Anti-government protesters wore Harry Potter costumes in Bangkok, Thailand, today (August 3).<br /><br />The demonstrators said they were inspired by the work of J.K. Rowling in which the young wizard overcomes Voldemort, whom they likened to the country's military government. <br /><br />One of the leaders of the protests, wearing a black Hogwarts robe, said: ''We want democracy now. This government has no legitimacy.''<br /><br />Unrest has been growing in recent years after the Thai army lead by career soldier General Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power following a military coup in 2014.<br /><br />A liberal opposition party called Future Forward which won widespread support at last year's elections was later banned by the government. <br /><br />There have been a growing number of protests since March lead by pro-democracy activists and large numbers of students.<br /><br />Lats month, angry protesters gathered at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok for a rally that saw scuffles with police. <br /><br />They were angry at the lack of transparency, accountability and democracy in the country - tensions that have built over several years since the controversial military leadership seized power following a coup in 2014 and won an election in 2019.<br /><br />There were some scuffles as police battled to contain the crowd with metal barriers but they were quickly calmed down.<br /><br />Many of the protesters held up a three finger salute - adapted from the Hunger Games movie - and wore black shirts as a sign of mourning for democracy. There were then several speakers.
