There were angry scenes as protesters clashed with police when the Thai Education Minister confronted a student rally today (August 19).<br /><br />Hundreds of High School pupils staged a sit down protest outside the Ministry of Education in Bangkok, Thailand, amid growing anger towards the country's military government.<br /><br />They wore white ribbons in their hair, held placards and made a three-finger salute which has become a symbol of the country's democracy movement. They are angry at teachers in many schools banning them from political expressions.<br /><br />However, the country's Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan sparked chaos when he walked through crowds to reach the youngster. <br /><br />Several elder demonstrators clashed with police while one pensioner - wearing a symbolic block of conrete round his neck - had to be pushed away by bodyguards when he tried to reach the minister. <br /><br />Teepsuwan then spent several minute speaking with the students to listen to their concerns that their views are being stifled by teachers.<br /><br />The teenagers are now joining a growing movement of young people showing their anger at the military government who seized power with a coup in 2014. <br /><br />A series of protests have taken place in recent months in which demonstrators - mainly university students as well as left-wing and progressive groups - have called for greater levels of democracy and accountability in the country. <br /><br />On Saturday, thousands of protesters converged on the Democracy Monument in the capital Bangkok in the largest rally since 2014.<br /><br />Anger has been growing since March 2019 when controversial elections returned career soldier General Prayut Chan-o-cha to power and saw the progressive Future Forward Party disbanded amid claims that opposition parties were being silenced.<br /><br />A number of opposition leaders have been arrested in recent months though police so far shown restraint and have avoided any violent crackdowns on the gatherings.
