Thousands of people took to the streets in the Czech capital Prague on Sunday to reject the Czech government’s plan to change funding for public broadcasters.
Populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s three-party ruling coalition, which includes his ANO party and right-wing and far-right parties, has been accused of trying to take control of the country’s media.
Babiš’s critics have compared his steps to those of populist governments in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Protesters gathered in front of the Czech public television offices in Prague.
“The media does not belong to the politicians,” said Mikuláš Minar, the main organizer of the group behind the protest movement, called Million Moments for Democracy.
“They belong to all of us and we will not let them be stolen from us,” Minar said.
Marchers walked through neighborhoods carrying banners such as “Shut down public media.” The demonstrations were cut short due to the ongoing extreme heat in Europe.
What’s at stake for public broadcasters?
An overhaul of Czech public broadcaster funding was approved last week.
In it, public radio and television would be financed from the state budget starting next year, rather than from fees paid by individuals, households and businesses, as is currently the case.
Under the plan, public media are expected to receive 15% less funding than they did this year, and there is no guarantee that this funding will continue in the future.
Public radio and television management have said the government’s plan will force them to lay off hundreds of employees.
For his part, Babis has said he is not threatening the independence of public media, arguing that most taxpayers do not want to pay for the service and need to save money.
However, his government has often lashed out at independent media, both public and private, arguing that it is biased against it.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko