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34 I Central Europe bne July 2019
June 4 2019, Wenceslas square. 120 thousand people protest against prime minister Babis.
Czech PM Andrej Babis might face trial over conflict of interest, 120,000 protest in Prague
Nelly Tomcikova in Prague
At least 120,000 Czechs took to the streets of Prague on the evening of June 4 to call for the resigna- tion of Prime Minster Andrej Babis (ANO), who is caught up in a conflict
of interests scandal and accused of misusing EU funds. The protests are the biggest seen since those that took place during the fall of communism in 1989.
Babis might have to go to court over his role in the case where he is accused of using his political office to channel EU funds into one of his own companies, daily Hospodarske Noviny wrote on
www.bne.eu
June 2, calling Babis one of the most problematic leaders in Europe.
As bne IntelliNews went to press, around 120,000 protesters had gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square, filling it to the brim, to demand Babis' resignation. The protest drew crowds from the
capital and surrounding towns and was the latest in a series of big protests.
The current series started in April in
a reaction to the appointment of Marie Benesova as Minister of Justice. There are claims she is biased in Babis' favour and will obstruct an independent
“The protests are the biggest seen since those that took place during the fall of communism in 1989”