Tens of thousands rally in Prague against Babis plan to scrap public media fee

Detailed summary

Organizers said the protest could be the largest since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, as critics compared the bill to Viktor Orban’s moves against Hungary’s media.

Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied in Prague on Sunday against a government plan to cut a public media fee and move funding to the state budget — a policy critics say would dent the broadcasters' independence and viability.Organizers said Sunday's turnout already exceeded an anti-government protest of more than 200,000 people in March and predicted it could end up as the largest demonstration since the Velvet Revolution in 1989 that swept away Communist rule and propelled dissident playwright Václav Havel to power.Critics have compared the government's media bill to changes in Hungary under former prime minister Viktor Orban, who built an array of pro-government media.Opposition parties…

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