Protests in the Czech Republic. Thousands of people have started protesting against the government, NATO and the European Union (EU) in the European country. Protests have been going on in the capital Prague since Saturday (September 3).
About 70,000 protesters took part in it. Apart from the demand to control the rising price of energy and electricity, they also express no confidence against the European Union and the military alliance NATO.
Opposition parties have accused the government of being inactive in dealing with inflation, fuel and electricity prices. Among them, the ruling coalition government went down in the no-confidence vote of the parliament last Friday (September 2). A day later, the protest started in the capital.
Analysts say the no-confidence motion against the incumbent in parliament proves Europe’s energy crisis is fueling political unrest. Inflation is rising due to high electricity prices in many countries. Several right-wing groups and relatively minor political parties such as the Communist Party called for the protests.
Organizers say the Czech Republic should remain militarily neutral and maintain direct contact with gas supplier countries, including Russia. Jiri Havel, one of the organizers of the protest, said, “We are protesting with the demand for change.”
Basically the issue of gas-electricity price is the main one. If this continues, our economy will be destroyed this fall. Prime Minister Peter Fayala, who leads the centre-right five-party coalition, said the protesters were not looking out for the country’s interests.
He also said that those who called the protest in Wenceslas Square in Prague are pro-Russian; Their position is close to extremists. They are against the interests of the Czech Republic. The protestors complain that the government is paying more attention to Ukraine than the interests of the country.
For this they accused the government and demanded the resignation of the center-right government led by Petro Filer. The current government came to power last December. Protesters also condemned the government for supporting sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
