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Thousands of protesters have gathered in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister over a leaked phone call with a former Cambodian leader.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra has faced growing pressure over her handling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia that flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of fire.
Her government was thrown into crisis after a phone call of her discussing the matter with the former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was made public earlier this month.
In the recording, she could be heard criticising a senior Thai military officer, and addressing Hun Sen as “uncle”, promising that if there is anything he wants she will “take care of it”.
The phone call infuriated Thai nationalists who accused her of kowtowing to Hun Sen.
Protesters who gathered on Saturday waved Thai flags and chanted “Ung Ing, get out”, using the prime minister’s nickname. Some held signs accusing her of betraying the nation – calling her “traitor PM” and “sell out PM”.
Police estimated 6,000 people had turned out by the afternoon, but anticipated the crowd would surpass 10,000 by Saturday evening, the Bangkok Post reported, making it the largest such rally since the ruling Pheu Thai party came to power in 2023.
“We are not gathering here to cause trouble,” said Jade Donavanik, a legal scholar who addressed crowds.
“We are united here by the force of nature to safeguard our national and territorial integrity, to protect our sovereignty and to set the country right. We shall do everything within our capabilities to protect this country and to bring peace and prosperity to the kingdom of Thailand.”
Many of those who gathered at the protest are associated with movements that previously rallied against Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, and her aunt Yingluck, who was removed from power by a court ruling followed by a coup in 2014.
The organiser of Saturday’s protest, United Force of the Land, which is made up of nationalist activists, have called for all parties to withdraw from Paetongtarn’s coalition. A coalition partner quit earlier this month, citing the leaked phone call, leaving her with only a slim majority.
Paetongtarn is also facing judicial threats, after petitions were filed accusing her of ethical violations and breaching the constitution in relation to the leaked call.
The constitutional court will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to accept a case calling for her to be sacked, and could suspend her from office while it considers the matter. A final judgment would probably take months.
Paetongtarn has apologised for the phone call, though this has done little to halt criticism.
The territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century to when France, which occupied Cambodia until 1953, first mapped the land border. The incident has led to a surge in nationalist sentiment and tit-for-tat actions by both governments.
Hun Sen said on Saturday the border action by the Thai army was a serious violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“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 ruling Cambodian People’s Party in the capital, Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for almost four decades, handed power to his son in 2023 but remains powerful in the country.
