Thousands of protesters in Bangkok are calling for Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resign after a leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen sparked outrage. (AP Photo)
Thousands thronged the streets of Bangkok on Saturday, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, The Associated Press reported.
The protests were triggered by outrage over a leaked phone call between Shinawatra and Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen, which was widely perceived as undermining Thailand’s military and national sovereignty.
According to the report, the call came after a May 28 border skirmish where one Cambodian soldier was killed. Critics have accused Shinawatra of trying too hard to pacify Hun Sen, now president of Cambodia’s Senate, rather than standing firm for Thailand.
Protesters gathered at Victory Monument with national flags and anti-government signs, chanting in a display of nationalist fervor, the report said, adding that some demonstrators present at the protest site even lamented that they had “never had a prime minister who is so weak”, as they reiterated their calls “to defend Thailand’s sovereignty.”
Many of the demonstrators wore yellow, indicating allegiance to the royalist-leaning Yellow Shirts—veterans of previous protests that contributed to military coups in 2006 and 2014.
Responding from Phnom Penh, Hun Sen fired Back, saying, “This poor Cambodia has endured foreign occupation, war and genocide… but today Cambodia has emerged on an equal basis with other nations,” as he described the Thai military intervention as a grave violation of sovereignty.
The controversy has seemingly ruptured the Pheu Thai-dominated coalition, with reports of the Bhumjaithai Party’s withdrawal emerging. The move leaves Paetongtarn’s 10-party coalition precariously holding onto a majority with 255 seats in the 500-seat House.
Shinawatra now risks being investigated by Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission and potentially even the Constitutional Court, the report said. Nevertheless, Paetongtarn remains defiant, recently saying, “It was obvious from the phone call that I would not gain anything from it, and also did not do anything to cause any harm to the country.”
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