Prague, June 30 (CTK) – Several hundred people protested against the acceptance of refugees in the Czech Republic at a meeting, organised by anti-Islam movements, in Prague Tuesday.
They criticised the government’s decision to voluntarily accept up to several hundred immigrants.
About 30 people came to express the opposite view and some of them were pelting the protesters with eggs.
The Bloc against Islam, which staged the demonstration against immigrants along with We Do Not Want Islam in the Czech Republic movement, announced that it would run in the regional election to be held in the autumn of 2016.
The demonstrators mainly criticised Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) and his coalition government. He rejected the obligatory quotas for immigrants at the EU summit in Brussels last week, but along with other EU member states’ leaders agreed to accept some 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece on a voluntary basis.
Bloc against Islam head Martin Konvicka said Sobotka had played “a dirty trick” at the summit.
Other speakers, including a few MPs for the opposition Dawn of Direct Democracy movement, voiced similar views.
“Voluntary quotas are a dirty trick played on citizens of the Czech Republic,” Dawn deputy group head Marek Cernoch said, adding that the EU should return refugees to their countries of origin and help them there.
The protesters carried banners reading “Support for Muslim immigrants is no humanism, but state treason.” and “Halt the Islamic State’s invasion of Europe.”
A group of their opponents verbally clashed with them. They had banners with the slogans: “We do not want Nazis in the Czech Republic.” and “Welcome, refugees – push off, racists.”
However, no serious incidents occurred during the demonstration, except for throwing eggs.
One egg hit the trousers of Czech Sovereignty movement chairwoman Jana Volfova. She called on the police to interfere, but otherwise she took the “attack” with sense of humour.
