Montira RUNGJIRAJITTRANON
Sat, June 28, 2025
AFP
Protesters rallied in Bangkok demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign after a leaked diplomatic phone call stirred public anger over her leadership
Protesters rallied in Bangkok demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign after a leaked diplomatic phone call stirred public anger over her leadership
MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP
Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign after a leaked diplomatic phone call stirred public anger.
A Cambodian elder statesman leaked a call meant to soothe a border spat between the two nations in which Paetongtarn called him "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent".
A key party abandoned Paetongtarn's coalition, accusing the 38-year-old dynastic premier of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining Thailand's military, leaving her teetering with a slim parliamentary majority.
About 10,000 demonstrators jammed roads ringing the capital's Victory Monument, waving Thai flags and placards reading "Evil PM, get out".
One speaker took to the stage and shouted: "PM, you committed treason!"
The crowd was mostly senior-aged and led by veteran activists of the "Yellow Shirt" movement, which helped oust Paetongtarn's father Thaksin in the 2000s.
One of Thaksin's former allies, now among his harshest critics, was also a key organiser.
"I'm here to protect Thailand's sovereignty and to say the PM is unfit," said 70-year-old protester Seri Sawangmue, who travelled overnight by bus from the country's north to attend.
"After I heard the leaked call I knew I couldn't trust her," he told AFP. "I've lived through many political crises and I know where this is going. She's willing to give up our sovereignty."
Thailand has seen decades of clashes between the bitterly opposed "Yellow Shirts" who defend the monarchy and military, and the Thaksin-backing "Red Shirts", considered by their opponents a threat to the traditional social order.
Jamnong Kalana, 64, said she was once a "Red Shirt" but had changed her colours and was demanding the resignation of Paetongtarn, leader of the Pheu Thai party.
"I feel full of pain when I see a fellow Thai who doesn't love the country like I do," she said.
- Make-or-break court cases -
Mass protests have been uncommon in Thailand since 2021, when youth-driven demonstrations calling for monarchy reform ended with many leaders convicted under the country's strict lese-majeste laws.
Authorities said more than 1,000 police and 100 city officials had been deployed to the protest, which remained peaceful on Saturday afternoon.
The 62-year-old protester Santhiphum Iamjit was overcome with emotion.
"Our ancestors shed blood, sweat and tears for this land, but now politicians are ready to give it away for personal gain," the former bureaucrat tearfully told AFP.
Paetongtarn was visiting Thailand's flood-hit north but before departing Bangkok she told reporters: "It's their right to protest, as long as it's peaceful."
The prime minister has been battered by controversy and abandoned by her largest backer, the Bhumjaithai Party, after her phone call with Cambodia's ex-leader Hun Sen was leaked earlier this month.
Tensions between the countries have soared after a border dispute boiled over into violence last month which killed one Cambodia soldier.
Thailand's military has staged a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise the generals.
After calling a border region military commander her "opponent", Paetongtarn gave a contrite press conference where she issued a public apology flanked by military officials in a show of unity.
Her remaining coalition partners have not yet backed out of their pact.
But next week both Paetongtarn and her father face legal battles that could reshape Thailand's political landscape.
On Tuesday the Constitutional Court will decide whether to take up a petition by senators seeking her removal over alleged unprofessionalism.
That same day her father is set to stand trial on royal defamation charges linked to decade-old remarks to South Korean media.
Paetongtarn took office less than a year ago after her predecessor was disqualified by a court order and her father returned from exile after 15 years.
She is the fourth Shinawatra-linked figure to become prime minister following her father, aunt and uncle-in-law.
Thousands call for Thai PM's removal during Bangkok protests
Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign after a leaked diplomatic phone call stirred public anger.
A Cambodian elder statesman leaked a call meant to soothe a border spat between the two nations in which Paetongtarn called him "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent".
A key party abandoned Paetongtarn's coalition, accusing the 38-year-old dynastic premier of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining Thailand's military, leaving her teetering with a slim parliamentary majority.
