Turnov, North Bohemia, June 27 (CTK) – A spontaneous chain hunger strike was declared in Turnov on Wednesday by people dissatisfied with the political situation, in protest against the naming of the second cabinet of Andrej Babis’s ANO and Social Democrats (CSSD) supported by the Communists (KSCM).
The strike began at midnight with 15 people taking part in it and there are currently 50 protesters involved and others are joining. Each participant is going to observe the strike for 24 hours.
It is a public group that anyone can join, the protest’s initiator, Karel Sirek from Turnov told CTK.
Babis’s coalition minority cabinet was named eight months after the general election and five months after his first ANO minority cabinet failed to win confidence of the Chamber of Deputies and resigned.
The Communists, who have said they would support it, will definitively decide on the issue this weekend.
“Hereby, we protest against the new cabinet of Babis named by the president of the republic Milos Zeman, which is headed by a pre-1989 member of the Communist party [during the Communist era] and former StB [state secret police] agent Andrej Babis. For the first time since November 1989, a cabinet is formed with the direct support of the Communist party, which has been completely unacceptable to us,” Sirek said.
The chain hunger strike will be finished only after a new cabinet without the support of the Communists is appointed.
The protesters point to the symbolism of appointing the cabinet on June 27, which is the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Communism, calling it ‘monstrous.’
On this day, 68 years ago, democratic politician Milada Horakova and several others were executed after a show trial.
“It is a disgrace, a gross offence and violation of the memory of all victims of the criminal communist regime,” Sirek added.
The hunger strikers will be publishing daily who is involved in the strike and thus draw attention to the issue.
