Demonstration against Czech-US defence treaty draws fewer than expected

Around 80 people gathered in Prague's Malostranské náměstí on Tuesday to protest against the Czech-US defence treaty known by the acronym DCA (Defence Cooperation Agreement). Participation in the demonstration was below expectations. Czech news site Deník N reports that 1,000 people were expected to attend.

Tomio Okamura was present at the protest and said that his Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party is the only political party that is saying no to the idea of having US military bases on Czech territory. He accused the current government of prime minister Petr Fiala of violating the sovereignty of Czechia.

In the upcoming vote on the defence treaty, all SPD MPs will vote against the treaty. Okamura said that he regrets the position of ANO, Andrej Babiš's party, the majority of whose MPs will vote in favour despite ANO initally being sceptical about the agreement.