Thais Angered by Clash With Cambodia Mount 2nd Protest Against Leader

New York Times

4 days ago

Nearly two thousand Thais rallied in Bangkok on Saturday for the second time in over a month to denounce their suspended prime minister, who they say sold out the nation and betrayed the army in a leaked phone conversation with Cambodia's de facto leader.
The turnout appeared to be lower than on June 28, when a coalition of antigovernment groups organized rallies that drew thousands of protesters. As of Saturday afternoon, more than 1,700 demonstrators had gathered at the Victory Monument, a war memorial in Bangkok, the police said.
Still, Saturday's demonstration added to the pressure on the suspended prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed temporarily by the Constitutional Court last month because of the phone call. The court is deliberating whether to evict her from office permanently.
The protest was also colored by a deadly five-day clash between Thailand and Cambodia that ended with a cease-fire on Monday. The brief military confrontation was the worst conflict between the countries in decades. The truce appeared to be holding, but longstanding tensions between the two countries have not been resolved.
During the call between Ms. Paetongtarn and Cambodia's de facto leader, Hun Sen, which was to discuss escalating tensions on the border, the Thai prime minister appeared to disparage her own country's powerful military and to take a deferential tone with Mr. Hun Sen.
Sawang Tamtarachai, 69, a retiree who attended the protest on Saturday wearing a ribbon in red, white and blue, the colors of the Thai flag, said, 'Sovereignty is something that you can't negotiate.'
'This is something that we can't forgive,' he added, referring to Ms. Paetongtarn's conduct.
Although such protests are closely watched in Thailand, where public demonstrations have precipitated the downfalls of previous governments, a bigger concern for Ms. Paetongtarn is the looming Constitutional Court decision. Last month, it moved quickly to suspend her after agreeing to consider a complaint filed by 36 senators claiming that she had violated ethics standards in her conversation with Mr. Hun Sen. Ms. Paetongtarn is set to submit her written defense to the court on Monday.
Protesters stood in 93-degree heat and called for Ms. Paetongtarn to step down immediately without waiting for the court's decision. The demonstrations had the same nationalistic flavor as a protest in June, with many attendees carrying Thai flags, expressing support for the country's troops and calling on the government to defend its sovereignty.
Ms. Paetongtarn has also come under criticism for failing to lift the Thai economy, which lags behind those of most of its neighbors in Southeast Asia. Many Thais feel that Ms. Paetongtarn, the 38-year-old daughter of a former prime minister, is not experienced enough to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of President Trump's tariff policy.
After the leaked call, Ms. Paetongtarn's approval rating plunged to 9.2 percent, from 30.9 percent a few months earlier, according to a survey conducted from June 19-25 by the National Institute of Development Administration, a graduate school in Thailand.
More than 80 percent of people polled said that she should either resign or dissolve the House of Representatives to pave the way for a new prime minister or a general election, according to a separate survey by the institute conducted from July 4-7.
Notably, a majority of those polled said that they would like to see the return of a former prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, a general who seized power in a 2014 coup.
The next few months will be a politically perilous time for the Shinawatras, the most influential family in Thai politics. Ms. Paetongtarn's father, Thaksin Shinawatra, is also facing legal challenges. On Aug. 22, a court is set to rule on a criminal charge against Mr. Thaksin of insulting the monarchy, a case that could send him to prison for up to 15 years.
Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2006, made a stunning return to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years in self-exile. He had been convicted in absentia on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and was promptly sentenced when he was back in the country. But he never spent a day in prison; instead, he was detained for six months in a V.I.P. hospital suite because his doctor said that he had various chronic diseases such as high blood pressure.
That treatment has now come under legal scrutiny. The Supreme Court has been investigating whether the hospital stay was justified or whether it was a way to keep Mr. Thaksin out of prison. That verdict could also be issued this month.
Kloy Janprasert, 63, a protester who said that she had been at the demonstration site on Saturday since 5 a.m., said the Shinawatras 'have never done any good for us.'
'I hate this clan,' she added. 'I want them to perish from Thai soil.'
Kittiphum Sringammuang contributed reporting.