Matt Atlas

Anti-COVID Restrictions Threaten Civil Liberties: Vaclav Klaus

According to the former president of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, we live in a time when we are in danger of being paralyzed with fear due to the fearmongering around COVID-19. “It’s up to us not to succumb to it,” he said in a speech on Czechoslovak Independence Day.

Klaus said the government’s anti-covid measures violate civil liberties in a speech at a memorial plaque at the Municipal House in Prague, where he laid flowers to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of Czechoslovak Independence. Klaus called on citizens not to succumb to fear and let independence be taken away.

“Under the guise of anti-epidemic measures, civil liberties guaranteed by the constitution are being curtailed, the economy and with it the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are being destroyed, state finances are being eroded, and debts are being created that will burden us and our descendants for decades,” the former president said.

Due to government restrictions, demonstrations are also taking place in various parts of Prague today. Opponents of the measure will gather in Republic Square in a protest called the Demonstration for Freedom and Truth, condemning terror and manipulation. According to the organizers, the government’s anti-covid measures don’t help prevent the disease’s spread. They only destroy people’s lives and the state.