Czechs protest Barnevernet
Several hundred marched in Prague’s city center
A protest in Prague against the Child Welfare Service of Norway (Barnevernet) on Jan. 16 drew hundreds of participants.
The Barnevernet recently took a nine-month-old baby girl born with a congenital kidney ailment away from her mother, who was of Czech origin. The Norwegian agency claims the parents did not have sufficiently developed contact with the baby and placed her in foster care.
Another case involving a Czech mother began in 2011.
The Barnevernet has also taken children from parents with other national origins and has recently fallen under international criticism. Similar protests were held earlier this week in Oslo and also London and Bucharest. Ones in Vienna and Moscow were held the same day as the Prague event. Protests are planned for Bratislava, Warsaw and Kolkata, according to organizers of the Prague protest.
The Prague protest began in front of the Norwegian Embassy in Malá Strana and went though the city center.
Marchers carried banners in multiple languages saying that children belong to the family and not the state, fight against Barnevernet, Barnevernet family destroyer, and similar slogans.
Member of European Parliament Tomáš Zdechovský (Christian Democrats, KDU-ČSL) was among the speakers. He pointed out that the protest was about the actions of the Barnevernet, and not Norway in general. Norway is not a member of European Union.
Aside from the new case of the baby girl, there is a case dating back to 2011 when the Barnevernet took two boys from Czech mother Eva Michaláková and put them in foster care. She has been allowed only limited contact with them ever since.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, ČSSD) and President Miloš have both made efforts to intervene on behalf of Michaláková with the Norwegian government, but they have made little headway.
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