30,000 people in Czechia sign letter apologising for parliament speaker's anti-Ukrainian statements
Antonín Kolář, a teacher and mayor of the village of Semněvice in Czechia, has initiated an open letter apologising for anti-Ukrainian statements by Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura.
As reported by iDNES, the letter is addressed to Ukraine's Ambassador to Czechia Vasyl Zvarych. The text says Okamura's remarks criticising Ukraine and its leadership contradict the facts and the principles of solidarity.
"I feel the need to apologise to you for the words spoken by Tomio Okamura which directly contradict the facts, historical experience and the basic principles of humanity, solidarity and responsibility," Kolář writes in the letter.
Kolář stated that Okamura represents only a minority of society and his voice does not reflect the actual sentiments of the majority of the population of Czechia. On the contrary, there are many people in Czechia who feel solidarity and gratitude towards Ukraine and its citizens.
"Today, Ukraine is not only defending its territory. It is defending the very principle that borders cannot be changed by force and violence cannot override the law. If Ukraine were to fall, it would not only be its defeat – it would be the defeat of the democratic values on which our own freedom is based," Kolář notes in the letter.
The letter to the Ukrainian ambassador in Czechia has been signed by 30,000 people. In it, the major of Semněvice mentions the New Year's speech by Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura in which he spoke out against providing assistance to Ukraine and referred to a so-called "Zelenskyy's junta".
Vasyl Zvarych criticised Okamura's statements against Ukraine and its leadership.
However, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said he did not consider it appropriate for the ambassador of a foreign state to publicly assess the statements made by one of the highest constitutional officials of Czechia.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected his Czech counterpart's criticism and defended Zvarych.
Meanwhile, Czech opposition parties want to hold a vote in the Chamber of Deputies on the resignation of its head Tomio Okamura.