accept it if I said something with the other leader that could lead to negative consequences,” she said.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the youngest daughter of exiled former deposed Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra (AP)

She apologised to people upset over the leaked call and left Government House shortly after.

Suriya Jungrungruangkit, who is a deputy prime minister and transport minister, will take charge as the acting premier, said Chousak Sirinil, minister of the prime minister’s office.

Earlier on Tuesday, before the court suspended Ms Paetongtarn, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had endorsed a cabinet reshuffle after a major party left the government coalition over the leaked call.

In the reshuffle, Ms Paetongtarn received the position of culture minister, in addition to prime minister, though it is not clear if she can take the oath to take that role.

In the call that about the border tensions, Ms Paetongtarn could be heard addressing Hun Sen — a longtime friend of her father — as uncle. She also urged him not to listen to a Thai regional army commander who had publicly criticised Cambodia about the border dispute, and called him “an opponent”.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist-leaning protesters rallied in central Bangkok on Saturday to demand her resignation.

She also faces separate investigations by another agency over the leaked call, in a case that could also lead to her removal.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by the country’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday (Jul 1), pending an ethics investigation over accusations she was too deferential to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen when the two discussed a recent border dispute in a phone call.

The leaked call with the veteran Cambodian politician triggered domestic outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no-confidence vote

She is the third member of her family to hold the prime minister’s office – and the third to face the possibility of removal before her term ended.

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