- Title: HUNGARY: Anti-government protesters and police clash in Budapest
- Date: 24th October 2006
- Summary: (W1) BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (OCTOBER 24, 2006) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AT BARRICADE NEAR ERZSEBET BRIDGE MAN IN FRONT OF POLICE CORDON WAVING HIS ARM
- Embargoed: 8th November 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Hungary
- Country: Hungary
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA2SWF8VFJE7WTOHUVLC196C1VS
- Story Text: Hungarian riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon at stone-throwing anti-government protesters as the country marked the 50th anniversary of the 1956 uprising against Soviet rule.
About 70 people were injured in the clashes with the mostly far-right protesters on Monday (October 23), officials said, while the main opposition staged a 100,000-strong peaceful rally to demand the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators during the day, but with the protests fading to about 1,000 people early on Tuesday (October 24) Gyurcsany looked to have survived another challenge to his authority.
The rioting in the Hungarian capital followed the opposition Fidesz rally during the 50th anniversary on Monday of the country's 1956 uprising against Soviet rule.
Protesters took to the streets more than a month ago following the admission by Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in a leaked speech that he lied about the economy to win national elections in April.
Reuters reporters said police had fired hundreds of tear gas rounds and used mounted police to clear protesters from the streets and that paving stones had been thrown at the lines of police in riot gear.
Protesters and police clashed on a Budapest bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning (October 24, 2006).
The protesters had constructed a barricade at a junction at the end of Erzsebet bridge whilst police gathered at either side of the bridge.
One man told Reuters, "Now it's about Gyurcsany speech and police action. I think the latest show of strength by the former, effect of the former -- what happened in Blaha Square -- it's just out of this world. I saw five bullets hitting people below the waist. They (the police) were aiming downwards, they were not shooting in the air. I was there for 20-30 minutes. They may have started firing again, I don't know."
When asked if he would remain at the barricade despite the danger, "Yes, because sleeping at home is just not what a man would do, at least not me. I couldn't when something like this is happening. I think I am in great danger of getting badly hurt but I will stay that is for sure."
A young woman said, "People here are quite angry, why do they attack Hungarian citizens on a holiday such as this? Nobody had hurt anyone, they just threw the tear gas canisters into the crowd of people."
As police approached the protesters from either end of the bridge many fled to surrounding streets.
Police fired rounds of tear gas at the dozens of remaining protesters and then moved in with water cannon and a bulldozer.
Protesters took to the streets more than a month ago to demand Gyurcsany quit after he admitted lying about the economy to win national elections in April. It resulted in the worst street violence in Budapest since the end of communism in 1989.
Viktor Orban, leader of the main right of centre Fidesz opposition party, again branded Gyurcsany and his Socialists as an "illegitimate" government on Monday and called for a referendum on tax rises and welfare cuts.
In a leaked tape on Sept. 17, Gyurcsany told a party meeting "we lied in the morning, we lied in the evening" about the economy to win the April elections.
He campaigned on a programme of tax cuts and reversed those when he became the first prime minister in five elections since communist rule to hold on to power.
Gyurcsany, despite criticism from the opposition and the country's president, won a parliamentary vote of confidence for his plans to slash the budget deficit, which is the biggest in the European Union relative to the size of the economy.
He has what seems to be solid backing from Socialist members of parliament and their smaller Free Democrat allies. Together they control 210 of 386 parliamentary seats and there is no way to remove him without a rebellion in the Socialist Party.
Due to the tribal nature of Hungarian politics, in which a few tens of thousands of votes can decide elections, the Socialists see abandoning their prime minister as a surrender to Fidesz, which held power from 1998-2002. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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