Tens of thousands of people gathered at Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square in Prague on Sunday to express their support for Czech President Petr Pavlov. The gathering was held in response to the case concerning the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs and the chairman of the Motoristi sebe party, Petr Macinka. According to Pavle, Macinka tried to blackmail him in an attempt to get their deputy Filip Turk to head the Ministry of the Environment. The reporter of TASR in Prague informs about it.
- Tens of thousands of people gathered in Prague to support the president.
- The assembly responded to the case of Minister Petr Macinka.
- President Pavel claims that he was blackmailed by Macink.
“We are here to oppose rudeness, arrogance and blackmail. We are here because we do not stand for extreme cohabitation with a few moral dwarfs,” declared Mikuláš Minář, chairman of the association Million Moments for Democracy, which organized the event.
According to Minář, more than 600,000 people have already signed the association’s online appeal in support of the president. Pavel thanked the people for their support. He wrote on social networks on Sunday that he appreciates all those who are not indifferent to what is happening around them.
Pavel thanked the gathering
“I appreciate everyone who is ready to add their voice to the defense of decency, truth, solidarity and respect for one another. I want to thank everyone who came to Prague today from all corners of the country to express their opinion and support for a decent Czech Republic,” the president added.
The event was originally supposed to take place only in the Old Town Square, but the organizers added the lower part of the Wenceslas Square as well due to the great interest of the people. A new tram line is currently being built in the upper part. According to the organizers of the rally in Prague, about 80,000 people gathered in both squares. In addition to Prague, similar gatherings were held on Sunday in other cities in the Czech Republic, such as Pardubice, Hradec Králové and Zlín.
On Tuesday, Pavel published SMS messages that Macinka sent to the president’s adviser, Petr Kolář. He wrote in them that he was facing an irreversible decision, “what to do with the president”. If Pavel had appointed Turk as Minister of the Environment, he would have peace of mind. He continued that if the president does not agree to any negotiations on this matter, Macinka is ready to “brutally” fight for the Turk, and the consequences are said to surprise Pavel.
The head of Motorists responded that it was not blackmail, but political negotiation. The last time he commented on the whole matter was on Sunday in the Otázky Václav Moravec show, where he declared that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would ignore the president.
