Fidesz party co-founder and prominent columnist Zsolt Bayer has threatened to use violence against the tens of thousands of students, youth and other Hungarians who have been demonstrating against the Orbán regime’s new legislation, aimed at closing down Central European University. A mass protest is scheduled for Wednesday, in Heroes’ Square, and in advance of this, Mr. Bayer published the following on his blog:
“We can confirm that in very short order, we too will take to the streets, so as to defend all that is important and holy to us. And we will be angry. So for a little while still, you can rage on the streets, you can try to intrude into Parliament, the ministries, Fidesz party headquarters, the President’s offices, you can go up against the police or attack journalist–for the time being. But then you will experience what it means to be persecuted and threatened. As I said: we are very angry. Do you understand?”
Zsolt Bayer and Viktor Orbán.
Mr. Bayer’s words, which have not been condemned by anyone in the ruling party, come after news, published on 444.hu website, that Hungarian police entered the apartment of a couple who demonstrated on Monday night. As Maria Koosh, a Georgian alumnus of CEU living in Budapest recounted, she and her friend, a Hungarian man called Gergely, had just arrived home at around 1 am, when she decided to take a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, there were 7 police officers in her living room, who peppered the couple with questions and made unpleasant remarks. It was only after several minutes had passed that Ms. Koosh, dressed only in a towel, was allowed to put on some clothes. Her friend, Gergely, was taken away by police and he remains in custody, well over 12 hours later. Ms. Koosh does not even know where her friend was taken.
It appears that Gergely is connected to prominent Hungarian opposition activist Márton Gulyás, who was arrested Monday night and may be held in custody for up to 72 hours. He is reportedly charged with having attempted to throw orange paint onto the Presidential offices, the Sándor Palace, in the Castle District.
Supporters are planning a protest in front of the Prosecutor’s Office.
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Monday night’s spontaneous protest, which we reported on, ended at the public radio’s headquarters, after 1 am, when a young woman climbed the building’s entrance and placed a large EU flag above the door. Riot police blocked the crowd, by that time under 1,000, from entering the building.
Its a shame that you cannot rid yourself of a completely biased and one-sided negative presentation of events in Hungary. In your blog you still persist in stating that the Orban government wants to destroy CEU. This is disinformation! CEU simply will have to meet the legal standards that all foreign universities have to adhere to. Furthermore you chastize Bayer Zsolt (a journalist) for threatening the demonstrators who chanted that “Budapest will burn!” The double standard continues ad infinitum.
Let’s get real. You know very well that the conditions of the law are simply unattainable within the time frame allotted. We have mentioned this numerous times in our articles. CEU cannot establish a US campus by September 2017, full stop.
Andrew, in the US, States not the federal government accredit academic institutions. So, how can CEU meet that condition? And how can they find/build facilities, furnish classrooms and offices, get the relevant permits, hire faculty, administrators, and staff, etc., in six months? It would take more than six months just to come up with a plan. The law was designed as a poison pill to eliminate CEU.
The demonstrators have been non-violent. Bayer, is the only one seriously calling for violence. Are you ok with that? Would you like to see the blood of young Hungarians on the streets?
You are either naive or a propagandist for Fidesz.
Ádám,
There’s no point debating such idiotic statements – the Earth is not flat.
Orban is a criminal embezzler, an accidental fascist and a totally immoral parvenue.
Bayer is a conscious, somewhat deranged, vile fascist.
Full stop.
What amazes me, that American citizens of Hungarian origin in the United States are cheering Mr. Orbán’s law which is trying to close CEU, an American university in Budapest. Mr. Orbán’s attack is an anti-American provocation and is rejected by the vast majority of Hungarian Americans.
Bayer (amongst many other unsavoury things) is an anti semite, anyone defending him is clearly a very unpleasant person.
Bayer is the voice of Hungary’s intolerant, racist past, and his master is ND – the National Disgrace (a.k.a. Viktor Orbán.) The ND’s preferance for mass rallies á la Nazi Germany, is well known, as is his preference for subcontracting those rallies to his “Stormtroopers”, like Bayer, Kerényi, Bencsik, Lovas, and that other “Vitéz”, Széles Gábor – the folks who organized the so called “Peace-March” a few years back, to intimidate those who dared to speak up against the ND. The Hungarian ultra-right, the thieves that have been robbing the country blind, will not back down without a fight, because now, they have Putin’s secret service as a backstop. At least 1000 of Putin’s secret service men are stationed in Budapest, most with Hungarian passports, courtesy of the ND’s local and loyal criminals. The ND and his pro-Russian, pro-Iranian, anti-American zealots have much to lose, there are still billions to be stolen from the funds the EU is sending to Hungary, via the Prime Minister’s office. The autocracy will fall eventually, but when it does, Bayer and his neo-nazi followers will try to drag an entire nation into the abyss, like their former heroes, Horthy and Szálasi. Let’s hope, Hungary’s increasingly critical new generation will not allow this to happen, and will stand in the way of the violence Bayer’s calling for, with ever larger, and frequent acts of peaceful civil disobedience.
Reality check, how about the non violent remark “Budapest will burn”. Problems of interpretation I suppose.
A woman is an alumnA.
Not alumnUS.
Ludanyi you are eirher a Fidesz troll or an idiot.
Lud is a typical diaspora fidesznik. I know many of this vitéz kind – reactionaries stuck in their youth memories, grabbing at anything that soothes their complexes for prominence (in the new home), greatness (of the past that never was), exclusiveness/superiority (by being Hungarian, of course). None has achieved much apart from being a busy bodies in the emigrant Hungarian organizations with their stilted, heavily accented English. They show 50 y.o. photos in uniforms, add all sorts titles to their names, decorate each other.. etc.
I hope this gives you an idea.
@ Karl Busch
Why either or ? Why could Mr. Ludányi not be both a Fidesz troll and an idiot ?
If the demonstrations continue it is highly probable that the regime will suppress it violently, they have prepared themselves for years for such.
In addition to the regular police there are emergency police (red caps), non-uniformed police, parliament police, National Bank police and the heavily armed TEK. Orban is ready to copy his idols Putin and Erdogan with similar crowd suppressing actions.
The situ is not as clear cut, Karl Busch. Hungary has shown numerous examples of the exception that proves the rule – i.e. the faithful security forces – the police or army – turning against the rulers, and joining the protesters. If the resistance becomes widespread and prolonged – and that is by no means certain – the National Disgrace (a.k.a. Viktor Orbán) may well have reason to tremble in his Adidas. The only thing that is guaranteed is, that when the end comes, many of the ND’s faithful servants will immediately become turn-coats, and proclaim they were always on the side of justice, and actively working “from the inside” to return Hungary to the path of democracy. Unfortunately, millions of Hungarians will likely swallow that lie, the same way ducks swallow a piece of bread thrown their way in the middle of a pond.