About a quarter of a million Czechs gathered on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that brought an end to decades of communist rule in the country to give Prime Minister Andrej Babis an ultimatum: sell your business or quit your job.
Protesters from across the Czech Republic attended yesterday's demonstration, the second massive protest opposing Babis at Letna park, the scene of massive gatherings in 1989 that greatly contributed to the fall of communism.
The demonstrators see the populist billionaire and his ally, pro-Russian President Milos Zeman as a threat to democracy. They have given Babis a deadline of December 31 to get rid of his business and media empire or resign.
Babis was required to transfer ownership of his businesses, which include a conglomerate of about 250 companies and two major newspapers to two trust funds in February 2017.
But his critics, including Transparency International, say he still maintains control, and a preliminary European Union report leaked to media concluded the same, saying Babis is in a position to influence the EU subsidies companies receive.
