Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Czech capital of Prague to demand an end to sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, as well the resignation of the country’s government.
Protesters gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas square on Wednesday in opposition to the Czech Republic’s government’s stance on the Ukraine war, with the tens of thousands reportedly gathered demanding that sanctions against Russia are dropped, and that the country pulls out of NATO.
Speakers at the massive demonstration cited expected difficulties to do with gas and food as some of the main motivators for their protest, two issues that officials across Europe worry could end up causing chaos on the continent in the coming months.
According to a report by the Czech Hospodářské Noviny newspaper, among the demands of the protesters was the withdrawal of the Czech Republic from the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, as well as the World Health Organisation.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – SEPTEMBER 28: People gather to protest against the Czech government and the way it has been handling the energy crisis and soaring prices at Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czech Republic on September 28, 2022. The last protest organised by the same group from the fringes of the Czech political scene attracted tens of thousands of people in early September. The protest was attended by lower tens of thousands of participants police said. (Photo by Lukas Kabon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Protesters also reportedly decried the “planned dilution of the nation” with Ukrainian refugees, though many were keen to emphasise that their anti-war stance did not equate to a pro-Vladimir Putin one.
“We are not Russophiles, we love the Czech land, we want love and peace,” one protester reportedly told the Czech publication, with complaints about a lack of freedom of speech in the country also reportedly being common amongst those gathered.
Further demands include making the Czech Republic fully self-sufficient in terms of food production, with speakers at the event reportedly concerned that issues to do with the nation’s gas supply could end up causing shortages.
Fears regarding such shortages in the face of strained EU relations with Russia have become common across Europe over the last number of months, with officials in Germany even now warning of riots in the country should people be left unable to heat their homes.
Some in the UK have also warned of similar unrest occurring due to the country’s cost of living crisis — something that has largely been the result of the rising cost of energy — with one trade union head saying that sentiment in the country was now similar to public feeling during the Poll Tax riots.
“I actually think there is a moment where people could rise to doing exactly the same thing again,” trade union leader Sharon Graham remarked regarding ongoing public hardship, telling a paper in the country that she had not a “shadow of a doubt” that tensions in the country were now as bad as they were in the Margaret Thatcher era.