BANGKOK: Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday (Jul 1) suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government under fire on multiple fronts.
The court in a statement said it had accepted a petition from 36 senators that accuses Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution over the leak of a politically sensitive telephone conversation with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen.
Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will become caretaker premier, Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong told Reuters, while the court decides the case against Paetongtarn, who will remain in the cabinet as the new culture minister following a reshuffle. Paetongtarn has 15 days to respond to the Constitutional Court.
Paetongtarn said on Tuesday she accepts the Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend her.
“I want to apologise to people who are upset by all of this,” she told reporters, “I will continue to work for the country as a Thai citizen.”
The leaked call with the veteran Cambodian politician triggered domestic outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razer-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no confidence vote in parliament, as protest groups demand the premier resigns.
During a Jun 15 call intended to defuse escalating border tensions with Cambodia, Paetongtarn, 38, kowtowed before Hun Sen and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. She has apologised and said her remarks were a negotiating tactic.
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