This month in Budapest

Out in numbers The crowd listens; below: a speaker

Estimated 70,000 demonstrate against governments direction

An estimated 70,000 demonstrators gathered in District V. near the foot of Budapests Elizabeth Bridge on the October 23 national holiday to protest the current governments dramatic changes to the Hungarian Constitution, and the general feeling that the leadership no longer listens to the people. The Facebook-based group behind several previous demonstrations against governments tough new media law organised this event as a broader demonstration against many of the governments new policies, which opponents say are threatening Hungarys democracy. After the party gained a twothirds parliamentary majority in the April 2010 elections, Fidesz began passing a blitzkrieg of legislation including rewriting the countrys Constitution in an apparent effort to consolidate Prime Minister Viktor Orbns grip on power. One of the rst changes the party made was to create new media laws, which has given the government greater control over broadcast, print and even internet news sources and which the poor to better their situation; that culture is becoming a swear word in political circles and dilettantes gain power; that students and professors need to reclaim universities; and that it is unacceptable how the government disregards the unions opinion when changing the Labour Code. A new point prevalent in most speeches was the call into action. Balzs Dnes of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) asserted that 60 per cent of voters are unable to nd a party to sympathise with and maintained that only voters can bring about change when it is most needed. Judging from media coverage and the talk around town, the Dont like the system?! demonstration stirred animated discussion. To their critics, who said that they had no clear idea about what they want, just what they dislike, organisers said they simply wanted to establish a platform for citizens who wish for change to gather, debate and share information, without the restrictions political parties face. Victor Ruppert and Tom Popper

has been widely condemned by free press advocates for curtailing freedom of expression. This move sparked the creation of a Facebook group called Egymillian a magyar sajtszabadsgrt, which has already been liked by 91,399 people. That group was behind a series of demonstrations earlier this year, including one in March that brought an estimated 30,000 to V. Szabad sajt t, between Ferenciek tere and the Elizabeth Bridge. This latest demonstration united the growing number of Hungarians who are opposed to the governments policies under a single theme: Nem tetszik a

rendszer?!, which translates roughly as Dont like the system?! The crowd, who were variously addressed as democrats, fellow citizens and republicans by speakers, stretched from Elizabeth Bridge to Astoria. Speakers addressed a range of issues: artists, political activists and students made short videos saying what they didnt like about the system, and there was even a live rap based around the theme of Nem tetszik a rendszer?! Messages from the speakers included: that hastily enacted laws divide the population and stretch already existing divisions even further, allowing no chance for

6 Time Out Budapest November 2011