demonstration

Curfew imposed in U.S. capital as mayor expects continued protests over Floyd’s death

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that a curfew will be effective 7 p.m. Eastern Time in the city and extend through the next morning, and similar restrictions will also be issued for Tuesday.

The order came as protests over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis, turned violent not only in the U.S. capital, but also cross the nation.

Read alsoProtests over George Floyd’s death continue flaring up across U.S.

Bowser, who issued an 11 p.m. curfew Sunday night, said at a news briefing that journalists covering the demonstrations and other essential personnel are exempted from the new measure. “We want your voices to be heard, but we also want to protect the safety of everyone in our city.”

Describing the violent protests over the last few days as causing “significant damage” to the city’s downtown areas, Bowser said while “every American should be outraged by the murder of George Floyd,”

Washingtonians should be “part of the solution, not part of the destruction.”

Incidents of arson, vandalism and clashes between police and protesters happened when demonstrations turned violent Sunday evening in the capital, with graffiti seen on buildings and monuments in the city center and fire flaring up at the Lafayette Square directly north of the White House.

Read alsoHow would U.S. exit from WHO harm global fight against COVID-19?

Bowser said the fire near the White House — which rekindled Monday morning, forcing the closure of nearby streets and firefighters to put the blaze under control — was “intentionally set,” adding “that type of destruction is intolerable.”

Washington, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said at the briefing that 88 people were arrested Sunday night and two-thirds of those charged will face felony counts, and that seven police officers were injured but without need for hospitalization. He added that more arrests may occur as investigators are examining “expansive” video footage.

“We’re prepared for multiple days of demonstrations,” Bowser said. “We’re working with all of our intelligence to figure out who’s coming here.”

Pleading in vain for his life, Floyd died on May 25 after a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for minutes. All four police officers involved have been fired, and Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

June 2, 2020

Protests over George Floyd’s death continue flaring up across U.S.

Violent protests continued spreading across the United States on Friday, the fourth straight day after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, pleaded “I can’t breathe” before dying in police custody in Minneapolis, the biggest city in the midwest state of Minnesota, on Monday.

The White House went into lockdown on Friday evening as hundreds of protesters gathered outside. One protester sprayed the Freedman’s Bank Building while some other protesters clashed with Secret Service personnel, witnesses said. Videos showed some protesters burnt flags and knocked over barricades.

“Secret Service personnel are currently assisting other law enforcement agencies during a demonstration in Lafayette Park (outside the White House). In the interest of public safety we encourage all to remain peaceful,” the Secret Service tweeted. At least one person was reportedly taken into custody.

Read alsoBehind grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths in U.S.

In downtown Atlanta, southern state Georgia, a demonstration that began peacefully became chaotic as protesters set a police car on fire, struck officers with bottles, vandalized the headquarters of CNN and broke into a restaurant, the USA Today reported.

The protesters spray-painted the large, iconic CNN logo outside the building, breaking a windowed entrance. One protester climbed on top of the sign and waved a “Black Lives Matter” flag to cheers from the crowd, said the report.

In Minneapolis, unrest continued Friday night as protesters gathered and chanted “No justice, no peace, prosecute the police!” in the streets around the police station blazed a night earlier, defying a citywide curfew imposed earlier in the day. Law enforcement officials fired tear gas into the streets and patrolled in military vehicles.

In Indianapolis, the state capital and most populous city of midwest state Indiana, nearly 100 people took part in a six-hour-long demonstration in downtown Friday afternoon that lasted til the evening, protesting the fatal shooting of a black man earlier this month by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer and other deaths across the country, local media reported.

“Several protesters have damaged police cruisers and continue to throw rocks at officers and the Metro Division office,” police in Charlotte, southern state North Carolina, tweeted on Friday.

Several demonstrators were arrested in Charlotte as police issued a “dispersal order” after declaring the gathering of protesters “unlawful,” said a CNN report.

In Memphis, southern state Tennessee, about 300 protesters took to the streets for the third straight day to speak out against police brutality and the recent death of three African Americans at the hands of police.

In Knoxville, another city in Tennessee, hundreds of protesters organized by Black Lives Matter Knoxville, gathered peacefully in front of police headquarters Friday evening.

And in Louisville, Kentucky, a crew for CNN affiliate WAVE reported that police officers fired pepper bullets directly at news crew during the protest.

Protests have also erupted in New York, Houston, Las Vegas, San Diego, Chicago and multiple other cities across the United States over the death of Floyd. Local media say more protests are expected to take place across the country through the weekend.

Floyd, aged 46, died on Monday after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck though he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” and “please, I can’t breathe.” Chauvin was arrested and charged with three-degree murder and manslaughter earlier on Friday.

Floyd’s plea before his death evoked African Americans’ painful memories. In 2014, a cellphone recorded an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” when a New York officer held him in a chokehold before his death in police custody. Since then, the plea has become a rallying cry at demonstrations against police misconduct across the country.

May 30, 2020

NGOs demonstrate for Roma interests

A demonstration for the interests of Roma people was held in Budapest on Sunday with the slogan “Free Court! Free Gyöngyöspata!” referring to a contested court ruling on compensation payment to segregated Roma pupils in the northern Hungarian village of Gyöngyöspata.

The demonstration was organised by the Szabad Bíróság Szabad Gyöngyöspata (Free Court, Free Gyöngyöspata) group, Amnesty International Magyarorszag, the Civil Liberties Union (TASZ), the 1 Hungary Initiative, Szocsoma, the We Belong Here network and the Fonix Movement.

Gathering on a square near Nyugati railway station, the demonstrators moved to the building of Hungary’s supreme court Kúria where speakers demanded the independence of courts.

Then they moved to Kossuth Square near Parliament under signs that read “Nobody stands above the law” and “National Roma Alliance”.

Read alsoOrbán cabinet asks top court for expedited hearing in Roma segregation case

There were no signs referring to political parties but several anti-government signs were carried, as well as flags of the teachers union PDSZ, the Hungarian Network of Academics and the international left-wing organisation Antifaschistische Aktion.

Former Budapest Mayor Gábor Demszky, former Alliance of Free Democrats lawmaker Gábor Iványi, former Alliance of Free Democrats and Socialist lawmaker Imre Mécs and head of the Hungarian Roma Parliament organisation Aladár Horváth were among the protesters.

Addressing the demonstration, Jenó Setet, head of We Belong Here, said that the “events of recent weeks” concerning the Gyöngyöspata compensation issue were intolerable. He said that the “Roma communities came under the most severe attack of the past thirty years.”

Setet said that the government was inciting hatred in the interest of political gains and the Roma were used as an excuse for attacking courts.

Read alsoFidesz cabinet: ‘Soros network’ incites hatred between Hungarians, Roma

The victims of the 2009 Roma killings of Tatárszentgyörgy were also remembered.

The Debrecen Appeal Court in September 2019 ruled that Roma children in Gyongyospata were segregated unlawfully at school and their right to equal treatment was violated. The court required the local authority and the school district to pay compensation of 100 million forints (EUR 297.700) to the children’s families for each year spent in segregation.

The local authority and the school district asked the Kúria to review the binding ruling last year.

Prime ministerial commissioner and ruling Fidesz regional representative Laszlo Horvath said in a Facebook message that the organisers of the demonstration “had exposed themselves” because fewer than a busload of people arrived for the demonstration from the village of Gyöngyöspata. “Some 98 percent of Gyöngyöspata residents said no to this political act,” he said.

It is clear that “organisations supported by [US billionaire] George Soros” do not want peaceful coexistence between Hungarians and Roma and their “recipe” is to incite conflict and “call the Roma in arms” against the majority society, he added.

February 24, 2020

Mi Hazánk protests for ‘order’ in N Hungary

radical nationalist Mi Hazánk party betyársereg

The non-parliamentary Mi Hazánk party demanded “order in the country” at a protest attended by several hundred supporters in front of the local government office in Miskolc, in north-eastern Hungary, late on Sunday.

Addressing the event, the radical nationalist party’s head László Toroczkai referred to Roma people as a minority with “tribal organisations”, which posed a threat to the majority, including ambulance workers, police, teachers and kindergarten nurses. At the same time, he said “decent working Roma must be respected”.

There are “no-go zones” in Hungary, he insisted citing a recent case when ambulance staff could not reach a patient in time because they needed police support.

He said it was unacceptable that the Opre Roma Party maintained a plan to “tear four counties out of Hungary” to set up an autonomous Roma province and offer basic income to local Roma from tax-payers’ money.

