“SOSp follows with concern the statements of some representatives of the five-coalition and lacks assurances that they will clearly oppose efforts to create a culture of silencing and restricting freedom of expression. We therefore call on the chairman of the ODS, Petr Fiala, as the expected future Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the future government under his leadership as a whole, to unequivocally guarantee the protection of freedom of expression in the Czech Republic in the program statement," the organization urges on its website.
SOSp particularly identifies the Pirates and TOP 09 as the greatest danger with respect to freedom of expression. "With regard to the election programs and specific positions of the Czech Pirate Party and TOP 09 on freedom of expression in the previous months, SOSp considers it necessary to warn against opinions critical of e.g. EU authorities' actions, climate measures, issues of migration, family, gender or the effectiveness of vaccines, etc. labeled as disinformation and that under this pretext new forms of censorship on social networks, the spread of fear and the weakening of democracy occur," warns the organization, which includes, for example, commentator Marian Kechlibar, game developer Daniel Vávra and its founder and director Vlastimil Veselý.
The Society for the Defense of Free Speech has also added its own assessment of individual government parties and their position on free speech. ODS performed best and Pirates and TOP 09 performed the worst.
You can support the independence of our editors with a monetary donation of any amount by bank transfer to the following account:
123 - 4175230287/0100
The QR code contains payment information, determine the amount yourself.
You can also support the editorial office of PL by purchasing a subscription. We don't show ads to subscribers.
Are you a politician? Post whatever you want without editing. Register HERE. Are you a reader and want to communicate with your representatives? Register HERE.
advertisementFiala, pirates, freedom of expression, Vávra, Veselý, Sedláčková, Kechlibar
author: jma