Ignite Prague! Exactly twenty years ago, the metropolis turned into a battlefield
Thousands of opponents of globalization, including hundreds of radical “fighters” with sticks and incendiary bottles, turned Prague into a battle zone 20 years ago. The capital then hosted a meeting of ministers and financiers from around the world. You can also read the topic of the 5plus2 weekly on Metro.cz.
Instead of expecting an old summer, exactly 20 years ago in the center of Prague, it looked as if a war should start in the capital at any moment. Merchants took cash and the most valuable equipment from their establishments, bought spare glass for shop windows. The day after, on September 26, 2000, it turned out that their preparation was not unnecessary. Tough clashes broke out in Prague between the police and thousands of mostly foreign radicals, often “professional fighters”. Barricades burned, armored personnel carriers intervened. The detonator was the 55th session of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
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For Prague, the organization of an economic summit with the participation of 182 ministers and governors and a total of more than 15,000 official guests was an extremely prestigious topic. The Czech Republic became the first post-communist country to host this meeting of finance and politicians. However, because of this, the Congress Center was also rebuilt for more than three billion.
But such actions also often provoke protests by anti-globalists and supporters of the radical left. They came to Prague not only from different parts of Europe, but also from abroad. And we definitely didn’t just plan quiet happenings. Among the protesters were members of the Italian organization Ya Basta and other groups, who arrived equipped with gas masks, rods, incendiary bottles and shields.
Fire against the transporter
The main day of the fighting became Tuesday, September 26. Hundreds of the most radical protesters attacked the police direct access to the Congress Center, moving around the streets of Prague that day around 12,000. Cobblestones, Molotov cocktails, and anything that could be used as a weapon flew through the air. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons and the deployment of armored personnel carriers. there were about 60 police officers injured, 20 protesters, but also a British journalist and two IMF delegates. A thousand people ended up in handcuffs. In the evening, the violence spilled over into the city center, where hooligans smashed shop windows, mostly global brands. The damage reached ten million crowns.