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Thai Leader Ordered to Resign Over TV Show
By SETH MYDANS
Published: September 9, 2008
BANGKOK — A Thai court ordered Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign Tuesday after finding that he had violated the Constitution by accepting payment for appearing on two cooking shows while in office.
His party said it would name Mr. Samak to succeed himself in the job, a move that seemed to defy the spirit of the court ruling and to insure that Thailand’s political crisis would continue.
"P.P.P. will propose Samak as prime minister on the grounds that he’s the party leader, and the wrongdoing was petty and not triggered by mismanagement," said Witthaya Buranasiri, an official of Mr. Samak’s People Power Party.
Parliament was to vote for a new prime minister on Friday.
Mr. Samak made no immediate comment, but he has said he would abide by the court’s ruling.
Anti-government protesters, thousands of whom have blockaded the prime minister’s office over the past two weeks, cheered and wept when the verdict was read over radio and television. But the party’s stance seemed to suggest the two-week standoff was not over yet.
“Samak was ousted by the court, but there is no guarantee he will not return in the next few days,” said Surhyiyasai Katsila, a spokesman for the People’s Alliance for Democracy, which is leading the protests.
The standoff has sent Thailand into a political crisis that has hobbled government, hit financial markets, damaged the vital tourist trade and raised fears of violence or a possible military coup.
The charge involving paid television appearances is a curious one, given the allegations of gigantic corruption that surround other government figures.
The head of the nine-judge panel, Chat Chonlaworn, read out the verdict Tuesday, saying Mr. Samak had violated a constitutional ban on private employment while in office. "His position as prime minister has ended," he said.
Mr. Chat said Mr. Samak had given conflicting testimony on Monday as to whether he had been paid a salary or expenses and that there had been an attempt to fabricate evidence and "to hide his actions."
