Hungarian PM’s Speech Sparkles Violence
Violet protests rocked Budapest last night, for the first time since the collapse of communism in Hungary 15 years ago. The riots, in which over 150 people were hurt, followed the leak of a tape on Sunday in which the Hungarian prime minister said the government had lied to the public.
Thousands of people took to the streets late on Monday demanding that the government step down, occupying and setting fire to the state television building.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany rejected opposition calls for resignation and vowed to introduce tough economic reforms as Budapest remained on edge after violent anti-government protests.
Some protestors compared the backlash to protests against Soviet occupation in 1956. “This is not a revolution, this is not 1956. This is the betrayal of our great national history,” he said referring to the Hungarian uprising 50 years ago.
Thousands gathered again at parliament on Tuesday though there were no reports of violence so far.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 20, 2006
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