Activists from Greenpeace climbed onto the roof of the Tesla customer centre in Cestlice near Prague this morning, in protest at the actions of US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
The activists told CTK that they were protesting Trump and Musk’s attacks on NGOs, the media, scientists and environmentalists.
Police and firefighters arrived at the scene, and after negotiating with the police, the protesters ended the protest and descended from the roof after four hours, without incident.
Eight people lowered a banner from the roof reading: “Our World is Not Your Toy”. Eight other activists stood outside the store holding large images of Trump with a lighter, Musk and a burning globe. Actress Antonie Formanova, granddaughter of director Milos Forman, was among the participants in the protest in front of the store. “I don’t want to be silenced and I don’t agree with what chaos Donald Trump and Elon Musk are causing in the world and how they are limiting democracy and freedom of speech,” Formanova told CTK.
Michal Hrabek, a spokesman for Greenpeace Czech Republic, told CTK the protesters did not want to block the Tesla store. “It is rather a symbolic protest, we do not intend to disturb the lives of ordinary people,” he added.
The activists climbed to the roof before 7 am. Police arrived on the scene a short time later. Two hours later, they sealed off the area in front of the store. “Our police negotiator talked with them. They told us they wanted media attention,” police spokeswoman Barbora Schneeweissova told CTK.
Police said they were trying to get the activists to leave the roof for safety reasons, and because the activists may have been committing an offence against public order. “They were allowed to safely descend from the roof via a staircase at the rear of the building,” the spokeswoman said. Police will now assess whether the activists committed an offence.
The event is part of the global ‘Time to Resist’ campaign being led by Greenpeace in various countries. The campaign argues that billionaires and fossil fuel corporations are attacking not only the environment, but civil society worldwide. Trump and his billionaire supporters pose a threat to NGOs, the media, scientists and environmentalists by downplaying the climate crisis in public debate and on social media, activists said.
They added that the US President and Tesla’s owners, including Musk, are only interested in money and power. “This is happening not only in the US, but all over the world. But the planet and our future are not their toys. And we are not their pawns,” read a press release provided by the activists to journalists at the scene of the protest.
