Thousands of protesters gathered in Thailand’s capital on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, part of the brewing political turmoil set off by a leaked phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Paetongtarn faces growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a recent border dispute with Cambodia involving an armed confrontation May 28. One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area.
The recorded phone call with Hun Sen was at the heart of the demonstration Saturday and has set off a string of investigations in Thailand that could lead to Paetongtarn’s removal.
Outrage over the call
mostly revolved around Paetongtarn’s comments toward an outspoken regional army commander and her
perceived attempts to appease Hun Sen, the current Cambodian Senate president, to ease tensions at the border.
Protesters held national flags and signs as they occupied parts of the streets around the Victory Monument in central Bangkok. At a huge stage set up at the monument, speakers took turns expressing love for Thailand following the intensified border dispute.
Protesters chanted, sang and danced to songs stoking nationalist sentiment.
Tatchakorn Srisuwan, 47, a guide from Surat Thani province, said he arrived in Bangkok by an overnight train to demand Paetongtarn’s resignation over the leaked call.
“From a heart of a Thai person, we’ve never had a prime minister who’s so weak,” he said. “We don’t want to invade anyone, but we want to say that we are Thai and we want to protect Thailand’s sovereignty.”
Many of the leading figures in the protest were familiar faces from a group popularly known as Yellow Shirts, whose clothing colour indicates loyalty to the Thai monarchy. They are longtime foes of Paetongtarn’s father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who reportedly has a close relationship with Hun Sen.
Yellow Shirts rallies turned violent and led to military coups in 2006 and 2014, which respectively ousted the elected governments of Thaksin and Paetongtarn’s aunt, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Hun Sen responds
Hun Sen on Saturday vowed to protect his country’s territory from foreign invaders and said the action by the Thai army was a serious violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite the country’s good will in attempting to resolve the border issue.
“This poor Cambodia has suffered from foreign invasion, war and genocide, been surrounded and isolated and insulted in the past, but now Cambodia has risen on an equal face with other countries,” Hun Sen told an audience of thousands at the 74th anniversary celebration of the founding of his long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party in the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh.