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France 24
16-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Thai ex-PM Thaksin appears on stand in royal defamation case
Thaksin faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted in the closed-door trial in Bangkok, where he stands accused of breaching strict lese majeste laws that shield Thailand's royal family from abuse and criticism. For the past quarter-century, the 75-year-old telecoms magnate has been a defining figure of Thai politics, founding a political clan which has jousted with the traditional pro-royal, pro-military elite. But his prosecution -- combined with the suspension of his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this month -- represents a dramatic waning of their family's political fortune, analysts say. The prosecution's case revolves around remarks Thaksin made to South Korean media a decade ago. A verdict is not expected for several weeks. Thaksin's lawyer Winyat Chatmontri told AFP he gave testimony in the morning "and will continue throughout the rest of the day". Around 50 Thaksin supporters gathered at the courthouse wearing shirts the red colour of his political movement and emblazoned with a portrait of his face. "He is a very talented guy," 79-year-old retired accountant Vaew Wilailak told AFP. "But from past experience, bad people just want to get rid of him." Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years in exile, following a military coup which ousted him from the premiership he won in two elections. He returned the day his family's Pheu Thai party took office at the head of a coalition government backed by their conservative former enemies, fuelling suspicions a backroom deal had been struck. 'Chill' Thaksin Thaksin was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison on graft and abuse of power charges -- later reduced to one year by a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn. But political analyst Yuttaporn Issarachai told AFP: "There is always someone within the establishment who sees him as a threat to Thai society." In recent interviews, Thaksin affirmed his loyalty to the monarchy and expressed gratitude for the king's pardon. Speaking to AFP outside the court on the trial's opening day on July 1, Thaksin's lawyer Winyat said his client appeared "chill" despite the seriousness of the case. On the same day, Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn was suspended by the Constitutional Court pending an ethics probe into her conduct during a leaked diplomatic phone call discussing a deadly border clash between Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia. In the call, Paetongtarn referred to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen as "uncle" and described a Thai military commander as an "opponent" -- sparking backlash for seeming to kowtow to a foreign statesman and undermine her own country's military. Pheu Thai's coalition has been abandoned by key conservative backers over the call, leaving it with a razor-thin parliamentary majority steered by a caretaker prime minister.
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Four Things to Watch in Thai Political Crisis After Prime Minister Suspended
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces an uncertain future and could become the third leader from the Shinawatra clan member to lose power over the past 19 years. The Constitutional Court has suspended her over an ethics probe that could disqualify her as prime minister. The move comes as her government faces coalition infighting, U.S. trade talks, a border dispute with Cambodia and a sluggish economy that has lagged behind most of its Southeast Asian peers.
The National
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
A phone call has shaken Thailand, but could it also spell the end of a political dynasty?
On Tuesday Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, pending an enquiry into a leaked phone call between her and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. In the conversation, she referred to Hun Sen as 'uncle' and made derogatory remarks about a top Thai army commander, words which in the context of heightened tensions in the Emerald Triangle border area between the two countries triggered mass protests in Thailand and the exit of the Bhumjaithai Party, her governing coalition's second-largest member. This could bring to a premature end Ms Paetongtarn's short-lived political career – she only became prime minister last August. But the bigger question is: does this herald the beginning of the end for the whole Shinawatra dynasty? For the last 25 years, the family, headed by Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, has almost completely dominated electoral politics in the country. He was ousted in a coup backed by Thailand's powerful army, and his sister Yingluck was also forced from office in 2014 after three years as prime minister. But time after time, when elections were held, Thaksin-backed parties kept on winning. In 2023, Mr Thaksin returned from self-imposed exile, on the same day a new government led by his supporters' party, Pheu Thai, was formed. Since the new coalition included parties aligned with the royalist-military establishment previously deeply opposed to Mr Thaksin – whose critics have accused him of irresponsible populism and corruption – it seemed that an accommodation had finally been reached between the country's two most important blocs. On his arrival in Thailand, Mr Thaksin was arrested and taken into custody, but the convictions to which he had been sentenced in absentia were reduced days later to just one year in jail, and after spending six months in a luxury hospital he was released on parole. Appearances were satisfied. Mr Thaksin was home. And months later, his youngest daughter Paetongtarn became prime minister. The rapprochement between Mr Thaksin's