Demonstration Czech Republic against poverty, called by the party Right Respect Expertise (PRO), March 11, 2023, Prague.
Prague – Even in bad weather, thousands of people arrived at Prague's Wenceslas Square for the Czech anti-poverty anti-government demonstration called by the Právo Respekt Odbornost (PRO) party. According to the ČTK reporter, the square is densely packed to Opletalová street. The demonstration started at 14:00, many participants are holding Czech flags, some have banners demanding the resignation of the cabinet. When asked by ČTK, the police did not want to estimate the number of participants, at around 3:30 p.m. they said that they had not noticed any conflicts.
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Photo gallery: Demonstration Czech Republic against poverty
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Along Opletalova Street, people are standing across the entire width of the square, below it the crowd is thinner. Some participants have already left the meeting. Dozens of people are watching the protest from the area in front of the entrance to the National Museum. On the banners they also have inscriptions such as “Away with the Purple Clown Machine”, “They are scraping the state, they are adding to themselves” or “Stop the war, stop NATO”. They whistle, chant “Shame!”, “Resignation!” or “Scoundrels”.
“We have come together today to stand up to this misery. That we may never again be ruled by signal transmitters, sweater knitters, purse tank owners, or mobile phone military simulation players. That this country may never again be ruled by the interests of multinational corporations, but by a government that will put the interests of the citizens of the Czech Republic first,” said lawyer Jindřich Rajchl, who leads the PRO party.
Lawyer Ondřej Dostál, who worked with the Pirates in the past, stated that the government's amendment on the lower valuation of pensions is unconstitutional, which earned a strong response among the participants. He also noted that some of those performing at the demonstration will also travel around towns and cities and hold discussions with citizens.
In the first two hours, the lawyer Tomáš Nielsen, the choreographer Petr Zuska, the director and screenwriter Igor Chaun, the former senator Alena Dernerová, epidemiologist Jiří Beran or doctor and former Olympian Lukáš Pollert sent a message via video. For example, senator Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová (for the Independents) is yet to speak. The organizers had to call the demonstrators several times to clear the side of the square, because someone collapsed and an ambulance could not reach him.
One of the participants with a megaphone in the crowd called for people to remove the Ukrainian flag from the facade of the National Museum after the demonstration.
The PRO party was founded last year. Rajchl, who in the past was active in the Tricolor movement, has previously stated that the impoverishment of the Czech Republic is mainly due to the self-destructive energy policy of the European Union, which is thoughtlessly promoted by the Czech government.
The party previously addressed a letter to the government in which, among other things, called to prevent social network operators from restricting freedom of speech or to introduce a legal obligation for the media to provide objective and balanced information. According to PRO's ideas, the cabinet should acquire 100 percent control of ČEZ, in which it now holds roughly 70 percent of the shares, and the state should also abandon the system of trading emission allowances.
PRO also wants the government to clearly strive for peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine, including the possible organization of a peace conference in the Czech Republic. According to her, the Cabinet should also end supplies of military equipment to Ukraine.
