On Feb. 6, the citizens of Prague gathered at the city center to protest refugee immigration and the EU. Various speakers voiced their opinions at the protest, displaying their contempt with the EU and its efforts to assist refugees in finding asylum in Europe.
The U.S. State dept. issued a statement warning U.S. citizens that the protests could turn violent. The statement estimated that anywhere from 300 to 1000 supporters would be at the protests, which took place at various locations around the city center.
Those at the gathering carried Czech flags as well as anti-EU and anti-muslim materials, with some signs at the protest reading “Thank you Mr. President that defends 80 percent of the citizens. We issue you a green card!” and “I do not want to be a citizen of the euro! I do not eat euro food! I do not live in the euro caliphate! I am Czech and a patriot!”
Speakers at the event made their speeches in Czech and were received with rowdy applause. The police surrounded the event, expecting things to take a turn for the worst.
At 7:30 p.m., a report by the Associated Press stated that 20 people attacked the Klinika refugee center in Prague’s third district with molotov cocktails. The attack resulted in one injury.
According to a statistic from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are approximately 1.5 million refugees currently in Europe and approximately 16 million total. According to statistics from Eurostat, the Czech Republic has accepted 0.2 percent of asylum seekers, compared to the 32.4 percent that Germany has and the 4.2 percent that neighboring Austria has accepted.
While the amount of refugees the Czech Republic has accepted is minute to Germany’s numbers, the German-based anti-Islamist group PEGIDA has extended its message to the Czech Republic through the Czech Social Democratic Party.
According to Reuters, PEGIDA was the driving force behind the Feb. 6 protests and were among many that occurred throughout Europe, from Amsterdam to Dresden, the headquarters of PEGIDA. PEGIDA’s mission statement calls for European citizens to exercise their rights to prevent Islamic law from entering Europe and to prevent Jihadists from entering Europe, according to the group’s official Facebook page.
The violent outcomes of the Feb. 6 protests in Prague were not the first time the Czech Republic has gotten media attention for the Syrian refugee crisis. On Oct. 22 2015 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, made a statement in Geneva addressing the human rights violations made by Czech border guards.
Hussein is quoted in the statement saying that the abuse of immigrants is systematic and neither coincidental nor isolated. Hussein said that it is the intent of the Czech government to deter immigration to the Czech Republic.
Hussein said that credible sources reported that migrants have been routinely strip-searched and fined 250 Czech Krowns a day for each day they are imprisoned, terms which have been reported to be up to 90 days.
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With violent protests like those that occurred on Feb.6 and reported systematic abuse of migrants by the Czech government, he lives of refugees in the Czech republic could soon take a turn for the worse.
Fin Martinez is a foreign correspondent for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @FinMartinez
