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Central Europe
June 7, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
Prague rocked by the biggest protests for democracy since 1989 demanding Prime Minister Andrej Babis's resignation
Nelly Tomcikova in Prague
Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague, a sym- bol of the fall of communism in 1989, hosted the biggest protests in the history of independent Czech Republic on June 4, as crowds demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
The organisers plan to keep the momentum up and fill Letna Plain, another venue for mass rallies during the Velvet Revolution that ended communism, with 200,000 protesters from all parts of the country on June 23.
“We appeal to all deputies and senators to com- mit themselves to support at least the first point of the Commitment at www.nezavislajustice.cz until June 11 and to put pressure on approval of a narrowly focused parliamentary draft amend- ment that will strengthen the independence of the Public Prosecutor. This safety measure must be accepted as quickly as possible so that it is no longer possible to remove the Public Prosecutor at any time! We want actions, not just words!” the initiative Million Moments for Democracy called upon public officials.
When asked by daily Novinky.cz whether he was watching the protests against him and the Minister of Justice Marie Benesova, Babis replied he was not. “Why would I watch it? It is nice weather out- side. They go to the concerts there,” he said, add- ing that, “Today we were sitting with the minister Benesova and with the Rekonstrukce statu [Re- construction of the State, Czech NGO]. There is no
reason to protest. It's not pleasant, but I accept it. What can I do. They demonstrate on the basis of false facts. But I won’t convince those people.”
In response to the PM’s statement, the Rekon- strukce statu immediately called upon to him to stop using them as a fig leaf and accept the neces- sary safety measures for independence of judiciary.
“Andrej Babis should not use Rekonstrukce statu and me in this situation as a fig leaf. Yesterday's meeting was not going well at all. The prime minister has rejected our demands, claiming that the justice system is not threatened and there is no need for any fast actions. If he then says in the media that he holds talks with us and thus there is no reason for demonstrations, he should im- mediately implement all the safety measures for independence of the judiciary and then consider changing the minister of justice for a person who commands more public confidence,” said director of Frank Bold and founder of Rekonstrukce statu Pavel Franc on June 5.
“I definitely didn't go to a concert, as Andrej Babis said, I went to support civil society and protest against the current political situation in the coun- try,” Jiri Mach from the Czech Council on Foreign Relations told bne IntelliNews, adding that he does not agree with the government of Babis and his attacks on the very essence of the rule of law.
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