Mi Hazánk deputy leader Előd Novák called for an end to “Roma crime” and insisted that “rather than fighting Roma crime those in power will fight the people ready to act against it.”

After the demonstration, a torch-lit march was held in Sály, a nearby vilage where a 61 year-old woman had recently been killed by a Roma man.

Orbán cabinet asks top court for expedited hearing in Roma segregation case

Roma protesters againts Mi Hazánk demonstration

February 17, 2020

Opposition parties protest against criminal proceedings against DK deputy leader

Several opposition parties have protested against the fingerprinting and DNA sampling of Democratic Coalition (DK) politician László Varju as part of a criminal investigation into a December 2018 opposition protest at the public media headquarters.

Declaring his innocence after the procedure by the investigative prosecutor’s office on Monday, the deputy leader of the leftist party told protesters gathered outside the office that

the prosecution service was “a part of the Fidesz regime” and had “acted on instructions”.

“They have dirtied my otherwise clean hands,” he said, holding up his fingers smeared with ink.

On January 6, Varju was questioned as a suspect in the case. According to a statement issued by the prosecutor’s office at the time, Varju, as a member of the protesting group in 2018, demanded access to a studio and “charged at a line of security staff”.

Demonstrators, police clash near the Hungarian Parliament – PHOTOS

In the resulting tussle, he “squeezed the calf of one of the guards” and “exhibited violent opposition”.

The statement added that he had caused a guard fall to the ground and the officer had suffered serious injuries.

Monday’s protest was attended by supporters of DK, the Socialist Party, Párbeszéd, LMP and the Liberal Party.

January 28, 2020

Protests over citizenship law intensify in India

As violent protests over new citizenship law in India are spiralling across many states, authorities have now extended the internet ban to parts of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said Monday.

The internet services were suspended in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, Meerut and Saharanpur.

The ban on the internet was imposed Sunday evening in the wake of violent clashes between protesters and police in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Massive protests rocked the university area on Sunday following which police resorted to tear smoke shelling and baton charging.

Television images from Aligarh showed protesters resorting to vandalism by breaking motorbikes inside the campus area.

Officials have closed the university and asked students to vacate the hostels.

On Monday morning students at Nadwa college took to streets in solidarity with their counterparts at AMU. The protesting students tried to move outside campus but were pushed back by the police.

“Mobile internet services will remain suspended until further orders,” an official at district magistrate Saharanpur’s office said. “The step has been taken to maintain law and order.”

Internet ban has been imposed in parts of the eastern state of West Bengal also after violent protests erupted against the new law. Protestors reportedly vandalised property at three railway stations and set five trains on fire. According to officials, the internet has been blocked in six districts and four subdivisions.

“The affected cities include Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas,” an official said.

The internet ban is already in place in parts of three northeastern states of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya since last week.

Authorities justify the ban on internet, saying it helps in preventing the circulation of information that has the potential to incite violence.

“We ordered the suspension of the internet as a precautionary measure in some parts until this morning but today again we extended it for another 24 hours in districts — Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat and Kamrup,” an official in Guwahati said. “If the situation will improve completely then we will restore the service.”

Assam and Tripura were the first states to react to the new citizenship law. Massive protests and clashes rocked Guwahati, following which police fired tear smoke shells and bullets to contain the protests. Two people were killed on spot on Thursday and two more succumbed on Sunday, taking the toll to four.

Last week the Indian parliament passed the controversial new citizenship law. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions — Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity — from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship.
Opposition parties and civil society members in India criticize the bill as contrary to secular principles enshrined in India’s constitution as it excludes Muslims.

With this new law, the government would grant Indian citizenship to those non-Muslim immigrants who had entered the country illegally until Dec. 31, 2014.

People in the northeastern states fear granting of citizenship to immigrants would endanger their status.

An internet ban is in place in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir for the past over four months. The longest communication ban so far was enforced on the night of Aug. 4, hours before New Delhi scrapped special status to the region.

Last month India’s Home Minister Amit Shah told Indian parliament that the decision on revoking ongoing internet ban in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir would be taken at an “appropriate time”.

According to Internet Shutdowns, a website tracking the suspension of internet, so far 93 incidents of internet shutdowns have been ordered by the officials in India in 2019.
Last year the tracker said 134 shutdowns were ordered by the authorities in India.

According to the tracker, they were counting only those incidents that were reported.

