Thousands Of Hungarians March For Freedom in Budapest

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News reporting from Budapest

(Worthy News) – Thousands of Hungarians, many of them students, marched through Budapest on Friday to demand freedom in universities and media.

Their rallies came the day the nation commemorated the outbreak of the 1956 Revolution against Soviet Union-rule which was crushed by Soviet soldiers.

Decades later, demonstrators made clear that Hungary’s transition from
Communist dictatorship towards democracy did not bring freedom.

They accused the government of the increasingly autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of intervening in universities and media.

Friday’s protests involve cars blocking the area near the state public media complex. “Where there is no freedom of the press, there are no free ideas, ” said Bernadett Szél, an independent legislator.

REVOLUTION HEROES

“The heroes of the 1956 Revolution fought for freedom and justice against an oppressive power,” recalled Szél.

She added that free and fair elections require that everyone is able to express their opinions freely.

Szél and others joined thousands marching over bridges including the Szabadság Híd (Freedom Bridge) spanning the Danube river.

Many of them were students who have occupied Budapest’s University of Theater and Film Arts after a government-backed board took over the 155-year old institution.

“We are expressing concern about the universal values ​​that have recently been threatened in Hungary. One of them is autonomous higher education,” organizers said.

OSCAR WINNERS

SZFE, the university’s Hungarian acronym, counts several Oscar winners among its graduates, including Michael Curtiz, the director of “Casablanca.”

In recent years, Prime Minister Orbán’s nationalist, conservative government has transferred several significant universities to private foundations ruled by boards of directors loyal to the government.

Several of the SZFE’s top professors have resigned, as has the school’s leadership. And actors, musicians, artists, and other universities have joined the rallies.

Most protestors wore masks due to concerns about the coronavirus, which also forced authorities to scale back the 1956 Revolution events. Critics say the government wants to impose its nationalistic views on education and media.

Hungary’s government has denied wrongdoing and says it wants to make education, and media, more efficient and independent.

But Orban has come under European Union pressure over limiting press freedom and the autonomy of universities and the judiciary.

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