Hungary’s government sucks at freedom

You think Bush is bad? Well, what the Christ is the government getting away with over in Budapest?

This is ridiculous:

The Hungarian government sent in the police to forcefully breakup a small, peaceful, and legal demonstration in front of parliament
In what can only be described as a shameful and utter disregard for democracy and human rights, the Hungarian government of former communist Ferenc Gyurcsany sent in the police to forcefully breakup a small, peaceful, and legal demonstration in front of parliament. This, despite earlier promises and guarantees from the authorities that the protesters can stay where they are.

The demonstration in front of parliament has been going on for two months, ever since an audio tape surfaced in where the prime minister admitted to lying to the public “day and night” in order to retain power. Over the weeks, the demonstration has undergone changes; the opposition FIDESZ party had tried to capitalise on the situation and hijack the event, but they eventually withdrew as public attention began to wane.

Government led by a former Communist = bad.

Breaking up a peaceful demonstration = bad.

Having an audio tape surface that clearly demonstrates your halfassed attempt at democracy lying to the public “day and night” in order to keep power = priceless.

Not that I’m a huge fan of the European Union or anything, but Brussels very obviously needs to give these guys a huge smackdown. Maybe make Gyurcsany’s government sit in the same corner that they put Turkey in until it learns its lesson?

posted Oct 29th, 2006 by Stuart Richards
  • k.e.

    a huge smackdown?
    ‘Every Day is 1956′: The Hungarian Revolution Today
    by James Bovard

    http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard37.html

  • k.e.

    “But maybe Americans should look at Hungary more closely. For decades, Americans have been far too docile to the lies of their leaders. Whether it is Nixon lying about Vietnam, or George H.W. Bush lying about Panama, or Clinton lying about Kosovo, or George W. Bush lying about Iraq and Afghanistan ”“ many Americans have responded as if they were born to be cannon fodder for the ruling class. George Bush openly proclaimed last year, “In my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” The vast majority of Americans ignored the comment, if they even noticed it. But if lying is simply another perk of the presidency, then Americans should at least have the decency to stop preening about being self-governing.

    If the citizenry does not punish liars, then it cannot expect the truth. Hungary again reminds us that we do not need to bow down to whomever manages to capture political power.”

  • Martin

    This is absolutely wrong. First of all I’m Hungarian, and I’m truly offended! Small peaceful demonstration? How about a demonstration that disrupts traffic on many major roads to throw red white striped Arpad flags around at people, which symbolize Fascism in Hungary, and to yell phrases against the prime minister, while being drunk. Afterwards, when the Police peacefully ask the protesters to leave the area and stop holding back traffic, they react with violence. These same protesters built a FORT on Erzsebet Bridge, and started making cocktail bombs! You call this peaceful? Gyurcsany is NOT a communist, and he is in coalition with the “Free Liberals” who are and were the harshest against communism! Gyurcsany admitted to lying, however he said that the government for the past 16 years has been lying (which includes governments from other parties). FIDESZ lies 100 times more, because they promise tax cuts, they promise more spending, no benefit cuts, meanwhile Hungary is in a 8% GDP deficit. Why do you think Hungarians did not elect FIDESZ just a few months ago? Because all they did is say that “we live worse than 4 years ago”, which is absolutely false because standard of living has grown at an unbelievably fast pace. Fidesz’s other method was to promise things in and out. Brussels fully supports Gyurcsany as they know that he is the only way that the country can be saved from full bankruptcy. I truly am surprised that someone could post something like this.

  • Saroyan Oyansar

    You should be careful when you judge utterances. The basic message of Gyurcsany’s speech was: “We lied in the morning, in the evening, and at night (about introducing the necessary reforms). [b]I don’t want to do this anymore.[/b]” But if you accept opposition Fidesz’ distortion of his words, the truth and past months’ events, the result will be the pitiful reasoning above. There were two peaceful demonstrations in my street on 23 October, and you could hardly see any policemen. But when the football hooligans used by Fidesz broke whatever was at hand, turned over and burned cars and started an exhibited historical tank to attack the police, then, yes, the riot units forcefully broke up the “peaceful demonstration”.
    So don’t believe the bigger liars at Fidesz, who cannot take their second defeat since 2002, but gather more information before condemning a government and the better half of a country far away. And imagine, I was never a Commie, I am not one and never will be one.

  • Carlos Schlotterbeck

    The demonstration on Kossuth Square has been not forcefully broken up. Police asked politely 30-50 people to leave the Square, because 52 Heads of State, Prime Ministers were to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution the next day on the same Square. The demonstrators left behind so called Molotov-cocktails (one sort of explosive made of benzene) and iron weapons.

    Please note that the Socialist-Liberal coalition has been democratically elected three times in Hungary since 1990. Today they represent the modern, western style lifestyle, meanwhile the FIDESZ is dreaming about the never-returning glorious Old-Hungary and the re-introducing of an unrealistic social welfare system.

    The real problem is that recent So-Li governments could not keep the deficit of the budget in limits and now they have to cut spending in order to stabilize the economy and introduce the Euro as soon as possible. The country has no other realistic choice.

  • http://www.pestiside.hu Pestiside.hu

    It’s actually even a littl more twisted that that. Here’s a first-hand report of some of the still-unexplained odd stuff that went down last week:

    http://www.pestiside.hu/archives/seeing_through_the_smoke_of_budapests_black_monday002831.php

  • Saroyan Oyansar

    Hi Pesticide, so you mean that the government, already criticized for crimes they had done and for a lot more they had not done, hired some goons so that they could provoke a situation where the riot police were to do nasty things, in consequence of which the whole world could cry out and criticize them for a lot more crimes, even Stuart here could put them down, and Fidesz could go berserk and run around all over and tell everyone how big and terrible commie terrorists they are? Very probable!