Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked phone call

Thailand’s Constitutional Court voted seven to two on Tuesday to suspend Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty

Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Tuesday pending an investigation over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen.

The court took on the petition from 36 senators that accuses Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution over the leak of the politically sensitive telephone conversation.

“The court has considered the petition … and unanimously accepts the case for consideration,” it said in a statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over in a caretaker capacity while the court decides the case against Paetongtarn, who has 15 days to respond and will remain in the cabinet as the new culture minister following a reshuffle.

“Government work doesn’t stop, there is no problem,” said Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong, who is also secretary general of Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party. “Suriya will become caretaker prime minister.”

The government’s stability is likely to become even more fragilePurawich Watanasukh, Thai political scientist

Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the latest border dispute with Cambodia, involving an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. The leaked phone call 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 in parliament.

“The ruling has come out and I accept the court’s decision,” Paetongtarn told reporters at Bangkok’s Government House after the court order. “I’d like to reiterate that it’s always been my intention to do the best thing for my country.”

The Constitutional Court’s decision meant that Paetongtarn was temporarily suspended from her duties as prime minister, said Purawich Watanasukh, a political scientist at the Thammasat University in Bangkok.

“An acting prime minister will assume her duties until the court delivers its final ruling, which may take some time,” he told This Week in Asia.

“In the longer term, the government’s stability is likely to become even more fragile due to the uncertainty surrounding Paetongtarn’s situation.”

The Constitutional Court last year removed her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, over a breach of ethics. Thailand’s courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are viewed as a bulwark of the royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents.

Purawich said the petition submitted to the Constitutional Court against Paetongtarn was based on the same ethical grounds that led to the disqualification of Srettha by the court last year.

Earlier on Tuesday, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had endorsed a cabinet reshuffle forced when a major party left Paetongtarn’s coalition government over the leaked phone call.

The reshuffle replaced former deputy prime minister Anutin Charvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, which had held several cabinet positions in her government.

Paetongtarn took the position of culture minister in addition to prime minister in the new cabinet, saying she wanted to promote Thai culture on a global scale.

Paetongtarn also faces investigations over an alleged breach of ethics by the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, whose decision could also lead to her removal.

Outrage over the call mostly revolved around Paetongtarn’s comments towards an outspoken regional army commander and her perceived attempts to appease Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen to ease tensions at the border.

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

China said on Tuesday that it hoped for “stability” in Thailand following Paetongtarn’s suspension.

“This is Thailand’s internal affair and I will not comment on it. But as a friendly neighbour, we hope that Thailand will maintain stability and development,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

Separately on Tuesday, Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin Shinawatra arrived at a criminal court in Bangkok to face accusations of breaching strict lèse-majesté laws used to shield Thailand’s king from criticism.

The allegations stem from a 2015 interview he gave to South Korean media and he faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted. The trial is set to last for weeks, with a verdict not expected for at least a month after that.

A court official confirmed the trial began on Tuesday morning with Thaksin in attendance but said the media would not be allowed in.

“I can’t speak on his behalf about how he feels, but I think he seems chill,” his lawyer Winyat Chatmontri said outside court.

Thai political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said “there is a direct undeniable linkage between the two cases” as the brand of the Shinawatra family faces “a critical dilution”.

Additional reporting by Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters