Prague, July 14 (CTK) – A march of opponents of refugees’ arrival in the Czech Republic will be held at the Wenceslas Square in the Prague centre on Saturday, while immigration advocates will hold their own rally in the same place on the same day.
Three events are scheduled to take place in the Prague centre on the day. At 14:00, the people who are opposed to hateful signs and spread of fear of the refugees will meet.
At 15:00, there will be a rally of those who do not want migrants in the Czech Republic.
At 17:00, a “popular camp” of the groupings and extremists who demand immediate closure of the borders and the Czech Republic’s withdrawal from the EU will start at the bottom of Wenceslas Square.
A previous anti-immigration rally was held on July 1, attended by a crowd of about 700. The demonstrators warned of the “hordes of horny blacks” and put up fake gallows for “traitors.”
As the police did not intervene, they were then criticised by the authorities.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (CSSD) said such signs of xenophobia and racism could not be tolerated.
Organisers of one of the Saturday rallies said “carrying dummy gallows is an absolutely appropriate expression of the disagreement with the government.”
The government recently agreed to accept 1,500 refugees by the end of 2017.
“If anything, one can still speak about a moderate behaviour of the public,” leader of the extremist extra-parliamentary National Democracy (ND) Adam B. Bartos said.
The “popular camp” will demand immediate closure of the borders, the reintroduction of border checks and police and military control, the termination of the Schengen agreement and a referendum on the Czech Republic’s leaving the EU.
