BANGKOK – Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been by the country’s Constitutional Court after following a leaked phone call with a Cambodian politician in which she sounded submissive amid a border dispute.
The court found that 39-year-ld Ms Shinawatra violated ethics in the leaked telephone call which took place on June 15, amid a boiling border tension that was on the verge of armed conflict.
She could be heard calling former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen “uncle” and appeared to criticize her own army’s actions in the border clashes that had led to the death of a Cambodian soldier.
The former Thai leader added that if Hun Sen “wants anything, just tell me, and I will take care of it” — contentious remarks that caused outrage and became the center of the case against her.
Fighting then erupted weeks after her suspension and lasted five days, leaving at least 35 people dead and more than 260,000 displaced on both sides.
Ms Shinawatra, who has served as prime minister for only one year, apologized over the call and said she was trying to avert a war.
Speaking after the court’s decision, the exiting PM said “all sides” in Thai politics now “have to work together to build political stability and to ensure that there won’t be another turning point again”.