Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday, pending an ethics inquiry, on claims that she was overly submissive to a top Cambodian politician during a phone conversation about a recently revealed border dispute.
Paetongtarn was heard calling her father’s long-time friend Hun Sen “uncle” during the call regarding the border tensions. She also advised him not to pay attention to a Thai regional army commander who had referred to him as “an opponent” and publicly condemned Cambodia over the border conflict.
Paetongtarn’s handling of the conflict, which included an armed conflict on May 28 that resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier, has drawn increasing criticism. In a phone conversation with former Prime Minister and President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen, she attempted to ease tensions, but instead provoked a barrage of criticism and public demonstrations from those who felt she was being overly deferential.
The conservative elite, including the military, was worried that the political dynasty that Paetongtarn’s father, the well-liked but polarising former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had started was growing too strong.
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