BANGKOK – Thailand’s Constitutional Court will deliver its verdict on Aug 29 in a case seeking to remove Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her handling of a diplomatic dispute with Cambodia.
The case was filed by a group of conservative senators accusing Paetongtarn of unprofessional conduct and breaching ministerial ethics during a border conflict that triggered the bloodiest clashes between the two neighbours in decades.
The 38-year-old leader, suspended from duty last month, has defended her actions as being in the national interest. She came under fire after a leaked phone call revealed her addressing Cambodian statesman Hun Sen as “uncle” and referring to a Thai military commander as her “opponent” — remarks critics say showed deference to Cambodia and hostility toward the military.
Paetongtarn, the daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, assumed office less than a year ago after her predecessor was ousted by the same court. If removed, she would be the third Shinawatra to lose the premiership early, following her father and aunt Yingluck, both toppled in military coups.
The Shinawatra family has long been at the centre of a political struggle with Thailand’s conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist establishment, which views them as a challenge to the kingdom’s traditional order.
Thaksin, currently on trial for lese-majeste, is scheduled to hear his verdict on Aug 22. In July, he told local media that if his daughter is dismissed, she will “just go back and perform her duty as a mother.”
Source: CNA
