'They're agents of foreign powers': Protests in Czech Republic against govt's pro-Western policies
File photo.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital city of Prague on Saturday (September 16) to take part in the protestof the pro-Russian Czech opposition party PRO movementagainst the government, criticising its economic management and military support for war-torn Ukraine. Citing local reports, the news agency Reuters reported that around 10,000 people turned up for the protest.
Addressing the crowd at the Wenceslas Square, PRO leader Jindrich Raichl said, "We made another step today to move out of the way the rock that is the government of Mr (Prime Minister Petr) Fiala."
'Don't want a puppet government any more'
Sharpening his attack on the government, Raichl said, "They are agents of foreign powers, people who fulfil orders, ordinary puppets. And I do not want a puppet government any more." He added that the Czech Republic should veto any attempt by Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The current government in the Central European country has been a close ally of Ukraine, providing it with arms and ammunition to fight the Russian invasion.
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The PRO movement is not represented in the Czech Parliament and has taken a nationalist, pro-Moscow and anti-Western line. On Saturday, Raichl hailed the policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a role model and also voiced support for Slovakia's former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has adopted a staunchly anti-Western stance ahead of an election on September 30.
Protesters on Saturday also criticised the Fiala government's stewardship of the Czech economy which has suffered double-digit inflation. In a social media post, police said they detained a man at the protest who was wearing a patch of the Russian mercenary group Wagner on suspicion of supporting genocide.
(With inputs from agencies)
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