Several thousand people protested on the Old Town Square this Sunday against the government measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The attending speakers gave speeches, including the former president Václav Klaus. The whole event lasted for approximately two hours.
The Chcípl PES initiative organized the demonstration called “Otevřeme Česko” (Let’s Open Czechia). Participants protested with various slogans, such as “Stop COVID tyranny. Let’s stop totalitarianism!”, “We are not sheep”, or “On Monday to school!”. Some protestors came with small children.
Protesters mostly weren’t wearing masks nor keeping the required distance between each other. The police reported that the demonstration went peacefully. However, one person was detained for the offense.
Klaus stated that he is against the government’s dictations and the vaccination:
“There is no miracle vaccine. Vaccination must not be mandatory.”
Janeček, an entrepreneur in the hospitality industry, expressed doubts in his speech about the government’s steps: “The anti-epidemic chaotic measures of this government do not work and will never work. On the contrary, they are detrimental to this republic, to us, to you, to the whole nation.” Speakers and supporters want the country to open on January 23 since the current lockdown was prolonged until January 22.
At the end of the demonstration, singer Daniel Landa asked the participants to protest in a non-violent way. “We are a force, but we are not violence. We are a peaceful assembly. It is very important,” Landa said. The event finished with participants singing the national anthem.
According to the organizers, the event is supposed to show the absurdity of the measures. Chcípl Pes initiative supports mostly the entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses representing the gastronomy sector.
Photo by Ridwan Meah on Unsplash
