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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
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3 min read
Thailand’s prime minister suspended over leaked phone call with
former strongman
By Helen Regan and Kocha Olarn, CNN
Updated:
3:44 AM EDT, Tue July 1, 2025
Source: CNN
Thailand’s embattled prime minister was suspended from duty Tuesday
and could face dismissal pending an ethics probe over a she had with
Cambodia’s powerful former leader.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 38, has only held the premiership after
replacing her predecessor, who was . Her suspension brings fresh
uncertainty to the Southeast Asian kingdom, which has been roiled by
years of and leadership shake-ups.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court accepted a petition brought by a
group of 36 senators who accused Paetongtarn of violating the
constitution for breaching ethical standards in the leaked call, which
was confirmed as authentic by both sides.
The court voted to suspend Paetongtarn from her prime ministerial
duties until it reaches a verdict in the ethics case. Paetongtarn will
remain in the Cabinet as culture minister following a reshuffle.
Paetongtarn has faced increasing calls to resign, with anti-government
protesters taking to the streets of the capital Bangkok on Saturday,
after the leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen over an escalating
border dispute sparked widespread anger in the country.
The scandal prompted the Bhumjaithai party, a major partner of the
prime minister’s government, to withdraw from the coalition last
week, dealing a major blow to her Pheu Thai party’s ability to hold
power. Paetongtarn is also contending with plummeting approvals ratings
and faces a no-confidence vote in parliament.
In the leaked call, which took place on June 15, Paetongtarn could be
heard calling former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen “uncle” and
appeared to criticize her own army’s actions after border clashes led
to the death of a Cambodian soldier last month.
The Thai prime minister could be heard telling Hun Sen that she was
under domestic pressure and urged him not to listen to the “opposite
side,” in which she referred to an outspoken Thai army commander in
Thailand’s northeast.
She also added that if Hun Sen “wants anything, he can just tell me,
and I will take care of it.”
Her comments in the leaked audio struck a nerve in Thailand, and
opponents accused her of compromising the country’s national
interests.
Following the ruling, Paetongtarn said she accepts the court’s
decision and that her intention “was truly to act for the good of the
country.”
“I want to make it clear that my intentions were more than 100%
sincere — I acted for the country, to protect our sovereignty, to
safeguard the lives of our soldiers, and to preserve peace in our
nation,” she said in a press conference Tuesday.
“I also want to apologize to all my fellow Thais who may feel uneasy
or upset about this matter,” she added.
Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both
cooperation and rivalry in recent decades. The two countries share a
508-mile (817-kilometer) land border – largely mapped by the French
while they occupied Cambodia – that has periodically seen military
clashes and been the source of political tensions.
In the wake of the scandal, Paetongtarn tried to downplay her remarks
to Hun Sen, saying at a press conference she was trying to diffuse
tensions between the two neighbors and the “private” call
“shouldn’t have been made public.”
The prime minister said she was using a “negotiation tactic” and
her comments were “not a statement of allegiance.”
Paetongtarn became prime minister last year after the Constitutional
Court ruled that her predecessor had breached ethics rules and voted to
dismiss him as prime minister.
The the country’s popular progressive Move Forward Party, which won
the most seats in the 2023 election, and banned its leaders from
politics for 10 years.
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