Read alsoOver 40 people die in major Delhi fire

December 16, 2019

Protesters rally against government’s culture bill in Budapest demonstration

Protesters rallied in downtown Budapest against the government’s new culture bill on Monday evening.

The crowd completely filled Madách Square, partially impeding traffic on Karoly ring road.

Addressing the protest organised by the Katona József Theatre, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said the stage and culture as a whole belonged to the artists and the audience, not politicians.

“When we defend the freedom of theatres, we’re also defending the city’s freedom,” Karácsony said.

“This is our rightful act of self-defence.”

He said that even if the bill passed parliament, it would still be a “dictate” rather than a law.

The mayor said the bill was the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance’s attempt at revenge for “losing Budapest” in October’s municipal elections.

“The capital will protect its theatres, artists and its freedom,” the mayor said.

Tamás Jordán, director of the Weöres Sándor Theatre in Szombathely, in western Hungary, said “every Hungarian who has a clear conscience” must take a stand against the culture bill.

Stage director Martin Boross said that an online petition against the bill launched by Hungary’s Alliance for Independent Performing Arts has already attracted some 50,000 signatures.

The demonstration was also addressed by Béla Pintér, founder of Bela Pinter and Company, Pál Mácsai, director of the Örkény Theatre, Katona József Theatre actress Andrea Fullajtár, Beáta Barda, CEO of Budapest’s Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, and actress Franciska Farkas.

New Hungarian theatre bill to address decade-long problems democratically?

Read alsoSCANDAL! Hungarian director’s sexual harassment case

December 9, 2019

Lebanese protesters break into Beirut Justice Palace

Lebanon has been witnessing protests against the ruling political class and their corrupt practices for the past 30 years.

A number of young Lebanese protesters broke into the Beirut Justice Palace on Monday voicing demands on the 47th day of nationwide demonstrations, Al Jadeed local TV channel reported.

Protesters demanded that the judicial system in Lebanon be free of any political interferences, in addition to investigations into corruption cases related to fuel and electricity, tax evasion and other issues.

Protesters also demanded the release of their friends who were arrested during nationwide demonstrations in the past days.

Demonstrators who entered the Beirut Justice Palace for the first time since the beginning of protests in Lebanon shouted slogans against the corrupted political system in Lebanon.

Read alsoLebanon’s foreign minister Gebran Bassil visits Budapest – UPDATE

One citizen told Al Jadeed that lawyers and judges at the Beirut Justice Palace showed great support for protesters’ demands.

Lebanon has been witnessing protests against the ruling political class and their corrupt practices for the past 30 years.

Protests have so far succeeded in toppling the government while protesters vowed not to leave the streets until they see a formation of a new cabinet capable of dealing with their demands including the trial of corrupted politicians.

December 2, 2019

Trade union: Hungarian education policy marred by lack of social dialogue

Hungary’s education policy is marred by centralisation and a lack of social dialogue, the head of the Democratic Union of Teachers (PDSZ) told the closing event of a protest held under the slogan “Free Education!” late on Sunday.

Tamás Szűcs told the event held at the square in front of Parliament that manual control, centralisation, the arrogance of power and the lack of social dialogue characterised the country’s education policy. “Parliament is passing everything like a road roller”, he said citing a recent amendment to the law on vocational education.

“There is no other possibility left but to protest,” he added.

If necessary the trade union will use new methods, such as civil disobedience, Szucs said.

Budapest’s new mayor Gergely Karácsony told the event that Hungary’s education system was based on a lack of trust because the government, in fear of losing power, wants to turn pupils into “subjects”.

At the recent local elections Budapest residents expressed their wish that they want to regain control over their city, he said.

He promised to launch new schemes in cooperation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, scholarships to disadvantaged students and cooperation to all that want Budapest to become “a hub for knowledge-based development”.

The Free Education! protest was held between Friday to Sunday and was addressed by representatives of the organisers as well as opposition local council leader.

Read alsoTeachers hold demonstration in Budapest

The closing event on Sunday evening attracted a few dozens of people.

December 2, 2019

Teachers hold demonstration in Budapest

Teachers’ trade union PSZ held a demonstration in Budapest on Saturday, with support from other teachers’ unions, demanding higher wages and a reduction of the burden on teachers.

Participants who gathered in front of the Parliament called for pay hikes, reducing the number of teachers’ working hours, support for those starting their career in education, the withdrawal of the regulation on the compulsory schooling of six-year-olds and the withdrawal of the act on vocational education.

