AFP: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by the country’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday, as it opened a probe into her conduct in a diplomatic spat with Cambodia.
“The Constitutional Court with a majority of 7-2 suspends the respondent from Prime Ministerial duty from 1 July until the Constitutional Court has made its ruling,” said a statement, after a group of conservative senators lodged a case accusing Paetongtarn of breaching ministerial ethics during a border row with Cambodia.
A long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.
When Paetongtarn called Cambodian statesman Hun Sen to discuss tensions, she called him “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent”, according to a leaked recording which caused a backlash.
Conservative lawmakers accuse her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military, and allege she breached constitutional provisions requiring “evident integrity” and “ethical standards” among ministers.
