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Hungarian Authorities Suppress Demonstrators
// Heavy Weapons Brought Out Against Protestors in Budapest
Mass disorder prevailed in Budapest on Monday night, ending with clashes between demonstrators and police. One of the main organizers of the protest was the right-wing opposition party Fidesz, which called the unrest "a revolt against the illegitimate government." If right-wing politicians succeed in forcing the resignation of the cabinet, which is led by the Socialist Ferenc Gyurcsany, they are guaranteed victory in subsequent early parliamentary elections.
Opposition Battles
Anti-government unrest in Budapest flared up again on Monday, the day dedicated to celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule in 1956. At first security forces succeeded in reining in the street protestors, who joined with hardline right-wing protestors who have been camped out in the front of the parliament building for almost a month in demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. Police attempted an anticipatory sweep of the center of the Hungarian capital in order to clear it of protestors and guarantee the safety of government members and official guests who were taking part in celebrations organized in honor of the 50th anniversary. However, the protestors did not disperse without a fight: policemen encountered fierce opposition from uncoordinated street protests throughout the city.
Several tens of thousands of people protested on a square in front of the Korvin movie theater, which 50 years ago was the site of one of the bulwarks of protestors in the revolt against Soviet rule. The demonstrators yesterday called the prime minister a traitor and demanded his resignation from office. Opposition activists hung a giant sign on the cathedral of Budapest that said, "Welcome to the country of Ferenc Gyurcsany, where lies masquerade as truth and sin as valor. Help us send him and his cronies packing." Hungary's main opposition party, Fidesz, boycotted all of the official events commemorating the 1956 uprising and held its own street demonstration not far from the building of the state radio station, the site of fierce battles 50 years ago. Public transportation in the center of the city was paralyzed.
Police dispersed protestors with tear gas and water cannons. Due to the unrest in the capital, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom cancelled his participation in one of the main celebrations, the unveiling of a memorial in memory of the victims of the events of 1956. The prime minister did attend, and he was hissed down by opponents of the Socialist government.
Closer to evening, right-wing and ultranationalist supporters redoubled their pressure on the police cordon. The protestors cobbled together a barricade of trash cans against law enforcement forces on the Elizabeth bridge that spans the Danube. Having fortified their position, the demonstrators peppered the police with cobblestones, bottles, and whatever else was at hand.
At the height of the confrontation, protestors managed to seize a WWII-era T-34 tank that had been placed in the center of town in memory of the events of 50 years ago. According to witnesses, the tank was started up by an old man why clambered into the T-34, started it, and turned it in the direction of the police line. He failed to reach his goal, however: the tank ran out of fuel and stalled after a few hundred meters. The police quickly smoked the would-be tank driver out into the open with tear gas and arrested him.
In an attempt to suppress the protestors, detachments of police and special forces brought in heavy weapons. Snow-clearing machines were directed at the barricades, and police opened fire on demonstrators with rubber bullets. During the night, these harsh measures succeeded in dispersing the groups who were defending the barricade. According to various sources, between 70 and 130 people were wounded in Monday night's unrest.
The reaction from the authorities was harshly criticized by Fidesz leader Viktor Orban, who called for an end to the violence against the demonstrators, calling it "unparalleled in scale and severity." Mr. Orban promised that the Fidesz fraction would initiate a parliamentary investigation to uncover whomever authorized the police to use tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against peaceful citizens.
An Information War
The current unrest in Budapest is the continuation of a story that began more than a month ago. In the middle of September an audiotape featuring a speech by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany was leaked to the Hungarian media. The tape contained his admission that for several years the government has deceived its citizens concerning the real situation in the national economy. "I almost died because I had to pretend for 18 months that we were governing. Instead, we lied morning, noon, and night," said Mr. Gyurcsany. Earlier in his speech he is heard to say, "we did not actually do anything for four years. Nothing. You cannot mention any significant government measures that we can be proud of, apart from the fact that in the end we managed to get a system of government out of the shit… No country in Europe has screwed up as badly as we have." The prime minister gave the speech in May at a party meeting held at a resort on Lake Balaton. Only a month previously, the ruling Socialist party had won the parliamentary elections despite criticism from the right-wing opposition, which claimed that the government budget was on the edge of collapse and that the prime minister and his deputies had been concealing the truth in order to win the election.
The tape that made Mr. Gyurcsany's confession public provoked a storm of dissatisfaction. On September 17, young people took to the streets in Budapest in support of the opposition and demanded that Mr. Gyurcsany resign. The prime minister, attempting to calm the nation, appeared on television to explain that the crude language recorded on the tape was only used in the context of meetings with friends and colleagues and to say that he is proud of his "passionate speech." He refused to step down, saying that he will continue with reforms that are important for the country. Immediately after his televised appearance, the prime minister flew to Sochi as a guest of Vladimir Putin. During his absence, events took a serious turn for the worse. On September 19-21, peaceful demonstrations grew into open confrontations and clashes with police. Protestors even stormed the television center, but the authorities quickly succeeded in recapturing the strategically important building.
The unrest in Hungary quieted briefly during local administrative elections, which took place on October 1. The Fidesz opposition party claimed victory in 52% of the country's administrative regions (the Socialists carried 37%). After the elections, Fidesz categorically demanded that the prime minister step down by October 5 and threatened to revive wide protest actions. "With their votes, Hungarian voters have dismissed the prime minister from office," announced Fidesz leader Viktor Orban triumphantly. "We are calling upon the Socialist party to not proceed counter to the will of the people and to implement the decision of the voters."
Prime Minister Gyurcsany stated defensively that he would leave office only if the parliament returned a vote of no-confidence in his government. A no-confidence vote was held in the Hungarian parliament on October 6, and the deputies voted 270 to 165 to keep the current cabinet in office.
Meanwhile, the right-wing opposition continued its onslaught against the Socialists. A new scandal ignited recently in Hungary in connection with another information leak: Hungarian radio broadcast fragments of a speech delivered by Minister for Local Governance and Territorial Development Monika Lamperth at a closed Socialist party forum. The minister is heard demanding that legislation be amended to give the Socialists greater control of the disbursal of monies from regional funds. The opposition renewed its accusations that the authorities are continuing to lie and demanded that Ms. Lamperth and the rest of the cabinet resign.
By all appearances, the events early this week were the continuation of coordinated attacks by ring-wing forces against the ruling party and its leader Ferenc Gyurcsany. The campaign to discredit the prime minister has already yielded dividends for the opposition in the form of an impressive victory in the local elections. If Fidesz now succeeds in forcing the government to resign and holding early parliamentary elections, the right wing will be assured of its accession to power.
Vladimir Solovyov
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 25, 2006
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