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Czech Speaker Orders Ukrainian Flag Removed From Parliament Building

The move fulfills an SPD campaign promise following the party’s entry into a governing coalition with ANO and Motorists.

Overview

  • SPD released video showing newly elected Speaker Tomio Okamura holding a ladder as a worker took down the flag.
  • The flag had flown over the Chamber of Deputies since February 24, 2022 as a sign of solidarity with Kyiv.
  • Opposition lawmakers from ODS, STAN and the Pirate Party responded by hanging Ukrainian flags from their office windows in the building.
  • Former speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová criticized the removal, calling the flag a symbol of humanitarian solidarity.
  • Okamura won the speakership on November 5 in a secret ballot with 107 of 200 votes, and the building now displays the Czech, EU and Israeli flags.