Industrial Workers of the World

http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/

Video http://au.youtube.com/Giles53

on the 20th of January, Giles Ji Ungpakorn was charged with Lese Majeste - ie. offending the dignity of the monarchy - for a book he published in 2007. Giles was charged with Lese Majeste because of 8 paragraphs in Chapter 1 of the book 'A Coup for the Rich'.

Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Giles is a political commentator and has been involved in social movements in Thailand for many years on the side of labour and the poor of Thailand. In the political unrests of 2008, Giles' social commentary was again very clear in exposing the role of the military and the elites in organising the protests. T

he Lese Majeste law is quite clearly aimed at suppressing dissent in Thailand. It is now used by the present government to target its critics. The Lese Majeste law mainly targets people and organisations that criticise the social order, and organise, in favour of workers and the poor. It is important to defend activists like Giles Ji Ungpakorn.

You can: Write letters of support to Ji, ji.ungpakorn@gmail.com

Pass motions of support at your union Write letters of protests to the Thai government c/o

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Government House, Bangkok, Thailand. Fax number +66(0)29727751

Write letters of protest to your local embassy/consulate

Demand that Amnesty International take up all Les Majesty cases in Thailand.

Demand the abolition of the les majesty law.

Royal Thai Consulate General Suite 301, 566 St Kilda Road Melbourne Vic 3004. Tel (03) 9533-9100 Fax (03) 9533-9200. E-mail : swallace@netspace.net.au

Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra 111 Empire Circuit, Yarralumla, A.C.T. 2600, Canberra Tel: +06 273 1149, 273 2937 Fax: +06 273 1518

E-mail: info@thaiembassy.org.au Website: http://www.thaiembassy.org.au

Publicise this case among your networks

Yours in Solidarity Piergiorgio Moro Union Convenor -- Australia Asia Worker Links PO Box 45 Carlton South Victoria 3053 Australia Tel: + 61 3 9663 7277 Email: aawl@aawl.org.au Web: aawl.org.au ABN: 82 920 590 967 Inc Assn No: A1318

MORE: I reject totally the accusation that I have committed any crime by writing and publishing this book. I am prepared to fight any Lese Majeste charges in order to defend academic freedom, the freedom of expression and democracy in Thailand.Since this accusation was filed by a Special Branch officer, the present Democrat Party Government should be questioned about its role in this and many other cases. The new Prime Minister has stated that he wants to see a firm crackdown on les majesty and many recent cases have been filed by the police. Giles Ji Ungpakorn 13 January 2009 http://www.istendency.net/node/view/73

He is an associate professor in the Political Science Faculty, and is also a member of the Thai socialist group Workers' Democracy, which is part of the International Socialist Tendency...an international grouping of organisations around the ideas of Tony Cliff, founder of the Socialist Workers Party in the UK. In 2006, after the military staged a coup and revoked the constitution, Giles led a demonstration in downtown Bangkok by university students. He was later accused of lèse majesté for calling the royally assented Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont "illicit". In February 2007, his English-language academic work A Coup for Rich was refused distribution by the bookstore of Chulalongkorn University. His listing the controversial The King Never Smiles as a reference was the explanation given by the store manager...The Thai government and police use the lese majeste laws as an excuse to surpress political opposition. Many human rights organizations think this is what has happened here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Ungpakorn