Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra dismissed after Cambodia call leak, King calls for cabinet reshuffle

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended on Tuesday by the country’s Constitutional Court. The dismissal of the 38-year-old comes after a controversial phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was leaked.

The conservative public had called for her dismissal following the leak, with raging protests threatening the collapse of the government.

The suspension of the nation's youngest PM comes amid a slowing economy and public discontent with the Pheu Thai party. The calls for her dismissal have also raised concerns of renewed instability in the country.

"I want to apologise to people who are upset by all of this," Paetongtarn told reporters on the steps of the Government House in Bangkok, where she had taken office just last August, following the shock dismissal of her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, by a court order, as per a Reuters report.

Thavisin had appointed a minister with a criminal conviction during his tenure, which led to his dismissal.

In the phone call, Paetongtarn reportedly discussed the Cambodian-Thailand border dispute and was even heard criticising a senior Thai military leader. Hun Sen is known to be a friend of her family, and she had addressed him as 'uncle', and said that if there was any problem, she “would take care of it”.

The phone caused outrage due to her handling of a fragile border situation with Cambodiasince an armed confrontation between the two nations on May 28, among other issues.

"I had no intent to do it for my own interest. I only thought about how to avoid chaos, avoid fighting and to avoid loss of lives,” Paetongtarn had said on Tuesday, in her defence.

The judges had voted unanimously to take a petition that had accused her of a breach of ethics and voted 7-2 to suspend the prime minister. The court gave her 15 days to provide evidence to support her case. Thailand’s conservative senators have also lodged a case against Paetongtarn.

Paetongtarn is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, who has served as Thailand's prime minister two times in the past.

Thaksin had been ousted by a military coup in 2006, and his removal also came as traditionalists grew concerned about his family gaining power. On Tuesday, he attended a court hearing regarding allegations that he had defamed the monarchy in 2015.

Yingluck Shinawatra (her aunt)—who was the nation's first female prime minister—had been removed by a court ruling.

Critics have also said that the Paetongtarn government’s performance was underwhelming.

In that regard, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had also endorsed a cabinet reshuffle, with Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit serving as the acting prime minister.

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