Protesters Riot Against Government in Budapest
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Anti-government protesters clashed with police in Budapest yesterday, marring a national holiday marking the anniversary of an 1848 uprising against Austrian rule.
About 600 rioters threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers during the clashes, in which eight civilians and three officers were injured, the police said on their Web site. Twenty-four people were detained. The crowd “acted extremely aggressively toward officers, damaging cars, attacking officers with iron bars,” according to the police statement. An opposition rally earlier in the day involving as many as 10,000 people passed without incident.
The clashes are a return of street violence that marred national holidays in the past two years, including March 15, 2007, when police clashed with anti-government protesters. Mr. Gyurcsany’s economic program of tax increases and subsidy cuts, stoked resentment as the prime minister backtracked on election campaign promises of tax cuts.
