Global (Commonwealth Union) _ Protests have erupted all over the Thai Capital, Bangkok, following the leaking of a phone call between Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Hun Sen, the president of the Cambodian senate. The incident exposed persistent diplomatic rifts, triggering urgent demands for her resignation. The demonstration held at the Victoria Monument attracted thousands of protesters and marked the largest rally since the Pheu Thai party assumed power in 2023.
Hun Sen later publicly shared the 17-minute leaked phone call on Facebook. The audio indicated Paetongtarn referring to Hun Sen as uncle and mentioned a Thai military officer who had been handling a border dispute, stating that he “just wanted to look cool”. The Prime Minister apologised, however, and defended the conversation, labeling it as a negotiation technique.
The fallout, while shaking confidence on a domestic scale, has also contributed largely to the already strained Thai-Cambodian relations, which date back over a century of colonial-era boundary disagreements. Amid diplomatic accusations escalating on both ends, the Cambodian government responded with bans on Thai imports and media.
On Friday, Hun Sen appeared on a livestream to justify the leak and accused Paetongtarn of betrayal, stating that she “disrespects her own military and monarch.”
The Vice Foreign Minister of Thailand, Russ Jalichancra, described the action as interfering in the country’s internal affairs, as well as a violation of ASEAN diplomatic norms. Citing the country as a global hub for illicit behavior, he encouraged Cambodia to sort out its own internal issues.
The individual leading the Bangkok protest, Parnthep Pourpongpan, called for Paetongpan to step down from her position because she has become a liability to the nation. The coalition that leads the rally has long been opposed to governments that have been led by Shinawatra, with participants criticising the Shinawatra administration for being unable to follow both democratic and constitutional principles.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the consideration should be done for a petition demanding Paetongtarn’s removal for alleged misconduct on Tuesday.
