By Ebad Ahmed
PRAGUE (AA) - Scores of protesters gathered at the historical Prague Castle to express disapproval of Czech President Petr Pavel’s visit to Israel that is scheduled for later this month.
Protesters called the visit a “despicable show of support to a country perpetuating genocide in Gaza.”
The protest organized by Sdruzeni Pratele Palestiny was attended by civil society activists, including students and professionals.
Standing behind the iconic building in freezing temperatures, anti-war demonstrators demanded an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and expressed disappointment for the Czech Republic’s blatant support to Tel Aviv for its aggression in Gaza.
“They are buying a lot of weapons from Israel and that is why we are protesting today. We are against the fact that he is going. It is despicable. And it is showing an inhumane stand,” Andrea, an international student from Norway, told Anadolu.
She expressed disappointment with the government’s continuous support to Israel in the UN by voting against resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
Protesters cheered for a recent Czech court ruling that overturned a ban on a protest for using, “From The River To The Sea/Palestine Will Be Free.” But demonstrators expressed anger for the government’s blatant support for human rights abuses by the Israeli government.
Czech student, Scuba, told Anadolu: “We just want to express our anger about our president going to Israel and showing his support to Israel right now when Israel is waging a terrible war in Gaza and we are really dissatisfied with our president by showing solidarity with Israel, not Palestine.”
Protesters demanded introspection from the government and reiterated that the Czech Republic is not standing on the right side of history but it is also legitimizing human rights abuses by visiting the aggressors as a show of solidarity.
“The Czech Republic has been strictly very pro-Israel in the entire conflict. For some countries, it took 23,000 people to die to change their stance. The Czech Republic is still unwavering in its support,” a US student named Sofia, who is studying politics, philosophy and economics at Charles University, told Anadolu.
“We are saying that President Pavel should cancel his trip. That is completely unacceptable, or at the very least speak to Palestinian representatives to get a better viewpoint of everything. We have noticed here in the Czech Republic that the public opinion is a lot towards Israel,” said Sofia.