Thai court suspends PM from duty pending case seeking her dismissal

BANGKOK - Thailand’s Constitutional Court on July 1 suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government under fire on multiple fronts.

Ms Paetongtarn said she accepts the court’s decision.

“I want to apologise to people who are upset by all of this,” she told reporters, “I will continue to work for the country as a Thai citizen.”

The court in a statement said it had accepted a petition from 36 senators that accuses Ms Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethnical standards in violation of the Constitution over the leak of a politically sensitive telephone conversation with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen.

“The court has considered the petition… and unanimously accepts the case for consideration,” it said in a statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will lead the government in a caretaker capacity while the court decides the case against Ms Paetongtarn, who will remain in the Cabinet as the new culture minister following a reshuffle.

“Government work doesn’t stop, there is no problem,” Tourism Minister and Pheu Thai Party Secretary-General Sorawong Thienthong told Reuters. “Suriya will become caretaker prime minister.”

The leaked call with the veteran Cambodian politician triggered domestic outrage and has left Ms Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no confidence vote in Parliament, as protest groups demand the premier resigns.

During a June 15 call intended to defuse escalating border tensions with Cambodia, Ms Paetongtarn, 38, kowtowed before Mr Hun Sen and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout.

She has apologised and said her remarks were a negotiating tactic.

Ms Paetongtarn’s battles after only 10 months in power underline the