<p>Four questions have been asked of the UK government by Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kerry McCarthy MP (Britsol East, Labour Party) regarding the death of political prisoner Ampon Tangnoppakul&nbsp; AKA Ah Kong and the on-going situation vis a vis the use of lese majeste laws in Thailand.</p>

<p>I woke up this morning to terrible news. The 62 year old Thai political prisoner&nbsp; <a href="http://asiancorrespondent.com/70579/we-are-all-ar-kong-now-human-rights-on-the-slide-in-thailand/">Ampon &quot;Ah Kong&quot; Tangnoppakul</a> is dead. Three days ago, on the 5th of May, it was his 44th wedding anniversary and he leaves behind his wife, Pa Ou, and a large loving family.</p>

<p>Over the last couple of weeks there has been a deluge of opeds in the English language Thai media and blogosphere on Thaksin Shinawatra. The Bangkok Post, the Nation and even Asian Correspondent&rsquo;s very own Bangkok Pundit have repeatedly poured over every varied aspect of Thaksin's possible return in what only could be described, in a nod to film theory, as the &ldquo;New Wave of Thaksin Fever&rdquo;.</p>

<p>This is part two of my recent interview with leading Thai historian and academic, the former student leader, Dr. Thongchai Winichakul. Part one can be found <a href="http://bit.ly/HfEW2D">here</a>.</p>

<p>To anyone interested in Thailand&rsquo;s recent history and politics Dr. Thongchai Winichakul needs little introduction. A famed academic and historian, now resident in Singapore and the USA, Dr. Thongchai was a student leader during the terrible Thammasat Massacre of 1976 and spent time in prison following those events.</p>

<p>As the news of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/11/us-soldier-killing-afghanistan-children">Kandahar Massacre</a> circles the globe, the eyes of the international community are once again scrutinising the USA&rsquo;s dubious and often appalling human rights record &ndash; particularly when they are intervening/invading in some foreign country.</p>

<p>A Red Shirt prisoner support group led by <a href="http://www.cleanclothes.org/media-inquiries/press-releases/lingerie-giant-triumph-sacks-workers-to-get-rid-of-unions">trade unionist</a> and political activist, <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/feature/humanrights/34630/sisters-in-arms">Jittra Kotchadet</a>, delivered a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in Bangkok today [16 Nov]. The group also staged <a href="http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2011/11/37878">a small protest</a> of 200 people outside the Government House in Bangkok and called for the immediate release on bail of all lese majeste and political prisoners.</p>

<p>Once again, London-based freedom of expression activists, <a href="http://www.article19.org">ARTICLE 19</a>, are taking the lead in pushing the international agenda for the repeal and reform of Thailand's draconian lese majeste law. In addition, in the interview below, they have also called for the immediate release of ALL of Thailand's lese majeste prisoners.&nbsp; But the most surprising development - which ARTICLE 19 have highlighted in their most recent press release - is the Thai Foreign Ministry's quite extraordinary comments on l&egrave;se majest&eacute;.</p>

<p>Last week in Geneva, Switzerland, Thailand&rsquo;s freedom of expression record came under particular scrutiny during the <a href="http://bit.ly/oIpZCz">Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council</a>.</p>

<p>One of the key and <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/248011/yingluck-confirms-wage-vow">most popular policies</a> that helped sweep Yingluck Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party to power in the recent July 3 Thai general election was the increase in Thailand&rsquo;s pitiful minimum wage.&nbsp; Having won a landslide election victory, Pheu Thai&rsquo;s avowed aim is to increase this minimum wage to a national level of 300 Baht (&pound;6.50 or US$10) a day.</p>

<p>After the now notorious arrest in Thailand of US citizen and blogger Joe Gordon on lese majeste charges, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and her Embassy staff have been on the receiving end of some rather pointed comments from the Thai social media community.</p>

<p>In the latter half of 2009, shortly after one of Thailand&rsquo;s most notorious political prisoners, <a href="http://bit.ly/hbn5cV">Daranee Chanchoengsilpakul</a>, was sentenced to 18 years in prison under Thailand&rsquo;s draconian lese majeste laws, an experienced human rights advocate contacted Amnesty International&rsquo;s International Secretariat&rsquo;s Thai-based researcher, Ben Zawacki. The reason for the correspondence was to try to get to the bottom of why Mr. Zawacki and Amnesty had been almost completely silent on Daranee Chanchoengsilpakul&rsquo;s incarceration.</p>