Thai court suspends PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra over leaked phone call
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The judges voted unanimously on Tuesday to take the petition accusing her of a breach of ethics and voted seven to two to suspend her from duty.
Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the latest border dispute with Cambodia, involving an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. The leaked phone call while she engaged in diplomacy over the border dispute set off a string of complaints and public protests.
The Constitutional Court last year removed her predecessor over a breach of ethics. Thailand's courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are viewed as a bulwark of the royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents.
Paetongtarn also faces investigations over an alleged breach of ethics by the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, whose decision could also lead to her removal.
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Outrage over the call mostly revolved around Paetongtarn's comments toward an outspoken regional army commander and her perceived attempts to appease Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen to ease tensions at the border.
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