About 10,000 demonstrators jammed roads ringing the capital's Victory Monument, waving Thai flags and placards reading "Evil PM, get out".
One speaker took to the stage and shouted: "PM, you committed treason!"
The crowd was mostly senior-aged and led by veteran activists of the "Yellow Shirt" movement, which helped oust Paetongtarn's father Thaksin in the 2000s.
One of Thaksin's former allies, now among his harshest critics, was also a key organiser.
"I'm here to protect Thailand's sovereignty and to say the PM is unfit," said 70-year-old protester Seri Sawangmue, who travelled overnight by bus from the country's north to attend.
"After I heard the leaked call I knew I couldn't trust her," he told AFP. "I've lived through many political crises and I know where this is going. She's willing to give up our sovereignty."
Thailand has seen decades of clashes between the bitterly opposed "Yellow Shirts" who defend the monarchy and military, and the Thaksin-backing "Red Shirts", considered by their opponents a threat to the traditional social order.
Jamnong Kalana, 64, said she was once a "Red Shirt" but had changed her colours and was demanding the resignation of Paetongtarn, leader of the Pheu Thai party.
"I feel full of pain when I see a fellow Thai who doesn't love the country like I do," she said.
- Make-or-break court cases -
Mass protests have been uncommon in Thailand since 2021, when youth-driven demonstrations calling for monarchy reform ended with many leaders convicted under the country's strict lese-majeste laws.
Authorities said more than 1,000 police and 100 city officials had been deployed to the protest, which remained peaceful on Saturday afternoon.
The 62-year-old protester Santhiphum Iamjit was overcome with emotion.
"Our ancestors shed blood, sweat and tears for this land, but now politicians are ready to give it away for personal gain," the former bureaucrat tearfully told AFP.
Paetongtarn was visiting Thailand's flood-hit north but before departing Bangkok she told reporters: "It's their right to protest, as long as it's peaceful."
The prime minister has been battered by controversy and abandoned by her largest backer, the Bhumjaithai Party, after her phone call with Cambodia's ex-leader Hun Sen was leaked earlier this month.
Tensions between the countries have soared after a border dispute boiled over into violence last month which killed one Cambodia soldier.
Thailand's military has staged a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise the generals.
After calling a border region military commander her "opponent", Paetongtarn gave a contrite press conference where she issued a public apology flanked by military officials in a show of unity.
Her remaining coalition partners have not yet backed out of their pact.
But next week both Paetongtarn and her father face legal battles that could reshape Thailand's political landscape.
On Tuesday the Constitutional Court will decide whether to take up a petition by senators seeking her removal over alleged unprofessionalism.
That same day her father is set to stand trial on royal defamation charges linked to decade-old remarks to South Korean media.
Paetongtarn took office less than a year ago after her predecessor was disqualified by a court order and her father returned from exile after 15 years.
She is the fourth Shinawatra-linked figure to become prime minister following her father, aunt and uncle-in-law.
Thousands call for Thai PM's removal during Bangkok protests
Simon Corlett
Sat, June 28, 2025
UPI
Protestors took to the streets of Bangkok Saturday, calling for the removal of Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, less than a year after she was sworn into office. File Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
June 28 (UPI) -- Protestors took to the streets of Bangkok Saturday, calling for the removal of Thailand's prime minister, less than a year after she was sworn into office.
Demonstrators blocked streets in the country's capital city, taking issue with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
The call was recorded and made public this week. In it, Shinawatra appears to be close with Hun, the former prime minister and ex-military officer who is the current head of the Cambodian Senate and the country's de facto leader.
Shinawatra has since apologized for the phone call, which took place because of a border dispute between the two countries.
Following the phone call, Thai officials sent a letter of protest to the Cambodian government.
Earlier this week, authorities closed Thailand's border to travelers looking to cross into Cambodia, following a dispute over scams. One Cambodian soldier has been killed in the rising tensions between the neighboring countries.
