Thousands of opponents of compulsory vaccination have gathered in Prague and are planning a march through the city
Updates: 12/12/2021 14:48
Released: 12.12.2021, 14:48
Prague – Opponents of anti-epidemic measures convened by the Chcípl pes initiative are protesting on Wenceslas Square. They are demonstrating against the compulsory vaccination against covid-19 and against the alleged violation of personal freedoms and Czech constitutions. According to police estimates, there were around 4,000 protesters in the square around 2.30pm. They plan to go through the center of Prague to the government office and in Hradčany.
Hundreds of people gathered under the statue of St. Wenceslas half an hour before the official opening of the event at 2 p.m. The demonstration began with a song by Karel Kryl and a speech by the chairman of the initiative, I Wanted Jakub Olbert, who welcomed those present “on the island of freedom”. Demonstrators do not wear veils or keep their distance.
Police call on protesters to respect anti-epidemic measures, and people whistled at them. The police have no reason to intervene yet, Jan Daněk, a spokesman for the Prague police, told ČTK around 2:30 p.m. According to his estimate, about 4,000 people gathered in the square.
“We are not against voluntary vaccination, we are only against compulsory vaccination, which is trying to establish a government here with the support of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,” the organizers said in the invitation to the demonstration.
At around 15:00, the protesters should march from Wenceslas Square to the seat of the government office in the Straka Academy and from there to Hradčany. They plan to end the event at the statue of the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk on Hradčanské náměstí.
So far, the last big event of the Chcípl pes initiative was at the end of November, a gathering on the Letná Plain in Prague. The police estimate that there were about 2,500 to 3,000 opponents of the government and measures against the covid-19 pandemic.
Another protest joint initiative is planned for the last day of this year in the Old Town Square. According to the chairman of the initiative, Olbert and vice-chairman Jiří Janeček, the purpose is to give people hope and faith by next year. Representatives of the Chcípl pes initiative also announced that they would be pouring fish soup on Old Town Square on December 20th.