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Pegida to Hold Anti-Islamization Marches Across 14 European Countries

© AFP 2023 / ROBERT MICHAELSupporters of the PEGIDA movement.
Supporters of the PEGIDA movement. - Sputnik International
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The Pegida movement is planning to hold pan-European marches against the Islamization of the European continent on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The rallies are being organized in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and across Central and Eastern European member states of the European Union.

German political activist and Pegida member Tatjana Festerling announced the list of countries, which includes Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, after a meeting with supporters near Prague on January 23.

"The fight against the Islamization of Europe is our common objective," Festerling said in a statement.

The British branch of the movement said they had finalized the details of their so-called Silent March in Birmingham with the West Midlands police service.

"The walk will be peaceful and silent so please ensure that there is NO chanting," Pegida UK warned.

Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Member of the European Parliament, holds a British Union Jack flag as he arrives to take part in a debate on the upcoming summit and EU referendum in the UK, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, February 3, 2016 - Sputnik International
UKIP Leader Urges Members Against Taking Part in Pegida Marches

Far-right and left-wing parties in the United Kingdom joined the mayor of Birmingham's call for people to avoid Saturday’s march. Euroskeptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage claimed on Friday that Pegida shares "dodgy associations."

Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 - Sputnik International
Swiss Police Withdrew Permission for Pegida to Hold Rally in Basel
Pegida, an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, began organizing rallies in its home city of Dresden, Germany, in October 2014, attracting hundreds and later thousands of supporters.

The far-right German movement gained support in many member states of the European Union amid rising anti-migrant sentiment as Europe faces its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

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