Science faculty dean says students’ not being allowed to proceed to site of commemorative plaque was “unjust”

Students and their professors were denied the freedom this year at Albertov, the dean of Charles University’s Faculty of Science, Bohuslav Gaš, said in a statement released on Wednesday. He called the students’ not being allowed to the site of a plaque at Albertov to mark November 17th for security reasons (hours ahead of the president’s speech) unjust, and charged that the students had been treated like “intruders”. Other faculties also criticized the situation, pointing out the area was open afterwards to the president’s supporters. Last year, President Miloš Zeman’s speech was, at points, drowned out and his security team had to step in to prevent the head of state from being pelted with eggs by those opposed to his policies.