The opposition has demanded that Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resign over a dispute with Cambodia centering on an ancient temple on the Thai-Cambodian border. -- PHOTO: AFPJuly 10, 2008
AP
BANGKOK - TOP Thai politicians said on Thursday the foreign minister was expected to resign soon as a raft of court cases and street protests battered the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
The opposition has demanded that Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resign over a dispute with Cambodia centering on an ancient temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The Thai Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Mr Noppadon acted unconstitutionally when he endorsed Cambodia's application to register the Preah Vihear temple as a Unesco World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter. Critics fear the move undermines Thailand's claims to land near the temple.
The deputy leader of Samak's People's Power Party, Mr Kan Thienkhaew, said that the foreign minister 'is most likely to resign.
'He cannot stay on since the Constitutional Court ruled,' he said.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Democrat Party said it was ready on Thursday to submit an impeachment motion against Mr Noppadon.
'Noppadon must show his responsibility by resigning from his position to save the entire Cabinet from legal trouble since the foreign ministry was solely responsible for the joint communique,' said Mr Banharn Silpa-archa, leader of the Chart Thai party, the second largest in the six-party ruling coalition.
Several high-profile court rulings this week have targeted top officials in the Mr Samak government.
The Constitutional Court disqualified Public Health Minister Chiya Sasonsup from office on Wednesday for violating asset disclosure rules by failing to fully declare his wife's shareholdings.
In yet another case, the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for Mr Wattana Asavahame, chairman of one of the coalition parties, after he failed to appear in court to hear a verdict on charges against him of corruption over a water treatment project, a court statement said.
The announcement of the verdict in the case was rescheduled to August 18, the statement said. If convicted Mr Wattana faces up to 10 years in jail.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the eventual dissolution of the People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
Demonstrators have disrupted traffic in pockets of the capital Bangkok daily since May demanding that Mr Samak and his government resign, saying he is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup.
Mr Samak denies the accusations, saying the protesters are trying to undermine his democratically elected government.
Thaksin faces a slew of court cases charging him with corruption and abuse of power.
The Supreme Court heard the testimonies on Tuesday of the first witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate during his time as premier. The court will rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
The opposition has demanded that Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resign over a dispute with Cambodia centering on an ancient temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The Thai Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Mr Noppadon acted unconstitutionally when he endorsed Cambodia's application to register the Preah Vihear temple as a Unesco World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter. Critics fear the move undermines Thailand's claims to land near the temple.
The deputy leader of Samak's People's Power Party, Mr Kan Thienkhaew, said that the foreign minister 'is most likely to resign.
'He cannot stay on since the Constitutional Court ruled,' he said.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Democrat Party said it was ready on Thursday to submit an impeachment motion against Mr Noppadon.
'Noppadon must show his responsibility by resigning from his position to save the entire Cabinet from legal trouble since the foreign ministry was solely responsible for the joint communique,' said Mr Banharn Silpa-archa, leader of the Chart Thai party, the second largest in the six-party ruling coalition.
Several high-profile court rulings this week have targeted top officials in the Mr Samak government.
The Constitutional Court disqualified Public Health Minister Chiya Sasonsup from office on Wednesday for violating asset disclosure rules by failing to fully declare his wife's shareholdings.
In yet another case, the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for Mr Wattana Asavahame, chairman of one of the coalition parties, after he failed to appear in court to hear a verdict on charges against him of corruption over a water treatment project, a court statement said.
The announcement of the verdict in the case was rescheduled to August 18, the statement said. If convicted Mr Wattana faces up to 10 years in jail.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the eventual dissolution of the People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
Demonstrators have disrupted traffic in pockets of the capital Bangkok daily since May demanding that Mr Samak and his government resign, saying he is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup.
Mr Samak denies the accusations, saying the protesters are trying to undermine his democratically elected government.
Thaksin faces a slew of court cases charging him with corruption and abuse of power.
The Supreme Court heard the testimonies on Tuesday of the first witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate during his time as premier. The court will rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
