Opposition leader demands accountability from PM Paetongtarn
BANGKOK: The opposition leader on Wednesday (June 18) called on Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to dissolve the House to take responsibility for the damage caused by her phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen, who leaked the audio clip to discredit her.
People’s Party leader, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said Paetongtarn must act swiftly to restore public confidence in the government, which was damaged by her words in the leaked audio clip.
Natthaphong urges swift action to restore public trust
“If the prime minister fails to restore public confidence and trust quickly, I will call on Paetongtarn to demonstrate political responsibility by dissolving the House and returning the mandate to the people,” Natthaphong said.
“This will prevent certain groups from exploiting Paetongtarn’s mistake and inciting an incident that could harm our democracy.”
Leaked conversation sparks controversy
The opposition leader’s comments followed the leak of a phone conversation between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. The clip was leaked by Hun Sen himself.
In the audio, Paetongtarn referred to the commander of the Second Army Area as the “opposite side” and asked Hun Sen to disregard the words and actions of the army commander following the border skirmish on May 28.
The Second Army Area, which is responsible for protecting the Thai-Cambodian border, proposed closing border crossings with Cambodia, but the government disagreed with this retaliatory measure, resulting in a reduction in the border crossing's operating hours.
Natthaphong stated that although Paetongtarn could use informal channels to communicate with the Cambodian leader, she should have spoken to Hun Sen with the dignity and maturity expected of a Thai prime minister, not as the niece of a neighbouring country’s leader.
Call for diplomatic resolution of border tensions
Natthaphong argued that Paetongtarn should have used the phone call to convince Cambodia to use bilateral mechanisms to resolve the differences, instead of resorting to a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice.
He also criticised Paetongtarn for referring to the Thai army as “the other side,” especially since she had publicly stated that she had assigned the army to implement measures to reduce border crossing hours, without any conflict with the army.
Urgency to ease border tensions and protect democracy
Natthaphong emphasised that he did not want anyone to exploit the border tensions to cause disruption to Thai democracy.
He urged Paetongtarn to take the lead in easing the border tensions with Cambodia and to restrict the army’s role to only carrying out its duties and communicating as ordered by the government.
Call for the dissolution of the House if tensions persist
He said that if Paetongtarn fails to ease the situation, she should immediately dissolve the House. - The Nation/ANN
