Prague police process detained activists in tram flashing the message ’Extraordinary event—service suspended!’

A humanitarian flotilla with activists from around the world and much-needed aid set off once again towards Gaza’s naval blockade. However, whilst still in international waters, it was intercepted by the Israeli navy, which confiscated the boats and aid and sent all participants to Israeli detention facilities. This time, a Czech citizen, Šárka Přikrylová, was amongst those detained. It is uncertain whether she now faces deportation or trial.

Several hundred people came to Old Town Square on Friday afternoon to express support for Přikrylová and to draw attention to the tragic situation in Gaza, which has been under continuous bombardment by the Israeli army for nearly two years. Speakers called primarily for more decisive action from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, greater pressure on the Israeli government, and an end to the conflict. Despite occasional shouts of disagreement from passers-by, the event proceeded without any disruption. After about an hour, the demonstrators dispersed.

Sit-in on Spálená Street

Shortly before 7 PM, however, approximately forty people regathered in the middle of Spálená Street in front of the Máj department store. Before other attendees realised what was happening, they managed to organise a complete blockade of traffic in both directions. Within minutes, transit through one of the capital’s busiest transport hubs ground to a halt. The organisers thereby linked their action to the global ’Shut it down for Palestine’ campaign, [1] drawing attention to systematic violations of human rights in Palestine and calling for more effective forms of protest.

The stoppage of public transport immediately provoked sharp reactions from tram passengers and random pedestrians. Vulgar and racist abuse was directed both at those blocking the road and at those who attempted to defend them. Some didn’t stop at words—they tried to tear down banners, Palestinian flags, or directly attack the protesters, including physically. The level of aggression was considerable.

Soon, calls began to be heard amongst onlookers for the ’mass extermination of the blockers’, the use of firearms, or releasing dogs. Others urged the deportation of participants in the happening who, according to them, didn’t look ’Czech enough’ to be able to take part in something similar. The entire action proceeded peacefully and non-violently on the organisers’ part. Chants were heard mainly calling for criminal accountability of Israeli officials, adherence to international law, and demanding the release of Šárka Přikrylová.

After approximately twenty minutes, the first police patrol arrived on the scene along with an anti-conflict team. They were soon joined by police vans with riot police. At that moment, the blockade was already surrounded by a crowd of people occupying almost the entire space of Spálená Street in front of the Máj and Quadrio shopping centres. The end of the long line of stationary trams was practically invisible. Masked members of the police forces formed a circle around the participants, thereby separating them from the crowd and preventing further immediate confrontations.

The protest continued in this manner for almost another forty minutes. Then police officers began gradually identifying those who had been sitting on the cold pavement in front of tram number 2 for almost an hour. At the same time, the composition of onlookers began to change. Whilst people returning home from work in the evening were leaving, tourists from Italy, Spain, and Tunisia began to join the protest, chanting anti-fascist slogans. In conversations, they stated that they were inspired by similar mass demonstrations in their countries, in which some of them sometimes participate.

Active protest participants were one by one summoned by police to present identification and leave the blockade. Although some complied, a large proportion remained in place. The riot police therefore resorted to a more invasive intervention and began carrying activists by their arms and legs into the nearby halted tram number 2. It had meanwhile stopped displaying the final stop Nádraží Braník [2] and began flashing the message ’Extraordinary event—service suspended!’ Looking at the T3 tram, [3] which had provisionally transformed into a detention centre with discarded Palestinian flags on the ground and messages on the windows, it was a fairly accurate description of the situation. Although at that point no one was physically blocking traffic and police weren’t allowing people onto the road, the demonstration spontaneously continued with the chanting of slogans calling for an end to the war.

The total number of those arrested eventually climbed to seventeen. They were taken to the police station on Bartolomějská Street, where some of them were held until one o’clock in the morning. In their support, a solidarity demonstration spontaneously formed in front of the station, joined by over a hundred people who waited until the demonstrators were released.

Possibilities of protest

There was an obvious difference in how the action was perceived by foreigners and by Czechs. Whilst protesters mostly received approving reactions from tourists and some even joined the demonstration themselves, Czechs tolerated the blockade much worse. It can be assumed that this was partly caused by a long working day, elections, congested Prague, but also perhaps by the fact that we are not as accustomed to such actions as people abroad. If the greatest fear here is that the programme of demonstrations isn’t composed only of endless, self-absorbed speeches, but occasionally features Svěrák and Uhlíř [4] as well, then it’s no wonder that someone might perceive such a blockade more as an attack on their person than as an effective way of expressing an opinion.

At the same time, the gulf between how the Czech public perceives the situation in Gaza and how most of the world perceives it was once again apparent. If, even after two years, people are shouting at demonstrators demanding an end to the killing of children that they are Hamas, this is not a specific cultural characteristic of our country, but a deep systematic problem. Moreover, in today’s globalised world, such a thing can no longer be excused by mere lack of information, but constitutes a simple closing of one’s eyes to obvious injustice that fundamentally concerns us and is connected to ourselves.

Last but not least, it’s clear that the form of protest was too radical for many. Or as I also heard: ’Why didn’t they go and block something in a park, for example?’ But how many non-violent forms of expressing opinion actually remain? If the majority of political representatives don’t mention the tragic situation in Gaza at all in their election manifestos, and state officials repeatedly claim that they are aware of the circumstances, but tangible results aren’t forthcoming, what are the other options? At such a moment, boycotts of selected products or blockades of infrastructure become the only way to make one’s voice heard—even if it may be at the expense of others. However, such a state typically results from long-term neglect of burning problems and unheard positions, not from an effort to provoke or make life unpleasant for others.

Sufian Massalema, Ted Burski