Czech universities excuse students to join public media protests

Students at Czech universities will be able to miss classes on Tuesday without penalty in order to join protests backing Czech Television and Czech Radio. Meanwhile, Prague's DAMU faculty has banned Culture Minister Oto Klempíř and the head of his office, Barbora Šťastná, from its premises.

Universities meet students halfway

Brno's Masaryk University (MUNI) explained its decision this way: excusing students' absence is a way of showing respect for their civic stance and their wish to take an active part in a debate on questions vital to the country's democratic course.

On Tuesday, students across the country plan to support the strike by employees of ČT and ČRo. They are protesting against the actions of the governing coalition of ANO, SPD and the Motorists: at 4:36 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, MPs approved in the first reading a proposal to move the funding of public media away from the state budget to a different model. The plan also includes cutting their budgets, which raises fears that the television and radio will fall under political control.

Students of Brno's Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU) are also preparing to strike: the rector has given all participants the day off. A Student Solidarity Committee has formed at the academy, and it has been joined by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Brno University of Technology, whose dean has also granted them a free day.

DAMU: the minister is persona non grata

The bill's author, Oto Klempíř, is facing strong criticism. DAMU demanded that the minister and Barbora Šťastná resign immediately, and that the passage of the media law and the controversial changes to state cultural policy be halted. Otherwise, the faculty said, they are not welcome on its premises.

“We are banning Czech Culture Minister Oto Klempíř and the head of the culture minister's office Barbora Šťastná from academic grounds; as of today they are persona non grata for us,” DAMU wrote on its website. On Tuesday the faculty will join the protests with a strike.

Rallies at 4:36 p.m. have been called by the Veřejnoprávně initiative, which unites ČT and ČRo employees. People from the cultural sphere are joining in too: in Pardubice, students of the local university and staff of the East Bohemian Theatre will support the events.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz