Mass Prague rally hits Babis over democracy concerns

Tens of of thousands of people rallied in the Czech capital, Prague, on Saturday to oppose the policies of Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his coalition government, accusing it of what they called “arrogance of power.”

Organizers from the Million Moments for Democracy movement estimated that more than 200,000 people filled the Letna plain, though that figure has not been independently verified.

The demonstrators accused Babis of steering the country away from democratic values and aligning with the pro-Russia policies of Hungary and Slovakia.

“We’re here to clearly stand against dragging our country onto the path of Slovakia and Hungary,” said Mikulas Minar, the head organizer from the Million Moments for Democracy group.

New ‘foreign agent’ law would have wide reach and heavy fines

In addition to concerns over public media, state institutions, and foreign policy, demonstrators also warned against draft legislation they say resembles Russian-style restrictions on civil society.

Babis, previously prime minister in two governments from 2017 to 2021, and his ANO, or YES, movement won big in the country’s October election and agreed to form a majority coalition government with two small political groups: the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves.

The new coalition government has begun to significantly redefine the nation’s foreign and domestic policies.

Babis has rejected key EU environmental and migration policies and refused financial aid for Ukraine.

His government is also preparing a foreign agents law that would require non-governmental organizations and individuals involved in vaguely defined political activity and receiving foreign aid to register or face large fines.

“This law can easily be used to restrict personal freedom,” Vaclav Paces, the former head of the Academy of Sciences, told the crowd.

Protesters angry over Babis’s immunity

Organizers said they called Saturday’s rally after parliament’s lower house rejected a motion to lift Babis’s immunity in a $2 million EU subsidy fraud case. The move blocks a court verdict until his term ends in 2029.

Lawmakers also refused to allow the prosecution of lower house Speaker Tomio Okamura, leader of the Freedom party, on charges of inciting hatred.

The decisions divide the nation into two categories: “the ordinary people and the untouchables,” the Million Moments group said

More protests are planned soon.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah