Pro-Russian forces take advantage of farmers’ protest in Czech Republic

Pro-Russian forces took advantage of a farmers’ protest, during which about 500 tractors entered Prague on Monday morning. This is reported by Euractiv.

Monday’s protest was not supported by the country’s main farmers’ organizations. The Czech Chamber of Agriculture, the Agricultural Association and the Association of Private Farmers refused to participate in it.

The protest was organized by Bohumír Dufek, president of the Trade Union of Agricultural and Food Industry Workers and the Association of Free Trade Unions, and agrarian businessman Zdeněk Jandejsek.

The event was well attended by representatives of the Czech pro-Russian and disinformation scene, such as Jindřich Reichl, leader of the Czech political party PRO, and their supporters. These people took the floor and criticized the EU and the Czech government, which many of the farmers present rejected.

“If we look at a group of people shouting anti-government slogans and calling everyone names, this is not what we wanted. We wanted a peaceful protest and to show that our protest is tractors on the highway and farmers, but we are in the minority here today,” Milos Malý, a coordinator of farmers who joined the protest, told Czech media.

He added that the protest was “stolen” from the farmers.

Some pro-European and pro-Ukrainian supporters also attended the rally and were physically attacked by demonstrators, who also threatened them with death. The situation had to be resolved with the help of special police units.

“Today’s demonstration has little to do with the struggle for better conditions for farmers. The demonstration is organized by people who do not hide their support, for example, for the Kremlin, and pursue other goals than the interests of farmers,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

“Unfortunately, in the eyes of the public, some of the demonstrators are harming the farmers themselves. I understand that most of them dispersed in the afternoon and distanced themselves from the rest of the protesters. This has nothing to do with agriculture,” Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny wrote on Twitter (X).

Official protests – this time supported by leading farmers’ organizations and joined by other European countries – will take place on Thursday.

Tags: protests, Czech Republic