Hundreds of thousands of Czechs stage protest in Prague for media freedom

Hundreds of thousands of Czechs gathered in Prague to protest what they called an attempt by the government to restrict media freedom, reports UNN, citing The Guardian.

According to the organizers, Sunday’s rally, aimed at preserving mandatory license fees that fund Czech public broadcasters, could become one of the largest in the country’s history.

The event was another challenge for Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his coalition, which includes populist, far-right nationalist and Eurosceptic parties. It followed several weeks of demonstrations in cities across the country, as well as a strike by employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio.

Protesters claim that the plan to abolish the license fees and switch broadcasters to funding from the state budget would give government officials greater leverage over editorial offices. They point to the examples of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia, where current or former right-wing populist governments have undermined media independence.

Representatives of the Million Moments for Democracy movement, which organized the demonstration, said that the authorities would be able to see the scale of the opposition with their own eyes. “Babiš and his government apparently believe that they can get away with anything… that they can ignore experts, silence critics and treat democratic institutions as their own property,” the movement said.

Organizers estimated that around 350,000 people gathered on Letná Plain, which offers a view of Prague’s historic center.

Many protesters wore pointed hats made from rolled-up newspapers — a reference to an animated character who, for decades, introduced bedtime stories for children on Czech Television. “Today we are witnessing something extraordinary,” Mikuláš Minář, the movement’s lead organizer, told the Associated Press.

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The proposed changes, which envisage cutting the budgets of state television and radio by approximately 15%, have drawn sharp criticism from international media organizations.

The European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have also criticized the government’s media plan, comparing it with the controversial actions of former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Andrej Babiš — a billionaire who returned to power last year — said that protesters were merely agitating the public with unfounded claims about a threat to media freedom. Last week, he published an opinion article about what he called “seven false claims” spread by the opposition concerning the license fee, which totals 205 korunas, or £7, per month.

“Anyone who talks about the ‘nationalization’ (of public media) is knowingly lying,” he wrote, calling the criticism “hysterical outbursts.” — “Under no circumstances will we interfere in editorial work.”