Thousands of Czechs protested in Prague on Friday, calling on the centre-right government to step down to allow early elections and demanding talks with Russia on gas supplies before winter sets in, Reuters reported.
The National Day demonstration in Prague’s main square was the third organized by far-right political movements, fringe groups and the Communist Party. According to police estimates, Friday’s protest drew fewer people than the previous two rallies, and Friday’s turnout was down from the tens of thousands.
The group that organized the protest “Czech Republic First!” opposes the European Union and the transatlantic NATO alliance and wants the nation of 10.7 million to be militarily neutral.
Protesters waved Czech flags, chanted “Resignation, resignation” and carried placards calling for withdrawal from NATO and the EU.
“This is a new national revival, the goal of which is the independence of the Czech Republic,” said event organizer Ladislav Vrabel. “When I see a full market, nobody can stop it.”
High energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine have put pressure on governments across Europe to soften the blow of rising energy prices for consumers and businesses.
The Czech government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala signed EU sanctions against Russia and took a tough stance on the invasion of Ukraine. He also adopted a series of measures, including financial aid for companies and caps on electricity prices for households.
Boss Wagner claims to have a “huge” number of recruitment centers in the Czech Republic
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner’s mercenary group, said it has a “huge” number of recruitment centers in the Czech Republic.
“Yes, indeed, we have a huge number of recruiting centers in the Czech Republic. In general, I want to note that the citizens of the Czech Republic are fighting excellently in the ranks of the Wagner group. And they are very proud of the fact that they are the only ones among those Europeans who defend the interests of the Russian Federation with weapons in their hands,” Prigozhin said in an obscure Czech telegram channel called “neCT24”.
He called the Czechs the backbone of Wagner’s squads.
“I want to emphasize once again that the Czechs are really the backbone of some of Wagner’s units,” Yevgeny Prigozhin also said, claiming that within the group of mercenaries he is activating a battalion made up of Czechs called “Sveik”, after a character from the famous satirical novel “The Adventures of the Brave Soldier Shveik” by Yaroslav Hasek.
Protests against NATO and the EU in Prague
Like Romania and other communist countries of the former Soviet bloc, the Czech Republic has been one of the favorite targets of Russian disinformation since the start of the “special military operation” on February 24.
In early September, nearly 70,000 people protested in Prague against the Czech government, calling on the ruling coalition to take measures to control rising energy prices and expressing opposition to the European Union and NATO.
The protest was organized by the Communist Party of the Czech Republic and other formations with pro-Russian views, from both the extreme left and the right of the political spectrum.
They say that the Czech Republic, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, should be militarily neutral and secure direct contracts with gas suppliers, including Russia.
Another anti-poverty protest was organized in the Czech capital, as well as in Bratislava, by the same factions or some branches from Slovakia in October.
In the parliamentary elections organized last November, the Communist Party of the Czech Republic was left without a single mandate in the legislative body in Prague for the first time in almost 80 years.
Source: Hot News RO
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