Thousands of people in the Czech Republic took to the streets of Prague on Saturday to protest against the government. The reason behind the protest was the high inflation and the war in Ukraine.
The rally was organized by a political group called PRO, which called on the crowd to tear down the Ukrainian flag from the National Museum.
The protest was held in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. Thousands of Czechs called for the resignation of the ruling government. They accused the government of caring more about the war in Ukraine than the needs of Czech citizens, which they believed to be one of the major reasons behind the energy crisis.
Events behind the protest
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Czech government has stood in support of Kyiv. The government provided military and humanitarian support and also took in half-a million war refugees.
Many civilians had the letter Z, which is a symbol of the Russian military, on their bags during the protest. This was seen as a sign of support for the Russian military. “Stop the war, stop NATO,” many shouted.
Protestors, on the other hand, blamed the European Union for the soaring energy prices. The inflation rate in the country slightly dropped from 17.5% to 16.7% in February. According to a report published by Czech Radio in December, it was predicted that 30% of the population in the Czech Republic could fall into poverty due to soaring energy and housing prices.
Even last year in September 70,000 people protested against the increased gas prices, cost of living, and influx of immigrants into the nation. They demanded the government pay more attention to the needs of the Czech people rather than focusing on the war. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the protest was organized by “pro- Russians”.
The government under Petr Fiala faced a no- confidence vote after the opposition criticized the government’s action towards the energy crisis and pro- western policies. The Czech Republic has taken in 400,000 refugees from Ukraine.
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