A ceremony to honor the victims of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia has turned into a protest against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
Hundreds booed as Babis led Tuesday’s ceremony in front of the Czech public radio building in downtown Prague, a site of a fierce street battle between unarmed civilians and the invading troops in the first hours of occupation where 17 people died.
Babis, a populist billionaire, is a controversial figure due to a power-sharing deal with the maverick Communist Party and fraud charges he is facing. His position is also complicated by allegations he collaborated with the former communist-era secret police.
Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on Aug. 20, 1968 to crush liberal reforms enacted in the brief era known as the Prague Spring.