On August 21, Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra - the Prime Minister of Thailand suspended from office - held a hearing before the Constitutional Court on the leak of a recording of a phone call with President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen.
Former Thai congressman direkrit Janeklongtham praised Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra for her confident and well-prepared response to the judges of the Constitutional Court.
Mr direkrit Janeklongtham, who attended the hearing when Ms. Paetongtarn testified, said on Nation TV that she appeared calm, showing confidence when answering questions from judges.
Ms. Paetongtarn is currently suspended from her position as Prime Minister while awaiting the results of the judicial review, after 36 senators filed a petition, accusing her of seriously violating ethical standards in a phone call with Mr. Hun Sen. The lawmakers said she had sought to please the Cambodian side and mentioned the Military Region 2 Command as "the other side".
According to direkrit, Ms. Paetongtarn has made two important arguments before the court.
First, she explained that the controversial phrases in the recording - such as if anything, just tell your nephew or hes not on our side - are actually an advanced negotiation technique. She cited documents from the curriculum of Harvard University to prove this approach.
Second, she affirmed that all statements came from charity, did not harm Thailand and she herself did not receive any personal benefits from the phone call.
The Constitutional Court has raised many important questions about Ms. Paetongtarn, including: Her understanding of the principle of negotiating with foreign leaders; whether she uses a separate translation or relies only on the Hun Sen version; what is the basis for believing that Mr. Hun Sen's interpreter correctly conveyed Ms. Hun Sen's words.
The Constitutional Court also questioned why Suriya Juang br br br br br brangruangkit was initially appointed as acting Prime Minister of Thailand, and then appointed Phumtham Wechayachai.
The court also requested an explanation of the reason for the establishment of a special task force to handle the Thai - Cambodian border situation when the National Security Council had already taken on this function.
Despite appreciating Ms. Paetongtarn's response, Mr. direkrit expressed concern about the government's handling of the Thailand - Cambodia border tension, saying that this issue continues to challenge national security and governance.
On the same day, the Constitutional Court decided to shorten the deadline for submitting a final defense in the lawsuit related to the phone call between Ms. Paetongtarn and Mr. Hun Sen. According to the verdict, the parties must submit the document before August 25, 2 days earlier than the original deadline of August 27. If not paid on time, it will be considered a waiving payment right.
The court said each judge will only have 1 day to prepare personal opinions, to ensure that the decision is made carefully and comprehensively.
Subsections, including an apology, voting and reading of the verdict, remain as scheduled on August 29.
