Protest held in Prague against scrapping of public broadcasting licence fees

Hundreds of Prague residents took to the streets to express their categorical opposition to the government coalition's intentions to abolish television and radio licence fees. The main objective of the action was to counter the proposed changes to the funding of public broadcasters.

Warnings regarding media independence

The organisers of the rally emphasise that funding public broadcasters from the state budget could seriously threaten their editorial independence. The demonstration in Old Town Square was organised by the public initiative "Million Moments for Democracy". March participants carried Czech flags and placards criticising the reform project for the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio.

Statement from the initiative leader

The head of the organisation, Mikuláš Minar, stressed that the main task of the event was to demonstrate to the government that people are against its plans. He called on citizens to remain calm, not to fall for provocations, and to defend their views exclusively through peaceful means.

"Це чіткий сигнал цьому уряду: ви справді зайшли занадто далеко. Будь ласка, не давайте себе спровокувати в найближчі тижні та місяці. Ми переможемо цей злий і ненависний уряд не силою, а завдяки нашому спокою" (This is a clear signal to this government: you have really gone too far. Please do not let yourselves be provoked in the coming weeks and months. We will defeat this evil and hateful government not by force, but thanks to our calm), Minar stated.

Government position and trade union reaction

The organisers also expressed frustration over the accelerated review of the relevant bill in the Chamber of Deputies. Against this backdrop, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš denied that the proposed changes would lead to the nationalisation of media or pose a threat to democracy. According to him, the government is merely fulfilling its pre-election promise to abolish licence fees.

The organisation Veřejnoprávně, which represents the interests of employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio, also opposed the government's initiative. Representatives of the organisation announced a full-day strike for 3 November.