Illustration photo – Economist and dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics Miroslav Ševčík.
Prague – The Rector of the University of Economics in Prague (VŠE) Petr Dvořák will meet with the Dean of the Faculty of Economics (NF) Miroslav Ševčík on Monday regarding his appearance at Saturday's anti-government demonstration. After the meeting, the school plans to issue a statement with next steps, it said on Twitter. At the same time, she stated that the dean's behavior is “over the edge” for a long time. Ševčík told ČTK that he did not take part in the demonstration, he only accompanied a man who was beaten by the police. That is why he does not understand the criticisms of the VŠE management.
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Photo gallery: Demonstration Czech Republic against Poverty
The Czech anti-poverty anti-government demonstration was called by the Pravo Respect Expertise (PRO) party on Saturday afternoon at Wenceslas Square in Prague. After the event, some of the participants tried to remove the Ukrainian flag from the National Museum, the police detained 18 of them. The server Forum 24 said today that Ševčík was among the people who tried to get into the building.
“The NF dean's performance has been out of line for a long time, and yesterday's performance was no exception. Although the dean thinks so, his private opinions and actions cannot be separated from the fact that he holds a public office,” the school said on Twitter. VŠE Rector Dvořák will meet with Ševčík on Monday, after which the school will issue a statement with further steps.
“I have nothing to respond to, because I don't know what I am accused of,” Ševčík told CTK today. He denied taking part in the skirmish in front of the National Museum and emphasized that he did not take part in the demonstration at all. He justified his presence at the museum by saying that on the way from a meeting with family members, he was approached by an unknown person on the street because he had been beaten by the police. Ševčík said that he accompanied the man back to the museum with a lawyer who happened to be passing by, where he spoke with a member of the anti-conflict team. “Unfortunately, at that moment the order probably came and coincidentally they pushed me against the wall,” Ševčík told CTK. He added that he did not know about the previous attack on the museum.
According to VŠE spokesperson Věra Koukalová, the possible possibility of the dean being dismissed by the rector is problematic due to the Higher Education Act. “The Senate of the Faculty of Economics, with some exceptions, stands by its dean, so they will not dismiss him themselves,” said a spokeswoman for ČTK. According to the spokesperson, any dismissal of the dean by the rector would be against the University Act and could lead to legal action. “So we are working on some other ways,” she added.
Ševčík is not the only public figure who faces criticism for appearing at an anti-government demonstration. Today, the head of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS), Josef Středula, criticized the performance of the chairman of the Association of Independent Trade Unions, Bohumír Dufek. “Words about 'scoots' or calls 'if it doesn't go the right way, it goes the wrong way' are completely unacceptable to me,” Středula said on Twitter. He added that Dufek has nothing to do with ČMKOS.
ČMKOS is the largest trade union headquarters in the Czech Republic, which brings together 31 trade unions. The association of independent trade unions is the second largest with approximately 200,000 members. Together with ČMKOS, ASO represents trade unions in the Council of Economic and Social Agreements, known as tripartite.
