CAMBODIA'S influential ex-premier Hun Sen on Friday accused Thailand's prime minister of insulting the Thai king, as tensions between the neighbouring countries intensified.
He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's comments about her military commander, whom she labelled an "opponent", in a leaked phone call with the veteran leader over a border dispute were "an insult to the king".
"An insult to a regional commander is an insult to the Thai king because it is only the king who issued a royal decree to appoint him," AFP cited Hun Sen saying in a livestream on his official Facebook page.
The daughter of controversial ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who goes on trial for lese-majeste next week, faces being sacked as prime minister as the phone call scandal has triggered calls for her to step down and her government to teeter.
Hun Sen, father of Cambodia's prime minister Hun Manet and former close ally to Thaksin, last week posted the full 17-minute recording of the private conversation on his official Facebook page.
"I just let Thailand know how the prime minister committed a dirty act to their nation," he said on Friday.
In the recording posted online, the two leaders discussed restrictions imposed on border crossings after a military clash last month killed a Cambodian soldier.
During the conversation, Paetongtarn makes a disparaging reference to Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang and addresses Hun Sen as "uncle".
Thailand has strict lese majeste laws, which ban criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family and carry sentences of up to 15 years in jail per offence.
Fallout Of Phone Call
Paetongtarn's government was slashed to a tiny majority last week after the leaked phone call triggered the departure of the conservative Bhumjaithai party.
The party, which was the second largest in the alliance, said the phone call had "damaged the sovereignty and well-being of the country and Thai Army".
Critics slammed the 38-year-old for insulting the military - a powerful force in Thai politics - and for being too deferential, calling for her resignation.
The Thai prime minister apologised last week and managed to shore up her coalition. However, a group of conservative senators has submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court calling for her to be sacked.
The court may decide on Tuesday whether to accept the case, but its president, Nakharin Mektrairat, told reporters this week that it would be up to the nine judges to decide the timeframe.
If the court accepts the case, it may suspend her from office while it considers it, with a ruling expected to take several months. - June 27, 2025
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