THAI STUDENTS TURN : PROTESTS

BANGKOK : THAI students protest party ban. Hundreds of Thai students protested on Monday against the dissolution of a popular opposition party as-

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and five cabinet ministers faced the first day of censure debate in parliament.

Tensions had been rising since Friday when the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party, the third largest party in parliament and a vocal critic of the military establishment, for taking loans from its founder.

The court's decision sparked small protests around the country through the weekend and was widely condemned by by democracy advocates.

Students at Chulalongkorn University in central Bangkok laid out a funeral wreath labelled ''RIP DEMOCRACY'' as hundreds gathered and made speeches condemning the court decision.

Across the city, hundreds more students gathered at Kasetsart University and chanted ''Prayuth get out'' in support of the censure motion. [Reuters]