Czech Republic: Equal Opportunities Party chair addresses thousands
On Saturday 17 November thousands of people attended a demonstration in the center of Prague convened by labor unions and several civic initiatives in order to protest against the Czech government. Speakers demanded the departure of the cabinet of Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats – ODS) and early elections.
Police estimated the number of protesters at roughly 10 000, police spokesperson Jan Daněk told the Czech Press Agency. However, Jaroslav Zavadil, chair of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (Českomoravská konfederace odborových svazů – ČMKOS) first declared "there are 20 000 of us here" and later told journalists that as many as 25 000 people had attended.
The assembly, convened by the Stop the Government platform (Stop vládě), started on Wenceslas Square at 13:00 CET and ended after one hour with people symbolically ringing "the last bell" by shaking their keys and then singing the national anthem. Marchers then set out for Národní třída, where their way was "blocked" near the National Theater by participants of the anti-government "happening" carrying cardboard figures of the members of government wearing the helmets and shields of the former communist National Security Corps (the SNB) who intervened against students at that same spot 23 years ago.
Speeches were then made by other dignitaries, such as former dissident Petr Uhl, author Lenka Procházková, and the chair of the Equal Opportunities Party, Štefan Tišer. People started to disperse at around 15:30 CET.
