Students took to the streets in cities across the Czech Republic to protest in defense of independent media
On Tuesday, mass student demonstrations took place in several cities across the Czech Republic. Young people protested against planned changes to the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio, and also expressed their disagreement with the government’s policies in the areas of culture, education, and science. The largest demonstration took place in Prague, where, according to the organizers, about 4,000 people gathered.
In the capital, students from several universities took to the streets. They gathered at Republic Square to draw attention to the upcoming changes in the funding of public broadcasters. The young people fear that the new funding approach could affect the independence of Czech Television and Czech Radio.
Protesters also expressed their disagreement with the government’s cultural policy. Among other issues raised by the protesters were the funding of state universities and research institutions. Thus, the demonstration addressed not only the work of public media but also broader issues of support for education, science, and culture in the country.
According to the organizers, approximately 4,000 people took part in the Prague demonstration. The students were joined by representatives of the academic and media communities. Among them were Jiří Zima, rector of Charles University, and Thibault Bruttin, director of Reporters Without Borders. The protests took place not only in the capital. According to the Czech news agency ČTK, student demonstrations were also held in Pardubice, Olomouc, Zlín, Plzeň, Brno, and Ostrava.
The protests spanned several regions of the country. Participants called for the preservation of public broadcasters’ independence and drew attention to the issue of state support for culture, universities, and science.
In the Czech Republic, thousands of people took to the streets of Prague and other cities to protest the government’s proposal to abolish the public broadcasting license fee. Employees of Czech Radio and Czech Television have also begun a 24-hour strike, according to Interia.
A 24-hour strike by public media employees has been underway in the Czech Republic since midnight. Journalists and other staff are opposing the government’s plans to abolish the license fee and shift public radio and television to state budget funding, according to RMF24.
