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Thai Court Forces Premier From Office Over TV Cooking Show
BANGKOK — Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was forced from office on Tuesday when a court ruled that he had violated the Constitution by accepting payments to appear on cooking shows while in office.
His party said it would nominate Mr. Samak to succeed himself, an outcome that would seem to defy the spirit of the court ruling and to ensure that Thailand’s political crisis would continue.
Anti-government protesters cheered and wept when the verdict was read over radio and television, but there was no sign that they would end a two-week standoff in which they have blockaded the prime minister’s office.
The confrontation has hobbled the government, hit financial markets, damaged the country’s vital tourist trade and raised fears of violence or a possible military coup.
“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.
Mr. Samak made no immediate comment, but he has said he would abide by the court’s ruling. Parliament is scheduled to choose a new prime minister on Friday, with all parties eligible to put forward candidates.
“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 protesters accuse Mr. Samak of corruption and incompetence and say he is a stand-in for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup two years ago.
Mr. Thaksin is in London, where he is seeking political asylum in an attempt to evade corruption charges. He says the charges are politically motivated.
Mr. Samak’s government is made up primarily of supporters of Mr. Thaksin, and Mr. Samak has advertised himself publicly as a stand-in for Mr. Thaksin, who remains hugely popular among Thailand’s majority of poor and rural voters.
Until a new prime minister is seated, an interim government will be led by a brother-in-law of Mr. Thaksin, Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is also minister of education.
The head of the nine-judge Constitutional Court panel, Chat Chonlaworn, read out the unanimous verdict on Tuesday, saying Mr. Samak had violated a constitutional ban on private employment while in office. “His position as prime minister has ended,” he said.
Judge Chat said that 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.”
Mr. Samak had defended himself in court, saying he had not been an employee of the television station and had not earned a salary. “I did it because I liked doing it,” he said.
He was paid $2,350 for four shows on a program called “Tasting and Complaining,” according to testimony by the managing director of the company producing the show. Mr. Samak had been host of the show for seven years but gave it up in April, more than two months after being sworn in as prime minister.
Even if he is reinstated, Mr. Samak’s legal troubles will not be over. He faces three charges of corruption that have not yet reached the courts and he is appealing a two-year prison sentence for defamation for accusing Bangkok’s deputy governor of corruption. Conviction in any of these cases could also force him to step down.
The appeal in the defamation case is scheduled to be heard on Sept. 25, when Mr. Samak plans to address the United Nations in New York. The court said he would face an arrest warrant if he did not appear. Mr. Samak has said he is confident that he will not be ousted while he is away.
In addition to these court cases, the independent Election Commission ruled last week that Mr. Samak’s party had committed electoral fraud last December and should be dissolved. The Constitutional Court is set to decide that case soon.
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