Addressing the protesters, PSZ leader Zsuzsa Szabó said that if the government fails to meet their demands, the union will call a nationwide teachers’ strike in January.

Prior to the demonstration, a petition containing the demands was handed over to representatives of the ministry of human resources and the ministry of innovation and technology.

In response to the demonstration, the ministry of human resources said in a statement that the ministry had been open to the negotiations, which had been ongoing for several months, and remains open and ready for consultation on further wage demands.

The ministry added that the teachers are not demonstrating against the government but for higher wages, therefore they consider it outrageous that the opposition parties are exploiting the opportunity for their own political goals.

The ruling Fidesz party also issued a statement, saying that the opposition and the network of George Soros exploiting the teachers’ demonstration are only interested in comiong to power rather than the fate of teachers, and their real aim is to replace Hungary’s anti-immigration government.

The opposition LMP has expressed solidarity with the teachers and support for the demonstration. Secretary of the national board Máté Kanász-Nagy said teachers have to repeatedly protest because the education sector is still in crisis and faces pressing problems.

November 30, 2019

Teachers to stage demonstration aimed at pay hikes

Teachers’ trade union PSZ has called a demonstration for November 30, union leader Zsuzsanna Szabó announced on Friday.

Negotiations with the government aimed at pay hikes and reducing the burden on teachers have proved futile, Szabó said.

The government is not committed to solving the problems of the education sector, Szabó said.

“Teachers are expected to resolve social problems while they are denied adequate wages or appreciation,” she said.

The strike initiative is supported by trade unions PDSZ, MKSZSZ, OVSZ, the Christian teachers union, as well as union federations SZEF and Maszsz.

PSZ deputy leader Tamás Totyik said that despite the government’s figures teachers’ wages “have never been this far from the national average” and added that the wages of career starters were below the guaranteed wage minimum.

Sociologist Elek Fazekas said that though teachers were officially required to work 25 hours a week, but additional activities such as preparing for classes or supervising children more than doubles that number.

The human resources and innovation ministries said in a joint statement that the demonstration would “serve political purposes of the opposition” and those of “the Soros network” rather than promote the interests of teachers or children.

The ministries insisted in their statement that “more money than ever” is being spent on the education sector, including teachers’ pay.

They added that the government had increased teachers’ wages by an average 50 percent, while teachers in vocational training would benefit from another 30 percent rise from January.

The statement also said that recent changes to the legal status of teachers would ensure “more flexible employment conditions” for them, which “the unions don’t like”.

November 23, 2019

Opposition stages demonstration in Győr against scandalous mayor

Parties of the opposition staged a demonstration in Győr, in western Hungary, on Saturday, against incumbent mayor Zsolt Borkai, who has recently appeared in video footage in connection with acts of sexual impropriety.

Speakers at the event said that the mayor had damaged the city’s reputation.

András Fekete-Győr, head of the Momentum Movement, said that the country was run by a “mafia government” while ruling Fidesz was characterised by “emptiness and a lack of values” in which party Borkai’s behaviour was “more of a norm rather than a mistake”.

He insisted that Győr’s citizens deserve “an honest local council without scandals or corruption”.

György Szilágyi, an MP of conservative Jobbik, voiced his party’s support of the opposition parties’ cooperating before the upcoming municipal elections despite four other Jobbik MP’s quitting that cooperation on October 8, and said that those MPs had “smeared Jobbik’s name”.

He added that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should have called on Borkai to resign when the footage came to light.

Local Socialist leader Balázs Prollreisz said that Borkai was unworthy of his post and added that “tomorrow will see a fight between the honest and those dishonest”.

Sándor Rónai, MEP of the Democratic Coalition, said that “Borkai will no longer be mayor, even if he should win Sunday’s election”, and added that “his successor will be appointed by the prime minister”.

October 13, 2019

Public workers’ unions call nationwide strike for October 10

The union of public service workers (MKKSZ) and the union of social sector workers (SZAD) have called a nationwide strike for October 10, saying that the government had “failed to deliver on its promises and has deceived social sector workers”.

In a statement on Friday, the unions noted that last March the government had vowed to devise a wage convergence plan and create the legal conditions for the implementation of a collective bargaining agreement for social sector workers.

Government representatives present at the spring strike talks had pledged to deliver on their promises by April 30 and June 30, they added.

The unions said that because the government had “failed to meet either deadline or live up to any of its promises”, they will now continue the strike they suspended back in March.

MKKSZ head Erzsébet Boros said after the March 14 strike that some 7,500 public employees had joined the work stoppage, with the majority being local council workers. Announcing that strike in January, she said the main reasons behind the problems facing public service workers were the sector’s “unsustainable, disorganised and professionally unintelligible wage policy” and the “completely chaotic wage system”.

Government spokesman Istvan Hollik declared that strike a “complete failure”, calling it a “political move by the opposition”.

September 20, 2019

National student strike announced against education law amendment

A demonstration organised by secondary school students took place in Budapest in front of Parliament on Saturday to protest against an amendment to the law on public education, with a national student strike announced for Sept. 13. All students have been asked to stay home as an expression of their protest against the changes to the law.

Tamás Szűcs, head of the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ), said the government was intent on telling people what to do in every sphere and on holding back those who want to innovate in schools. He said all legal means must be used to protest against the government.

He also called for teachers to be paid for overtime.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Hungary head Dávid Víg said the government’s idea of a good scientist was one who adapted their research to political goals. The cabinet, he added, did not trust parents, teachers or civil society.

Márton Asbóth, a lawyer for the TASZ human rights organisation, insisted that the government was “deliberately destroying public education”, and called the cabinet an enemy of free-thinking and acting citizens. He said the amendments to the law were “unconstitutional and severely restricted rights”. TASZ, he added, would appeal against the law at the Constitutional Court.

In a call on Facebook to followers, the organisers said they would not remain idle while the government set about “destroying the public education system” and dismantling alternative schools.

Further, they said it was “unacceptable to systematically lower the standard of education” and “to deprive teachers of their freedom”.

September 1, 2019

Passengers in a riot and may demonstrate soon – what is wrong with the Hungarian State Railways?

On Wednesday, a small delegation of passengers handed over a list of demands at the centre of MÁV (State Railways of Hungary) in the morning. In the petition, they express their grievance about the regular delays and lack of information provided in such cases, with regards to the Budapest-Cegléd-Szolnok line and others in the agglomeration of Budapest. If MÁV does not implement changes, they will resolve to demonstrations.

The protesters have sent their petition to index.hu (news portal), which reveals that they are regular railway passengers and go to work by train. They represent several Facebook groups, including thousands of passengers. In the last few months, they experienced a decline in the quality of service. Such a significant decline, in fact, that they have to take steps for the passengers in the agglomeration of Budapest.

train near Budapest — Train on line 100a near Budapest
Photo: facebook.com/100a vasútvonalon utazók IDE!

On the line of Nyugati-Cegléd-Szolnok (100a), delays (around 20-60 minutes long) and cancellations occur far more frequently than usual, ever since May. Those who go to work in the morning have to catch trains coming earlier to get to their workplace on time. The delays are not only 5-10 minutes. On the line between Nyugati and Monor, the journey is supposed to take only 34 minutes, but every second day it collects another 34 minutes at least by each delay.

Delays of 10-15 minutes are considered to be “okay.”

The positions of many workers are threatened in their jobs because if they leave earlier, they cannot take their kids to school. Coming home is likewise a serious problem because kindergartens and schools often close by the time the parents make it there – this causes even more conflicts according to the protesters.

Besides the delays, the passengers came up with other complaints as well:

“Associates of MÁV are completely ignorant. Moreover, they get upset if you dare ask them something because not even they can know everything, they say (in practice, they never know anything). We have no idea why they behave like this because those who wear the uniform of the company represent it in a way and are responsible for the operation even with their behaviour. At stations from where the trains depart, there is misinformation all the time – the announcer cannot be heard, and after getting on the train, ticket inspectors never inform the passengers about the expected time of departure and other circumstances.”

Another problem is, that there is no air conditioning on the trains. On trains that are often stranded under the sun until their departure, there are full-glass windows that cannot be opened, and during the summer, it is 40°C hot in the afternoon. They do not hand out water or give you a chance to cool down the air, but they warn you through the announcer to prepare for your journey with enough water. Considering the time of delays, it could be 2-3 litres.

Average crowd on the train
Photo: facebook.com/MÁV 142 Budapest-Lajosmizse-Kecskemét

The press department of MÁV reacted to the petition, and they say that 6 billion HUF is invested in renewing the critical part of the railway line between Nyugati Railway Station and Kőbánya-Kispest. Besides, double-decker trains, called “KISS,” are almost ready on the lines, and they will be more reliable than the overused trains, and their capacity will also be bigger. Apart from these, there is going to be a residential forum in which the passengers will be informed appropriately about all the innovations – promises the railway company.

According to many passengers, this is not enough though. The new trains are going to be launched in inappropriate circumstances because the top wires are dysfunctional and the interlocking system breaks down all the time.

This way, the company would only achieve to have twice as many people waiting on the line in double-decker trains.

Overall, renewals and replacement of the equipment and devices are needed to ensure transport in both directions on the lines in question.

They also added: instead of meaningless answers, an effective compensation system is needed because of the delays, and not only in intercity trains, because the majority of people go to work from the agglomeration to Budapest. Making things functional has to be in the interest of the operator. They must suffer the financial consequences of the bad operation.

Obsolete train at Nyugati Railway Station – no announcement about the delay and the estimated departure time
Photo: 100a vasútvonalon utazók IDE!

To inform the passengers appropriately, ticket inspectors should be given the same information as traffic management to be able to transmit it to the passengers and answer the questions. Announcement devices and loudspeakers should be replaced, and all the information announced should be shown on the screens inside the trains – especially in extraordinary cases. If the travel circumstances do not improve, demonstrations will follow – state the passengers at the end of their petition.

Update – MÁV takes the petition seriously

The press department of MÁV announced that the petition has been taken by Zsolt Völgyesi, who is responsible for the 6 billion HUF renewal investment. This indicates that they pay attention to the passengers’ demands and opinion. They say that on line 100, there is another problem: MÁV-Start has to give up on many obsolete trains, and there is a huge deficit in the number of railway carriages. The new double-decker trains of KISS will arrive soon with more capacity and reliable operation – they are a good solution for both problems. A residential forum will be held where they will be introduced to the passengers.

August 24, 2019

Budapest Pride – Pride march held in Budapest

The 24th Budapest Pride Festival wound up with a march that started from Kossuth Square, in front of the parliament building, on Saturday.

LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people and their allies marched to March 15th Square, on the Pest side of the Erzsébet Bridge.

Before the start of the march, oganised by the Rainbow Mission Foundation, spokesperson Kama Peksa said LGBTQ people had had enough of being treated as second-class citizens by those in power.

She noted that, according to leaks, the government plans to amend the constitution in September to prohibit LGBTQ people from adopting.

Peksa stressed that LGBTQ people would not give up their fight, rather their solidarity would grow as pressure from the established powers increases.

She said 15 vehicles joined the march as well as 300 volunteers, including legal observers.

The poet and writer Orsolya Karafiáth, who is the MC for this year’s event, said it would be good if the country was at least as open as the crowd gathered in Kossuth Square, unafraid and standing up for dignity and diversity.

The third speaker at the event, the sociologist Dezső Máté, said one notices early in the 21st century that the motivation to change, to question and to achieve equality are missing from society.

“It’s as if time had stopped and the institutions of the state were content with the civil rights and duties that their predecessors have fought for,” he said.

It appears that public movements shaking the country and Europe are coming to an end, he added.

While the speakers addressed the crowd, marchers held a “kiss flash mob” to mark International Kissing Day.

On their way to March 15th Square, the marchers waved rainbow flags, sang songs and danced.

After the march ended, Peksa said this year’s event was the most peaceful and unhindered one in recent years. She noted that the participants marched without cordons this year, and in spite of that there were no disruptions. Peksa added that she knew of just one instance of a counterdemonstrator entering the crowd of marchers, but that person was escorted out by the organisers.

MTI’s correspondents at the event saw the flags and banners of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) and the Socialists (MSZP) as well as the Liberal Party among the marchers. The organisers also said the march was supported by Momentum, Parbeszed and the satirical Two-tailed Dog party.

While the march was held, national radical activists organised a counterdemonstration in the city centre demanding a ban of Budapest Pride.

At one point along the route of the Pride march, the counterdemonstrators were separated from the marchers by a cordon of about 30 metres. There police with dogs stood between the marchers and the counterdemonstrators.

A spokesman for the counterdemonstration, the lawyer Tamás Gaudi-Nagy, said protesting against a “midget minority” who want to get additional rights under the aegis of equal rights is “a fundamental right and a national duty”.

László Toroczkai, the head of the radical nationalist Mi Hazánk party, was present at the counterdemonstration.

Many of the counterdemonstrators wore T-shirts on which were written “normal” and “hetero”. Some also waved flags with the national colours as well as the red and white Arpad Stripes.

July 7, 2019

MTA: Government proposals threaten academic freedom

The government’s proposals for the transformation of the network of research institutions including its separation from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) poses a threat to academic and scientific freedom, MTA chairman László Lovász said on Wednesday.

The government has so far been unable to explain why it would be better for research insitutions not to operate under the auspices of MTA, Lovász told an international press conference.

The research network has been operating well and at a high standard under MTA. Based on its achievements and available resources, it has been among the best in Europe, he said.

The low level of innovation cited by the government as a problem will not improve simply by withdrawing institutions involved in basic research from the oversight of the public body, he said. At the same time, separating the research institutions from MTA will generate serious legal problems, he added.

On June 4 the government submitted a proposal to amend laws on operating and financing the institutional network for research, development and innovation. In line with the proposal, MTA research institutions would be transferred to the Eotvos Lorand Research Network whose board includes six MTA delegates and six government delegates.

Additionally, an eleven-member National Science Policy Council would be set up to prepare opinions and proposals about the government’s research, development and innovation activities, and report directly to the prime minister.

Lovász said it was reason for serious concern that the proposal fails to secure basic financing for research institutes and guarantee the representation of the researchers’ network in the Eötvös Loránd Research Network. Additionally, the proposal violates MTA’s ownership rights, he said.

Further, the ministry of innovation and technology has used dubious negotiating methods including threats at consultations between the ministry and MTA in the past year, Lovász added.

June 13, 2019

People react to House Speaker’s homophobic statements with demonstration

Budapest Pride organised a demonstration at Kossuth square Saturday evening to respond to the outrageous statements about homosexuals that were uttered by House Speaker László Kövér last Wednesday.

Organisers believe that homophobia has no place in public life, and they are shocked that in the 21^st century, some people still consider others second-class citizens, Index reports.

Hungarian House Speaker: “Normal homosexuals don’t consider themselves equal”

Kövér expressed his thoughts on homosexuals at a public forum last week, where he, among other things, stated that:

“There is no difference morally in the behaviour of a paedophile and gays who want to adopt. In both of these cases, the child is an object, an item of luxury, the tool used for self-realisation and fulfilment.”

Then he went on explaining that

“a normal homosexual knows the order of life, that this is how she/he was born and this is what she/he became. A normal homosexual tries to adapt to society and does not consider herself/himself equal.”

Many people felt the need to respond to Kövér’s statements publicly. Not long after the forum, a demonstration was organised.

Hundreds of people showed up at Kossuth square to show their disagreement with Kövér’s statements, including many politicians from the opposition.

For example, delegates from Momentum, Demokratikus Koalíció, MSZP, and the Liberálisok were all there.

Protesters were holding rainbow-coloured flags.

A few of them had the chance to speak about the issue, and many of them demanded the immediate resignation of Kövér as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, emphasising that

homophobia has absolutely no place in public life.

People started chanting “Kövér László azonnal mondjon le!” [László Kövér resign now!”]

As Index reports, the highlight of the protest was the moment when one organiser wearing a Kövér mask presented another organiser with a Kövér mask with the “Most Equal Hungarian” Prize, and then the two Kövérs engaged in a kiss to celebrate the occasion.

The demonstration was very peaceful, and it lasted about one and a half hours. The square was empty by 8 p.m. No atrocities were committed during the demonstration.

This year’s Budapest Pride march will take place on 6 June. Organisers launched a campaign called #leveletlacinak [#alettertoLaci, Laci is the nickname for László]. The #leveletlacinak campaign encourages people to write down their own personal stories of political suppression and humiliation, and they will make sure that László Kövér gets each and every one of those letters. The campaign lasts until 6 June.

People expected to get the government’s response to Kövér’s statements. The Government spokesperson released a statement Friday afternoon:

“According to the laws of Hungary, a family constitutes of one man and one woman living together, and the Hungarian laws clearly state that same-gender-couples cannot adopt children.”

Featured image: Facebook.com/budapestpride/

May 20, 2019