Hungarian protesters planned around 30 rallies on Saturday, the 50th anniversary of the day Soviet tanks crushed the 1956 uprising, and the beleaguered government warned there could be more violence.
Despite almost seven weeks of protests, triggered by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's admission he lied about the economy to win April's election, the government appears safe and the forint has risen to 5-month highs thanks to planned budget cuts.
There will be 31 separate rallies on Saturday, with the main Fidesz opposition holding a torchlight march and a raft of radical and far right groups will also hold demonstrations. The ruling Socialist Party also plans to mark the anniversary.
Nearly 400 people have been injured in the protests after the leak of a tape on September 17 in which Gyurcsany admitted lying about the true state of the budget deficit, which at 10.1 percent of gross domestic product is the biggest in the EU.
"We have information that people associated with some far right fringe groups plan violent disturbances on November 4," Gyorgy Szilvasy, head of the Prime Minister's Office, told state news agency MTI.
Fidesz has accused the police of using excessive force against demonstrations on October 23, the anniversary of the start of the 1956 uprising, and charged that the police deliberately pushed rioters into its own peaceful rally.
It said more than 700 people have reported incidents of police brutality to Fidesz. Over 40 complaints against the police have also been filed at the prosecutor's office.
The government says it has evidence from phone taps that violent demonstrators planned for rioters to be pushed by police towards the Fidesz rally and that Fidesz officials were aware of this and did not warn their supporters. Fidesz wants Gyurcsany to quit and has proposed a referendum on some of the government's economic measures such as fees for higher education and doctor and hospital visits with the aim of getting the charges reversed.
Foreign investors and the European Commission have backed Gyurcsany and his efforts to cut the budget deficit so as to win euro entry. According to central bank data 650 billion forints ($3.19 billion) of capital flowed into Hungarian markets in October.
Comments
Comments are closed.