Latest news with #nationalSovereignty
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Protesters rally in Bangkok to demand Thai prime minister's resignation over leaked Cambodia call
BANGKOK — Thousands rallied in Thailand's capital on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, part of the brewing political turmoil set off by a leaked phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Paetongtarn faces growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a recent border dispute with Cambodia involving an armed confrontation May 28. One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area. The recorded phone call with Hun Sen was at the heart of the demonstration Saturday and has set off a string of investigations in Thailand that could lead to Paetongtarn's removal. Outrage over the call mostly revolved around Paetongtarn's comments toward an outspoken regional army commander and her perceived attempts to appease Hun Sen, the current Cambodian Senate president, to ease tensions at the border. About 6,000 protesters joined the rally as of early afternoon, according to an estimate by the Bangkok police. Despite a downpour, they held national flags and placards around the Victory Monument in central Bangkok as speakers took turns blasting the government. The participants chanted slogans, sang and danced to nationalist songs. 'From a heart of a Thai person, we've never had a prime minister who's so weak,' said Tatchakorn Srisuwan, 47, a guide from Surat Thani province. 'We don't want to invade anyone, but we want to say that we are Thai and we want to protect Thailand's sovereignty.' There were many familiar faces from a conservative, pro-royalist group known as Yellow Shirts, They are longtime foes of Paetongtarn's father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who reportedly has a close relationship with Hun Sen and who was toppled in a military coup in 2006. Rallies organized by Yellow Shirts also helped oust the elected government of Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in a 2014 coup. Hun Sen responds Hun Sen on Saturday said the border action by the Thai army was a serious violation of Cambodia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite the country's good will in attempting to resolve the border issue. 'This poor Cambodia has suffered from foreign invasion, war and genocide, been surrounded and isolated and insulted in the past, but now Cambodia has risen on an equal face with other countries,' Hun Sen told an audience of thousands at the 74th anniversary celebration of the founding of his long-ruling Cambodian People's Party in the capital, Phnom Penh. There is a long history of territorial disputes between the countries. Thailand is still rattled by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011. The ruling from the UN court was reaffirmed in 2013, when Yingluck was prime minister. Political fracture and investigations The scandal has broken Paetongtarn's fragile coalition government, costing her Pheu Thai Party the loss of its biggest partner, Bhumjaithai Party. Its departure left the 10-party coalition with 255 seats, just above the majority of the 500-seat house. Paetongtarn also faces other investigations that could lead to her removal from office. Sarote Phuengrampan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, said Wednesday that his agency is investigating Paetongtarn for a serious breach of ethics over the Hun Sen phone call. He did not give a possible timeline for a decision. Reports said the Constitutional Court could decide as early as next week whether it will take a petition requesting Paetongtarn's removal due to the phone call, enabling the court to suspend her from duty pending an investigation. The prime minister said Tuesday she is not worried and is ready to give evidence to support her case. 'It was clear from the phone call that I had nothing to gain from it, and I also didn't cause any damage to the country,' she said. The court last year removed her predecessor from Pheu Thai over a breach of ethics. Thailand's courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are considered a bulwark of the country's royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents. Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report. Jintamas Saksornchai, The Associated Press
LBCI
a day ago
- Politics
- LBCI
PM Salam condemns Israeli strikes near Nabatieh as violation of sovereignty
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday strongly condemned recent Israeli strikes in the vicinity of Nabatieh, calling them a 'blatant violation of national sovereignty.' In a post on X, Salam said the attacks also breached the ceasefire arrangements brokered last November and posed a threat to the stability Lebanon is working to preserve. 'I strongly condemn the Israeli attacks around Nabatieh, which represent a blatant violation of national sovereignty and the ceasefire arrangements reached last November,' Salam wrote. 'They also pose a threat to the stability we are committed to preserving.'
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
China's military vows to enhance combat readiness after Taiwan president speeches
The People's Liberation Army 'shows zero tolerance to Taiwan independence separatist Activities,' a Chinese defense ministry spokesperson said on Thursday when asked about recent speeches made by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te. The PLA will enhance combat readiness to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a regular press conference.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Algeria prosecution seeks 10 years jail for writer Sansal on appeal
ALGIERS: Algeria's prosecutor general sought at an appeal hearing on Tuesday 10 years in prison for novelist Boualem Sansal, doubling his current sentence, an AFP journalist in the courtroom reported. The dual Algerian French writer, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, was sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 27. A verdict is expected on July 1. Sansal, 80, was arrested in November at the Algiers airport and has been detained since for undermining Algeria's territorial integrity. This came after he said in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830-1962 colonial era. The statement was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty and echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim. On Tuesday, Sansal appeared before the judge without legal representation after authorities said he wished to defend himself. 'The Algerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience,' he told the court during the roughly 20-minute hearing, seemingly in good health. 'This makes no sense.' Defending the remarks he made to French far-right media on Algeria's borders, he said: 'Fortunately, after independence in 1962, the African Union declared that inherited colonial borders are inviolable.' Also questioned on some of his books, Sansal answered: 'We are holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?' According to his relatives, Sansal has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and many feared his health would deteriorate in prison. French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show 'mercy and humanity' toward Sansal. But Algiers has insisted that the writer has been afforded due process. His conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron's recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front. Charges against the writer include 'undermining national unity,' 'insulting state institutions,' 'harming the national economy,' and 'possessing media and publications threatening the country's security and stability.'
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Denmark won't bend to Trump's pressure over Greenland, prime minister says
OSLO, June 5 (Reuters) - Denmark will not yield to "unacceptable" pressure from the United States for control of semi-autonomous Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday, warning Greenlanders' right to self-determination was at stake. President Donald Trump has said he wants the United States to take over the minerals-rich and strategically-located Arctic island for reasons of national and international security, and has not ruled out the use of force to do so. "The world order we've built through generations is being challenged like never before," Frederiksen said in a speech for National Day. "In recent months Greenland and Denmark have been subjected to unacceptable pressure from our closest ally," she added, referring to the United States. U.S. Vice President JD Vance on a visit to the island in March accused fellow NATO member Denmark of not doing a good job keeping Greenland safe and suggested the United States would better protect the territory. Vance's visit followed an election victory by Greenland's Demokraatit party, which favours a slow approach to independence rather than the quicker departure proposed by some others. Leaders of Denmark and Greenland have said only Greenlanders can decide the territory's future, and the Danish constitution gives the island the right to seek independence. Fundamental principles in the transatlantic relationship such as national sovereignty, the respect for borders and people's right to self-determination are now at stake, Frederiksen said. "But we don't bend. We Danes are not like that," she added. Denmark's King Frederik, who is popular in Greenland, visited the island in late April in a show of unity amid the diplomatic stand-off with Trump. A 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark gives the U.S. the right to construct military bases in Greenland as long as Denmark and Greenland are notified. The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited U.S. investment.
