BANGKOK -- Student protests have been growing in Bangkok with demonstrators openly calling for a change of government, a proper debate on the role of the monarchy and constitutional reforms. There have also recently been smaller protests in over 45 of the kingdom's 76 provinces.
Following a demonstration on Monday at Thammasat University, students had planned to stage an afternoon protest in Lumpini Park in the heart of Bangkok on Wednesday -- a public holiday marking Queen Mother Sirikit's birthday that is celebrated nationally as Mother's Day.
