BANGKOK • Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters marched on Parliament in Bangkok yesterday, wearing black T-shirts to mourn the state of Thailand under an army-aligned government, in the first street protest for several years.

Discontent with the administration of former army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha is seething, with a progressive opposition party, the Future Forward Party, disbanded and the country's economy faltering as the coronavirus crisis batters the key tourism industry.

Protesters have met inside university campuses in recent weeks but are now edging back onto the streets of the capital, which has played host to rival - and often deadly - rounds of street politics over the last 14 years.

Thailand voted Mr Prayut's conservative government into power a year ago. It was the first election since a 2014 coup and held under an army-scripted Constitution.

The boisterous but peaceful "Black Friday" rally called for the government to quit.

"Our families are grassroots people and we're directly affected by government policy and the failing economy," said 22-year-old student leader Thip Ubsorn.

Thailand's pro-democracy movements - often led by students - have often ended in bloody army crackdowns. Experts said they will need to stir a coalition of young and old from across Thailand's political divide to pose a serious threat to the government.

A 70-year-old protester known as Chai said: "The country has gone nowhere (since Prayut came to power). Isn't five, six years enough?"

Now, students - organised on social media and also emboldened by Hong Kong's protest movement - are slowly mobilising once again.

"We're not scared, we're a new generation," said a 27-year-old post-graduate student who called herself BK.

"We're wearing black to mourn the death of the rule of law, justice and democracy in our country. This is the beginning."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE