Hungary's parliamentary parties agree to restore peace
http://english.people.com.cn/200610/27/eng20061027_315486.html
Hungary's five parliamentary parties agreed on Thursday to work together to restore political stability and peace in the country, speaker Katalin Szili said.
Leaders of the parliamentary groups, who held a meeting on Thursday, agreed that "every issue must be handled in a way that results in peace," said Szili.
"It is very important to us that their positions are to be brought closer in the future," she added.
All parties supported a proposal to meet again in two weeks, she added.
Riots broke out in central Budapest on Monday, leaving 167 people injured, and caused an estimated 950,000 U.S. dollars in damages, authorities said.
The riots came after a month of protests following the admission by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany that he lied about the economy to win national elections in April.
Source: Xinhua
Govt firm after riots in Hungary
Thursday, 26 October, 2006
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=114323&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
BUDAPEST: Hungary's government pledged yesterday to stand by embattled Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany who blamed the opposition for riots that marred the 50th anniversary of the country's anti-Soviet uprising.
Gyurcsany and his coalition of Socialists and Free Democrats have come under attack since the leak last month of a tape in which the prime minister admitted lying about the parlous state of the economy to win a national election in April.
Anti-government protesters have staged daily demonstrations outside parliament demanding Gyurcsany step down amid the worst violence in Hungary since the fall of communism.
"Radical words have turned into radical actions. The leader of the opposition provided the ideology for the riots," Gyurcsany told parliament after receiving support from the coalition for budget deficit cuts.
"They played with fire, but they burned the nation," he said, adding that the main centre-right opposition party Fidesz had not come to terms with losing the April election.
On Monday, police used rubber bullets, water cannon and teargas to disperse mostly far-right rioters and Fidesz accused police of deliberately driving the protesters into their peaceful rally.
Around 167 people were injured in the violence including one Fidesz MP and 17 policemen, but Budapest was calm on Tuesday. Police said they had made 131 arrests.
Gyurcsany, who campaigned promising tax cuts, reversed tack when he won re-election and announced big tax rises and spending cuts to try to plug the budget deficit which at 10.1% of gross domestic product is the biggest in the European Union.
Most foreign investors view Gyurcsany as the first Hungarian prime minister to make an effort to cut the deficit, although they are concerned his reforms may be weakened.
"The coalition firmly stands by the programme and by the prime minister who wants to carry out this programme in a determined way," Free Democrat leader Gabor Kuncze said.
Rallies against Gyurcsany and his fiscal policy are expected to keep the government under pressure in the coming weeks.
The country's main farmers group, Magosz, an ally of Fidesz, said on Tuesday it would hold demonstrations in Budapest with 1,000 agricultural vehicles between Nov. 2 and 20, the national news agency MTI said.
Fidesz said it wanted a referendum on the government's reform policies.
It said the use by the government of a confidence vote earlier this month to win support for its policies was a fraud. But the Gyurcsany government enjoys the backing of 210 MPs belonging to the ruling coalition in the 386-seat parliament.
"A dominant majority of voters, two-thirds, believe that things are going in the wrong direction, that the prime minister is doing a bad job," said Fidesz parliamentary group leader Tibor Navracics, citing a Gallup poll from last week.
"Constitutional tools are useless, including parliament, if the government is unwilling to talk about our proposals," he added.
Hungary was bitterly divided even before the leaking of the Gyurcsany tape and many on the right question whether celebrations marking the 1956 anniversary should be led by the Socialists, heirs of the communists whose rule was cemented for 33 more years after Soviet troops put down the uprising.
On Monday to disperse anti-government protesters marching on parliament on the 50th anniversary of the country's uprising against Soviet rule.
Local news agency MTI said several people had been injured in the clashes in central Budapest.
As police pushed the crowd of around 1,000 away from the square outside parliament, protesters seized a T-34 World War Two tank used as an exhibit to commemorate the Hungarian uprising and drove it towards police lines, MTI said.
"The whole crowd started cheering. The police started firing teargas, then the tank stopped," Reuters cameraman Fedja Grulovic said. - Agencies
Coalition stands by its leader in Hungary
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/24/news/hungary.php
October 24, 2006
BUDAPEST Hungary's government pledged Tuesday to stand by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, who blamed the opposition for riots that had marred the 50th anniversary of the country's anti-Soviet uprising.
Gyurcsany and his coalition of Socialists and Free Democrats have come under attack since the leaking last month of a tape in which the prime minister admitted having lied about the state of the economy to win re-election in April.
Anti-government protesters have staged daily demonstrations outside Parliament, demanding that Gyurcsany step down amid the worst violence in Hungary since the fall of communism.
"Radical words have turned into radical actions,"
Gyurcsany told Parliament after receiving support from the coalition for steps to cut the budget deficit. "The leader of the opposition provided the ideology for the riots."
After his re-election, Gyurcsany announced big tax increases and spending cuts to try to stem the budget deficit, which at 10.1 percent of gross domestic product is the biggest in the European Union.
Most foreign investors view Gyurcsany as the first Hungarian prime minister to make an effort to cut the deficit, although they are concerned that his reform program may be weakened.
"The coalition firmly stands by the program and by the prime minister who wants to carry out this program in a determined way," said Gabor Kuncze, leader of the Free Democrats.
On Monday, the police used rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas to disperse mostly rightist rioters. Fidesz, the main center-right opposition party, accused the police of deliberately driving the protesters into their peaceful rally.
About 170 people were wounded in the violence, including one Fidesz legislator and 17 police officers, but Budapest was calm on Tuesday.
Police Chief Peter Gergenyi said 131 people had been detained in the rioting. but the police were still working on identifying more suspects.
The trouble began early Monday when the police expelled protesters from Kossuth Square, outside Parliament, as part of the security measures for the official commemorations.
By the afternoon, the police were trying to disperse the thousands of protesters, most of them demanding peacefully to be allowed back into Kossuth Square to commemorate the 1956 revolution.
Gergenyi said Tuesday that Kossuth Square would remain off limits to protesters for the time being, to guarantee Parliament's security.
He said the police had acted according to the law and had not used excessive force in confronting the rioters. Gergenyi said they had repeatedly warned people to leave the areas where confrontations were taking place.
Fidesz had held its own 1956 commemoration just a few blocks away from the square. According to the state news agency MTI, more than 100,000 people were at the rally.
Rallies against Gyurcsany and his fiscal policy were expected to keep the government under pressure in the coming weeks.
Hungary's main farmers' group, Magosz, an ally of Fidesz, said Tuesday that it would hold demonstrations in Budapest with 1,000 agricultural vehicles between Nov. 2 and 20, MTI said.
Fidesz said it wanted a referendum on the government's economic proposals.
It said the use by the government of a vote of confidence earlier this month to win support for its policies was a fraud. But Gyurcsany's coalition has the support of 210 members of the 386-seat Parliament.
