Merkel in Budapest – Civil groups demonstrate against Hungary’s political set-up

Budapest, February 2 (MTI) – Protestors allied with civil groups held a demonstration in the vicinity of the German-language Andrassy University in Budapest on Monday, in protest against Hungary’s political arrangements.

The demonstration coincided with an official one-day visit to Hungary by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She gave a lecture at the university in the afternoon.

A grouping calling themselves MostMi held their protest under the banner “We belong to Europe!”, addressing several hundred people gathered in the 8th district.

German writer living in Budapest, Hans-Henning Paetzke, told the gathering that “something is rotting again in the Hungarian state machinery.” He declared that he wanted to shake up the opposition and political responsibility in people.

Hungary’s counter terrorism force (TEK) closed down the streets surrounding Andrassy University, citing an international agreement stipulating measures to ensure security and protection for representatives of other countries as its reason for the ban.

In a statement, the TEK said earlier that ensuring security for “the protected person” is impossible unless people entering the area are closely monitored and entry is restricted. The document added that TEK’s measures are “not equal to banning any demonstrations” and that protests could be staged outside the closed area.

Opposition parties, however, interpreted the sealing-off of the area as an act of banning the demonstration.

The Socialists said that “TEK has made a big mistake: this was not a visit by Putin.”

The Egyutt (Together) party demanded that Prime Minister Viktor Orban should say whether or not he had personally instructed TEK to “ban” the demonstration.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters