70,000 protesters in Prague demand solution to energy crisis, oppose EU NATO

Reuters, the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and other media, large-scale protests broke out in Prague, the Czech capital, on Saturday (September 3) local time. About 70,000 people took to the streets to call on the ruling coalition to take more measures to control the soaring energy price, and to speak out against the EU and NATO.

The organizers of the protests, including some “far-right and fringe political groups” from the Czech Republic, have criticized a series of “Western-oriented” policies of the government led by Czech Prime Minister Fiala It remains neutral on the ground and takes steps to rein in soaring energy prices, such as energy contracts with companies including Russian gas suppliers. According to Reuters, according to police estimates, as of around 15:00 on the 3rd, the number of protesters was about 70,000.

“The purpose of our protest is to demand change, mainly to address the (surging) energy prices, especially electricity and natural gas prices, which will destroy our economy this fall,” said Iri Havel, one of the protest’s organizers. to the Czech local media. The ABC said the protesters also demanded the resignation of the current Czech ruling coalition. On September 3, in the Czech Republic, about 70,000 people protested at Wenceslas Square in the center of Prague, the capital of the country.

Reuters said Czech Prime Minister Fiala responded to the protests later on the 3rd, claiming that the protests were initiated by “pro-Russian forces” and criticized that “their positions are close to extremes and are in line with the interests of the Czech Republic.” Violation.” ABC said that as the current EU presidency, the Czech government will hold an emergency meeting of EU countries next week to discuss ways to solve the energy crisis.

On September 2, G7 finance ministers unanimously agreed to set a price cap on Russian oil. On the same day, Russian Energy Minister Shulijinov responded, saying that unilateral restrictions imposed by Western countries on Russia are causing disruptions in energy supply and leading to rising world energy prices.

“The Czech (government) firmly supports Ukraine against the Russian ‘invasion’,” the ABC said. The Russian side has repeatedly warned and criticized the continued arrogance of the situation in Ukraine by some countries in the United States and the West. According to the Russian TASS news agency, on the 10th of last month, Sergei Kiriyenko, the first deputy director of the Russian Presidential Office, said that NATO used Ukraine to “fight” against Russia and did not care about the lives of the Ukrainian people. Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova also issued a statement saying that although NATO denied openly participating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in fact, it has long sided with Ukraine and used Ukraine to fight against Russia. She also noted that “NATO is prolonging the conflict by continuing to supply Ukraine with weapons.”