WATCH: Czechs Hold Mass Anti-Government Protest On Eve Of Velvet Revolution
PRAGUE -- Around 250,000 Czechs attended a rally against Prime Minister Andrej Babis on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the country’s Velvet Revolution.
Protesters from across the Czech Republic joined the November 16 demonstration, the second massive protest opposing Babis at Prague’s Letna park.
Many waved Czech and EU flags.
The demonstrators believe the populist billionaire is a threat to democracy in the country. The 64-year-old Babis is facing accusations of fraud and conflicts of interest.
Thirty Years Ago In Prague, Student Protests Snowballed Into The Velvet Revolution
1/19In January 1989, protesters were already mustering their courage. In this photo, police violently detain demonstrators marking the 20th anniversary of the self-immolation of student Jan Palach. His suicide was an act of protest against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
2/19Police race after protesters who had gathered to mark the anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion on August 21. The first cracks were appearing in communist rule.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
3/19Demonstrators on Prague's Wenceslas Square flash victory signs as they demand freedom and democracy on October 28, 1989, the anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
4/19The turning point came on November 17, 1989, then observed as International Students' Day and a commemoration of Nazi forces' killing of a student 50 years earlier. In the largest protest in 20 years, thousands of students marched peacefully through the city center until they were stopped at Narodni (National) Street by a cordon of riot police.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
5/19Students light candles near a police cordon. Although the protests were nonviolent and students chanted "We have bare hands" to tell authorities that they were unarmed, riot police sealed off escape routes and attacked them.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
6/19Hundreds were injured in the crackdown. In this photo, a woman offers a flower to the riot police who had stopped demonstrators on Prague's Narodni Street.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
7/19Riot police block a bridge to prevent protesters marching to Prague Castle, the seat of the Czechoslovak president on November 19. The demonstrations were growing rapidly, fueled by shock at authorities' brutal use of force on the first night.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
8/19Protesters kneel as they face riot police on November 19. The authorities again responded with violence.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
9/19A man carrying his son and a Czechoslovak flag faces riot police on November 19 alongside hundreds of other protesters.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
10/19Protesters wave Czechoslovak flags in front of the national film school as students and theater actors declared a strike.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
11/19On November 21, the fifth consecutive day of protests, the crowds had swelled to some 200,000 people on Prague's Wenceslas Square.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
12/19People light candles in front of a line of riot police who had stopped protesters from crossing a bridge on November 21.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
13/19Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright and former political prisoner, addresses protesters from a balcony overlooking Wenceslas Square on November 24. The crowd had grown to some 300,000.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
14/19The protests had to relocate to a space large enough to accommodate the huge numbers. Half a million people came to listen to speeches from Havel and other opposition leaders in Letna Park on November 26.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
15/19A bust of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin, with a caption reading "Nothing lasts forever," is seen on Prague's Wenceslas Square on the first day of a general strike, November 27.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
16/19Leaders of the Obcanske forum (Civic Forum) opposition group meet at their ad hoc headquarters in a Prague theater. Vaclav Havel is seated second from the right.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
17/19At a protest on Wenceslas Square on December 19, a banner reads "Havel na Hrad" (Havel to the Castle), a popular slogan in support of Havel becoming president. Huge crowds continued to gather after the communists backed down and agreed to free elections.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
18/19Vaclav Havel and his wife, Olga, greet citizens at Prague Castle after Havel was appointed president of Czechoslovakia by the Federal Assembly on December 29.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
19/19On December 31, people celebrate the beginning of a new year, a new government, and a new democratic era.
On November 17, Slovakia and the Czech Republic mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent protest movement that brought communist rule to an end in Czechoslovakia.
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Babis, who is also the subject of an EU conflict-of-interest investigation, denies any wrongdoing and say there's no reason for him to resign.
The speakers at the protest, including former dissidents who spoke at the 1989 rallies, said Babis and President Milos Zeman were unfit for office.
The organizers of the protests, a group called A Million Moments for Democracy, put the number of protesters at 300,000, while the police estimated the crowd at about 200,000.
"First and foremost, we want politicians who respect democratic principles and institutions, who do not lie, do not embezzle, do not intimidate, and do not have conflicts of interest,” the chairman of the group, Mikulas Minar, said at the protest rally.
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