supporters and the country's conservative institutions may have been a shaky alliance of convenience. But it could not last after details of Ms Paetongtarn's call with Hun Sen came out. In the conversation, which both sides have confirmed as authentic, Ms Paetongtarn referred to her country's military as 'the opposite side' and accused a general at the border of just wanting 'to look cool and saying things that are not useful'. Cambodia's longtime former prime minister, whose son Hun Manet succeeded him in 2023, has since gone further. According to the Khmer Times, this week Hun Sen accused the Thaksins of insulting their country's king in private conversations with him and said Ms Paetongtarn 'conspiring with foreigners to denigrate one's own military', as he put it, was tantamount to treason. For the last 25 years, the family headed by Thaksin Shinawatra has almost completely dominated electoral politics Why did Hun Sen make such incendiary comments and release a full recording of the phone call, especially since he had been close to Mr Thaksin for decades? The border issue is highly sensitive – a Cambodian soldier was killed in clashes with Thai forces in May – and some speculate it was an attempt to rally patriotic sentiment around Hun Manet. The former Cambodian leader also accused the Thaksins of having a history of saying one thing to him about the border disputes and then another in public. Either way, the damage has been done. And it's not just Ms Paetongtarn who's in trouble. On the same day that she was suspended from office, her father was in a Bangkok court to hear prosecution testimony over a lese-majeste charge he faces relating to an interview he gave in South Korea in 2015. Mr Thaksin may have thought this would just be a formality, given the understanding he believed had been reached with the royalist-military forces. But as the Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun wrote in a prescient analysis published on Monday: 'The lese majeste case against Thaksin, or [the] Constitutional Court case against Paetongtarn, could be strategically used to neutralise their influence, putting them in jail or (more likely) letting them flee.' In that event, could the Thaksins still make another comeback in the future? It can't be completely ruled out, and it may be just possible that the current governing coalition holds on, as it still has a majority in Parliament. But many believe that the Thaksin coalition – low-income workers in the country's north and north-east, plus progressive-minded urban middle classes – has been irretrievably weakened. Pheu Thai has been outflanked by the social democratic Move Forward Party, which beat them into second place in the 2023 election, and severely disillusioned their progressive supporters by allying with the conservative forces who kept ousting Mr Thaksin and his successors from power. Younger voters don't remember Mr Thaksin's glory years, when he instituted universal health care and a raft of polices that helped rural voters. Paetongtarn Shinawatra is a novice who plainly owed her job solely to her surname. Her approval rating was at a meagre 9.2 per cent in March. Mr Thaksin is still a giant of Thai politics. But he's not the figure he once was, and he has run out of family proxies to take the country's top job while he remains a power behind the curtain. No one would accept one of his other two – politically inexperienced – children as prime minister. And, in any case, it's not clear they, or Pheu Thai, could command a majority in Parliament. So, is this the end for the Shinawatra dynasty? Thai politics is too unpredictable to tell. If it is the beginning of the end, however, Thailand's perennial problem will remain: how to square the views of the royalist-military establishment, who see themselves as guardians of the country, with populist or left-leaning parties that keep topping the polls. That's the democratic conundrum that has been both the blessing, and the misfortune, of the Shinawatra family.
CNA
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Thai veteran politician Suriya takes over as acting prime minister for a day
Thai Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit has taken over prime ministerial duties from Paetongtarn Shinawatra, following her suspension yesterday. However, his tenure will only last a full day. The new Cabinet will take its oath before the king tomorrow. Once sworn in, incoming Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will receive a deputy prime minister title. The ruling Pheu Thai party said Mr Phumtham will then become acting premier, while Ms Paetongtarn will be the new culture minister. Meanwhile, Ms Paetongtarn's father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is standing trial in two separate cases. AP Correspondent Jeremy Koh reports.
NHK
02-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Thai court weighs removing PM Paetongtarn
The Thai government is being plunged deeper into uncertainty as the county's Constitutional Court weighs whether to remove Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra after suspending her from her duties. Paetongtarn was suspended on Tuesday after the court decided to proceed with a petition demanding her resignation. It came amid a controversy over a leaked phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen. Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit stepped in as acting prime minister. He is also the transport minister and a member of Paetongtarn's Pheu Thai Party. The party leads the coalition government with a thin majority. Thai media report that it's expected to take around a month or longer for a verdict to be handed down. Analysts believe the outcome could bring more political turmoil. Protest leaders who demanded Paetongtarn's resignation have welcomed the suspension. They plan to hold a major demonstration in August.
