Matěj Stropnický is one of the creators of the petition, which advocates ending the war in Ukraine by stopping the supply of weapons to that country. The petition has already been signed by 12,000 Czechs, but it also has vocal opponents. According to experts, the effort may sound pro-Russian, even if the authors did not intend it that way.
“There hasn’t been such a detailed list of demented here for a long time, thanks for writing it, they’re all there!” said Matěj Hollan, the Brno representative for the Žít Brno movement, on Facebook.
He was reacting to the announcement of the former chairman of the Greens, Matěj Stropnický, who boasted that his Peace and Justice petition already had 12,000 signatures.
The document is receiving criticism, and some opponents say, for example, that in the Ukrainian conflict, the implementation of the described ideas would be more beneficial to Russia, because it wants to stop the arming of Ukraine.
”Exercises are underway, arms are turning, and once they are, it will be a hundred times more difficult to stop the war. We save so we can go to war. We postpone investments so we can go to war. We go into debt so we can go to war. War is gradually subjugating all the decisions of Western governments and ours,” the text of the petition states, among other things.
According to former Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD), the document gives the impression that a Russian peacekeeping operation is underway in Ukraine, even though it was launched by Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin. “On the whole, it seems to me that the writers want to be more visible. I don’t know of a single conflict that would be ended by a petition,” says the ex-minister.
On February 11, the Greens’ convention defined itself against the Peace and Justice petition. He expressed his support for Ukraine attacked by Russia and distanced himself from the activities of his former president Matěj Stropnicki. He has not even been a member of the party for about two years.
Political scientist Lukáš Jelínek sees good intentions in the petition. “They are trying to find all kinds of alternative ways to end the war. I perceive that way of communication and discussion around it as an indirect recording of Russia,” the political scientist points out.
However, he does not see a pro-Russian influence in the activity around Stropnický Jelínek. “It’s definitely not put in there on purpose, but it all sounds like that in the end,” he adds.
According to him, if everyone in Ukraine laid down their arms now, then Moscow would benefit from such a situation. “Ukraine needs to have control over its territory and cannot be maneuvered into a situation where it would give up part of its country,” explains Jelínek. “Kyiv must make decisions on its own, and no one can discuss Ukraine without it,” he adds.
Ukraine showed a kamikaze drone. The Russians have the highest losses on the fronts so far:
TN.cz