The dissident Thai socialist Giles Ji Ungpakorn has fled to Britain to avoid censorship and imprisonment in Thailand.
Giles teaches political science at Chulalongkorn university in Bangkok, the Thai capital. He has been charged with “lèse majesté” – insulting the king – and faced up to 15 years in jail.
He was due to report to police in Thailand on Monday of this week, but managed to get out of the country and escape to Oxford. Giles does not believe he would have received a fair trial if he had stayed in Thailand.
The charges against Giles stem from his recent book, A Coup For The Rich, which denounces the 2006 pro-monarchy coup in Thailand.
Giles has now written a manifesto calling on left wing forces in Thailand to unite around a series of progressive demands.
Unions have called a general strike
Interview with a member of French revolutionary socialist group Autonomie de Classe
