Romani celebrity Radek Banga tells 300 000 demonstrators in the Czech capital: This is not just a handful of people!
Yesterday’s protest against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) and in favor of an independent judiciary was the biggest demonstration in the country since the pro-democracy protests of 1989 – according to updated estimates released by the T-Mobile telecommunications operator today, 283 000 people assembled in the Czech capital yesterday. The protest warned against the direction in which Babiš and Czech President Miloš Zeman are leading the country.
The PM disagrees with the demonstrators’ allegations that he and the Government have interfered with the independence of the judiciary. The lead singer of the popular music group Gipsy.cz, Romani community member Radek Banka, was one of many celebrities who addressed the hundreds of thousands of protesters yesterday.
“So, today I read that we’re just a handful of people… This is not just a handful!” he said at the beginning of his speech.
“Today I have just one single wish, for us to become a single voice and, for 10 seconds, to make so much noise that these destructive people really hear us!” he continued. Today he posted to social media: “When I called on the crowd to make noise, I saw our strength.”
“I understood that this country is not lost. There are actually many people here who can’t be bought cheap,” Banga posted.
According to the Romani celebrity, what brought people together in Prague was a sense of hope. “Love for those close to us, love for our homeland, love for our friends,” he posted.
“That’s what respect for values is,” Banga told his social media followers. The demonstration was organized by the “Million Moments for Democracy” organization to protest against the PM and Czech Justice Minister Marie Benešová (for ANO).
The association considers the PM’s conflicts of interest concerning subsidies, tax breaks, state commissions for his Agrofert conglomerate, the scandal of the Stork’s Nest construction project and other conflicts of interest to be unacceptable. They are demanding that the PM resign.
