Czech President Milos Zeman says the wave of refugees that has come to Europe this year is "an organized invasion" and that young Syrians and Iraqis should be fighting against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Zeman said in his televised Christmas message to Czechs on December 26 that he is "profoundly convinced" that the more than 1 million refugees who have fled to Europe in 2015 were organized and that it was "not a spontaneous movement of refugees."
He added that compassion is "possible" for old, sick, and youthful refugees but not for young men who, he said, should take up arms and fight Islamic militants.
"I wonder why these men are not taking up arms to go fight for the freedom of their countries against the Islamic State," said Zeman.
Zeman stirred controversy when he attended an anti-Islam rally in Prague in November.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Zeman's comments were based on "on prejudices and his habitual simplification of things."
