Thousands of people protested on Wednesday in Prague. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the government, early parliamentary elections and the organization of a referendum on the purchase of Russian gas. Demonstrations were also held in other Czech cities.
Tens of thousands of people gathered, Wednesday, in the Czech capital, for the day of the country’s patron saint of saints. Wenceslas. The protest was called by the same organizers who gathered at least 70,000 people in Prague at the beginning of September. People. This time there are more of them – say the organizers.
The councils demanded the resignation of the government, the appointment of an assembly of experts, and the holding of early parliamentary elections.
The organizers wrote a petition to Milos Zeman asking the president – referring to the provisions of the constitution – to dismiss Peter Fiala’s government. The document will be delivered to the head of state October 10, 2022.
During the protests, price hikes were repeatedly criticized and there was talk of concerns about the upcoming winter and inflation. It has been pointed out on several occasions that The government is dragging the country into war on behalf of the European Union and NATO. There have been calls for neutrality and opposition to the possible adoption of the euro. A call for organizing a referendum to enable direct purchase of gas in the Russian Federation was read.
During the demonstration, the organizers released a dove of peace, calling on all deputies to leave their local parties and become independent politicians and “work directly for the good of the Czech nation.” There have been complaints from the platform about a lack of freedom, censorship, and other totalitarian practices.
The statements from the podium were accompanied by shouts of support from the crowd or whistles of opposition when, for example, there was talk of gas supplies or the European Union. The banners and slogans carried by the demonstrators coincided with the Czech national flags. There were calls for the resignation of the government. Some of them are directly related to the Prime Minister. “Fialo, that’s enough. You advocates of war.”. There were also signs saying “Don’t be silly. There are people here.”
Speakers included representatives of community initiatives and politicians representing small and large political organizations on both the left and right sides of the spectrum. There were communists, representatives of the radical anti-regime Freedom and Direct Democracy Party, which had representation in Parliament, as well as groups that remained outside the mainstream of Czech politics.
Foreign guests also performed during the demonstration in Prague. The German parliament of the Alternative for Germany (Afd) party backed Christine Anderson of the Czech Republic, in reference to their struggle against communist totalitarianism. The floor was taken by Peter Bystron, her fellow Bundestag from the Czech Republic. The Danish politician and former banker Mads Palsving also appeared.
The three-and-a-half-hour events on Wenceslas Square in Prague were videotaped for cities in the Czech Republic, where from several hundred to several thousand people demonstrated. No incidents were reported during the protests in Prague and other cities.
