Around 100,000 of Hungarians have protested in the capital Budapest against the re-elected right-wing government of PM Viktor Orban.
Viktor Orban’s opponents flooded Budapest on April 14 to protest at what they say is an unfair electoral system.
A similar number of people attended a pro-Orban demonstration last month.
The protests come just six days after the governing FIDESZ party won two-thirds of the parliamentary seats with half of the national vote.
Viktor Orban is a strong Eurosceptic who campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.
The march was organized through a Facebook group called “We are the majority”. Following the large turn-out for the rally, the organizers have called for a further demonstration next weekend.
A large number of police were deployed in Budapest, including riot officers, however the demonstration remained peaceful.
Speakers who participated in the event denounced what they called Viktor Orban’s theft of the election, and the corruption and abuse of power they say characterizes his rule.
Asked about the prospect of forthcoming demonstrations, Viktor Orban simply replied: “We won, that’s it.”
The protests’ organizers have demanded a recount of all ballots, a new election law, a non-partisan public media, and better organized co-operation among parties opposed to the FIDESZ government.
Many of those who marched the streets to the Hungarian parliament were young people.
Many parties and movements opposed to Viktor Orban’s government, including the right-wing nationalist Jobbik, participated in the demonstration.
At least 50,000 of people have taken part in a protest in Hungary to demand the abolition of laws which could force the closure of one of the Central European University founded by George Soros.
New rules introduced by the government mean the CEU would be unable to award diplomas because it is registered in the US.
The legislation has already been rushed through parliament.
Demonstrators in Budapest on April 9 want President Janos Ader not to sign the controversial legislation backed by the governing right wing Fidesz party of PM Viktor Orban.
The protesters took to the streets both to defend the CEU and protest against attempts by the government to pressure human rights and environmental groups which support refugees.
The government passed amendments to the Higher Education Act last week which would make it impossible for the CEU to continue working in Budapest – 26 years after it was set up by Hungarian-born billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros.
Image source Flickr
The Hungarian government opposes the liberal outlook of both the university and many non-governmental organizations.
The CEU has vowed to fight the legislation. The English-speaking university is ranked among the top 200 universities in the world in eight disciplines.
Viktor Orban recently claimed Hungary was “under siege” from asylum seekers.
However, the prime minister won a scholarship sponsored by George Soros to study at Oxford University and the pair were allies in the days immediately following the fall of communism in 1989.
The Central European University was founded to “resuscitate and revive intellectual freedom” in parts of Europe that had endured the “horrific ideologies” of communism and fascism. It occupies a building that began as an aristocrat’s palace before becoming state-owned offices for a planned socialist economy.
The university has 1,440 students – 335 from Hungary and the rest from 107 other countries and presents itself as a champion of free speech, with links to universities in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
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