More than 6,000 people converged for the protests in heavy rain Saturday, Thai police reported.
Local media reported Saturday that Shinawatra reaffirmed the public's right to peacefully protest, in a country where previous rulers have been overthrown in military coups, including two of the prime minister's relatives.
Shinawatra became Thailand's youngest-ever elected leader when she was sworn into office last August at the age of 37.
The leader of the country's ruling Pheu Thai Party is the third member of her family to hold the title of Thai Prime Minister.
Her billionaire father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck both led the country during separate periods. The family made its money in the telecom industry.
Thaksin served as Thailand's prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was deposed by the military. He has had previous close ties with Hun and is set to face trial in the coming weeks over charges he insulted the Thai military.
Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister between 2011 and 2014 and was removed by a constitutional court.
Thousands demand Thai prime minister quit over border dispute
Panu Wongcha-um and Devjyot Ghoshal
Fri, June 27, 2025
REUTERS
Anti-government protest against Thailand's PM Shinawatra in Bangkok
Anti-government protest against Thailand's PM Shinawatra in Bangkok
Anti-government protest against Thailand's PM Shinawatra in Bangkok
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra looks during a press conference, in Bangkok
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thousands of protesters rallied in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, piling pressure on a government at risk of collapse over a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia.
In the largest such rally since the ruling Pheu Thai party came to power in 2023, crowds braved heavy monsoon rain to demonstrate against Paetongtarn, 38, who is also battling to revive a faltering economy and keep a fragile coalition together ahead of a potential no confidence vote next month.
"She should step aside because she is the problem," Parnthep Pourpongpan, a protest leader, said.
The latest dispute started with a skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia over a disputed patch of border territory in May. Thai nationalist groups called for Paetongtarn to go after she appeared to criticize a Thai army commander and kowtow to Cambodia's former leader, Hun Sen, in a leaked phone call with him.
Public criticism of the army is a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. Paetongtarn apologised for her comments after the call.
Parnthep, the protest leader, said many Thai people felt the prime minister and her influential father, Thaksin Shinawatra, were being manipulated by Hun Sen, a former ally of the family who has turned against them
'UNG ING, GET OUT'
Blocking the busy intersection at Victory Monument, a war memorial, crowds including many elderly people waved flags bearing Thailand's national tricolor.
“Ung Ing, get out,” the crowd occasionally chanted in unison, calling the premier by a nickname.
Thapanawat Aramroong, 73, said Paetongtarn’s comments about the army commander and seeming eagerness to please Hun Sen were unacceptable.
The demonstration was organised by the United Force of the Land, a coalition of largely nationalist activists who have rallied against other Shinawatra-backed governments over the last two decades.
In a statement read aloud before the crowds, the group said "the executive branch" and parliament were not working "in the interest of democracy and constitutional monarchy".
Remaining coalition partners should quit immediately, they said.
While past protests against the Shinawatras did not directly cause the downfall of those governments, they built up pressure that led to judicial interventions and military coups in 2006 and 2014.
Protester Somkhuan Yimyai, 68, said he did not want the military to end up staging a coup and that previous military takeovers had not "provided solutions for the nation in terms of solving corruption or the government's administration of the country."
ECONOMIC TURMOIL
The political turmoil in Thailand threatens to further damage the country's struggling economic recovery.
The prime minister now controls a slim majority coalition following the exit of former partner Bhumjaithai Party last week. Protesters on Saturday called for other coalition partners to quit.
Paetongtarn also faces judicial scrutiny after a group of senators petitioned the Constitutional Court and a national anti-graft body with a wide remit to investigate her conduct over the leaked phone call.
Decisions from either bodies could lead to her removal.
Hun Sen also launched an unprecedented public attack on Paetongtarn and her family, calling for a change of government, in an hours-long televised speech on Friday, which the Thai foreign ministry described as "extraordinary" while insisting that Thailand prefers to use diplomacy.
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