Thousands of people protested in Prague, chanting "we won't give you the media": "You don't want to be called Andrej Orbanis, do you?"

In Prague tonight, thousands of people marched in protest through the city center to the Czech Radio building, chanting "We won't give you the media."

Citizens protested against plans by the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to abolish public radio and television service subscription fees for citizens and start funding these media directly from the budget, without predictable funding for several years.

The organizers of the gathering on Staromnjest Square and the march to the radio building, the "Million Moments for Democracy" initiative, called on the Government to withdraw the bill, which they described as "a proposal to nationalize public media."

"Learn your lesson, because if you behave like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban here, you will pass like him and will enter political science textbooks as little Orban. You don't want to be called Andrej Orbanis," said Mikulas Minarz, leader of "A Million Moments for Democracy".

Some of the messages on the banners of the protest participants read "Freedom of the media - the cornerstone of democracy", "Get your hands off the media", "Public service, not government service" and "Babiša in the trash", and the organizers estimate that there were several tens of thousands of protesters.

Prime Minister Babiš and Minister of Culture Ota Klempirž are determined to abolish the subscription fee because it was one of the pre-election promises, and they remind that 17 European Union (EU) members finance public service from the budget and that a change in funding does not necessarily mean an automatic abolition of independence, and they emphasize that, although the proposal exists, it is still undergoing public debate and nothing is final.

"In 1945, 1968 and 1989, Czech Radio played a much more important role than just an informative medium. It took on the role of the voice of resistance and the voice of the fight for freedom. Now is the time for us to defend radio from politicians. Public media only lose once," the organizers said.

Among the demonstrators appeared people disguised as knights from Mount Blanjik with shield-shaped banners.

According to national myth, the knights have been sleeping deep under the soil of Blažík for centuries, and this army of Saint Wenceslas, the protector of the Czech people, will awaken when the Czechs are at their worst and come to their aid.

"A Million Moments for Democracy" is a civic initiative dating back to the time of Prime Minister Babiš's first government, known for its ability to bring hundreds of thousands of Czechs to the streets when they believe democratic achievements are threatened, and it also launched the petition "We Won't Give You the Media," which was signed by more than 175.000 people in a short time.

Support for Czech Radio and Czech Television to continue to resist pressure from politicians was expressed on April 22 by pupils and students from 200 schools and universities across the country, when they walked out of classes and lectures to send a message from the squares that one of the achievements of the 1989 velvet revolution was independent media, whose independence was largely guaranteed by the fact that they are paid for through subscriptions, and not directly from the budget.

According to the latest polls, Czechs generally do not trust the media, with only 33 percent of respondents trusting the media, with the exception of public services, where 57 percent trust Czech Radio according to a survey by the STEM agency, and 48 percent trust Czech Television.

According to a poll last year by the Median agency, 77 percent of Czechs believe that independent public services are necessary for a democratic society.