Thai protesters call for Prime Minister Paetongtarn's resignation
FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra looks during a press conference after a meeting on measures to solve transnational crimes,at the Government House, following a leak on Wednesday of a phone call between her and Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, amid a border dispute between the two countries, in Bangkok, Thailand, June 23, 2025. Government House of Thailand Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as her government faces rising anger over a border row with Cambodia.
The rally, the largest anti-government protest since her Pheu Thai party came to power in 2023, increases pressure on Paetongtarn, 38, who is battling to revive a faltering economy and keep a fragile government coalition together ahead of a potential no confidence vote next month.
Protesters waved flags beside Victory Monument, a war memorial at a busy intersection, in a demonstrationorganised by the United Force of the Land, a coalition of largely nationalist activists who have rallied against other Shinawatra-backed governments over the last two decades.
While the past protests did not directly cause the downfall of those governments, they built up pressure that led to judicial interventions and military coups in 2006 and 2014.
The political turmoil in Thailand threatens to further damage the country's struggling economic recovery.
Paetongtarn said on Saturday that she was not concerned about the protest and had instructed authorities to ensure the gathering was peaceful.
"It's within people's rights and I will not retaliate," she said.
The prime minister, who now controls a slim majority coalition following the exit of former partner Bhumjaithai Party last week, could face a no confidence vote when parliament reconvenes next week.
Bhumjaithai Party last week withdrew its support for the government citing the risk of a loss of Thai sovereignty and integrity after a leaked phone conversation between Paetongtarn and Cambodia's former premier Hun Sen.
During the call, Paetongtarn appeared to seek to appease the veteran Cambodian politician and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout.
She has apologised for her comments.
The prime minister also faces judicial scrutiny after a group of senators petitioned the Constitutional Court and a national anti-graft body with a wide remit to investigate her conduct over the leaked phone call.
Decisions from either bodies could lead to her removal. Hun Sen, a former ally of the Shinawatras, madean unprecedented public attack on Paetongtarn and her family in an hours-long televised speech on Friday, calling for a change in government in Thailand.
The Thai foreign ministry described the speech as "extraordinary" while insisting that Thailand prefers to use diplomacy to resolve the escalating bilateral dispute.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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Anti-government protesters rally to demand the removal of Paetongtarn from office at Victory Monument in Bangkok on June 28, 2025. – AFP photo BANGKOK (June 28): Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in the Thai capital Bangkok today, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign after a leaked diplomatic phone call stirred public anger. A Cambodian elder statesman leaked a call meant to soothe a border spat between the two nations in which Paetongtarn called him 'uncle' and referred to a Thai military commander as her 'opponent'. A key party abandoned Paetongtarn's coalition, accusing the 38-year-old dynastic premier of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining Thailand's military, leaving her teetering with a slim parliamentary majority. About 10,000 demonstrators jammed roads ringing the capital's Victory Monument, waving Thai flags and placards reading 'Evil PM, get out'. One speaker took to the stage and shouted: 'PM, you committed treason!' The crowd was mostly senior-aged and led by veteran activists of the 'Yellow Shirt' movement, which helped oust Paetongtarn's father Thaksin in the 2000s. One of Thaksin's former allies, now among his harshest critics, was also a key organiser. 'I'm here to protect Thailand's sovereignty and to say the PM is unfit,' said 70-year-old protester Seri Sawangmue, who travelled overnight by bus from the country's north to attend. 'After I heard the leaked call I knew I couldn't trust her,' he told AFP. 'I've lived through many political crises and I know where this is going. She's willing to give up our sovereignty.' Thailand has seen decades of clashes between the bitterly opposed 'Yellow Shirts' who defend the monarchy and military, and the Thaksin-backing 'Red Shirts', considered by their opponents a threat to the traditional social order. Jamnong Kalana, 64, said she was once a 'Red Shirt' but had changed her colours and was demanding the resignation of Paetongtarn, leader of the Pheu Thai party. 'I feel full of pain when I see a fellow Thai who doesn't love the country like I do,' she said. Make-or-break court cases Mass protests have been uncommon in Thailand since 2021, when youth-driven demonstrations calling for monarchy reform ended with many leaders convicted under the country's strict lese-majeste laws. Authorities said more than 1,000 police and 100 city officials had been deployed to the protest, which remained peaceful this afternoon. The 62-year-old protester Santhiphum Iamjit was overcome with emotion. 'Our ancestors shed blood, sweat and tears for this land, but now politicians are ready to give it away for personal gain,' the former bureaucrat tearfully told AFP. Paetongtarn was visiting Thailand's flood-hit north but before departing Bangkok she told reporters: 'It's their right to protest, as long as it's peaceful.' The prime minister has been battered by controversy and abandoned by her largest backer, the Bhumjaithai Party, after her phone call with Cambodia's ex-leader Hun Sen was leaked earlier this month. Tensions between the countries have soared after a border dispute boiled over into violence last month which killed one Cambodia soldier. Thailand's military has staged a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise the generals. After calling a border region military commander her 'opponent', Paetongtarn gave a contrite press conference where she issued a public apology flanked by military officials in a show of unity. Her remaining coalition partners have not yet backed out of their pact. But next week both Paetongtarn and her father face legal battles that could reshape Thailand's political landscape. On Tuesday the Constitutional Court will decide whether to take up a petition by senators seeking her removal over alleged unprofessionalism. That same day her father is set to stand trial on royal defamation charges linked to decade-old remarks to South Korean media. Paetongtarn took office less than a year ago after her predecessor was disqualified by a court order and her father returned from exile after 15 years. She is the fourth Shinawatra-linked figure to become prime minister following her father, aunt and uncle-in-law. – AFP Paetongtarn Shinawatra PM protest resign Thailand
