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PM - Budapest protests turn violent
[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1744763.htm]
PM - Tuesday, 19 September , 2006 18:28:12
Reporter: Mark Colvin
MARK COLVIN: There have been violent protests in Budapest, with demonstrators demanding the fall of the Government.
They're angry at a leaked tape in which the Hungarian Prime Minister admitted having lied about the economy over a long period of time.
Janos Betlen is a political correspondent for Hungarian State TV, and he told me how a peaceful demo by the Parliament had turned to a riot at the TV station.
JANOS BETLEN: Demonstrators went over there and sieged the building overnight and held it under occupation for a few hours just before dawn, before being evicted... before the rest being evicted by police because most of the demonstrators had left by then.
MARK COLVIN: Why do you think that public television was their target?
JANOS BETLEN: We don't know for sure why this happened but there are widespread complaints about the impartiality, or the lack of impartiality of public television.
And the demonstration otherwise was not directed against the television directly because it turned out that people wanted to petition or several texts to be broadcast. But they hadn't communicated that to the President or anybody inside. And those people inside, they didn't know what the people outside wanted.
Now in these petitions or texts or declarations, there was not one word about the television.
So actually the complaints were about the Government. This was an anti-Government demonstration, more or less, the only violent episode in a series of demonstrations going on for the third day in several cities.
MARK COLVIN: And at the heart of it is this tape in which the Prime Minister talks about having lied for a long time.
Could you explain what he was talking about, and what the tape says?
JANOS BETLEN: So this was a speech made by the Prime Minister right after having won the elections in May in front of the freshly elected Socialist Party deputies. And he wanted to convince them about the necessity of taking harsh measures to improve the position of public finances.
He said that public finances had been in shambles, and he said that they had been lying for 18 to 24 months. But now the hour of truth was there and unless they introduce harsh financial measures, the economy would crumble.
And he was very... sort of, almost vulgar language. This was one complaint, because after all this was an official meeting although behind closed doors. And secondly he had recognised, the Opposition says, that they had won the elections thanks to the lies of a whole year or two.
And the Opposition… the right-wing Opposition immediately demanded his resignation. He refused. And he was supported by the parliamentary majority leaders.
The President of the Republic, who is politically speaking nearer to the right-wing Opposition, said yesterday that the Prime Minister had shaken the confidence of the people in the public affairs and democracy.
He very strongly criticised him, unusual criticism by a President of the Republic who has no real powers under the Hungarian constitution.
MARK COLVIN: So it's very serious. Just briefly, do you think that the Prime Minister can now survive?
JANOS BETLEN: How long I don't know, but it seems that now that the measures, the financial measures which are very painful are at hand. Nobody wants to take his place. And I think that even if they want to get rid of him later on, first they want him to take the blame for the financial measures which are in place.
MARK COLVIN: Janos Betlen, a political correspondent for Hungarian State TV.
They're angry at a leaked tape in which the Hungarian Prime Minister admitted having lied about the economy over a long period of time.
Janos Betlen is a political correspondent for Hungarian State TV, and he told me how a peaceful demo by the Parliament had turned to a riot at the TV station.
JANOS BETLEN: Demonstrators went over there and sieged the building overnight and held it under occupation for a few hours just before dawn, before being evicted... before the rest being evicted by police because most of the demonstrators had left by then.
MARK COLVIN: Why do you think that public television was their target?
JANOS BETLEN: We don't know for sure why this happened but there are widespread complaints about the impartiality, or the lack of impartiality of public television.
And the demonstration otherwise was not directed against the television directly because it turned out that people wanted to petition or several texts to be broadcast. But they hadn't communicated that to the President or anybody inside. And those people inside, they didn't know what the people outside wanted.
Now in these petitions or texts or declarations, there was not one word about the television.
So actually the complaints were about the Government. This was an anti-Government demonstration, more or less, the only violent episode in a series of demonstrations going on for the third day in several cities.
MARK COLVIN: And at the heart of it is this tape in which the Prime Minister talks about having lied for a long time.
Could you explain what he was talking about, and what the tape says?
JANOS BETLEN: So this was a speech made by the Prime Minister right after having won the elections in May in front of the freshly elected Socialist Party deputies. And he wanted to convince them about the necessity of taking harsh measures to improve the position of public finances.
He said that public finances had been in shambles, and he said that they had been lying for 18 to 24 months. But now the hour of truth was there and unless they introduce harsh financial measures, the economy would crumble.
And he was very... sort of, almost vulgar language. This was one complaint, because after all this was an official meeting although behind closed doors. And secondly he had recognised, the Opposition says, that they had won the elections thanks to the lies of a whole year or two.
And the Opposition… the right-wing Opposition immediately demanded his resignation. He refused. And he was supported by the parliamentary majority leaders.
The President of the Republic, who is politically speaking nearer to the right-wing Opposition, said yesterday that the Prime Minister had shaken the confidence of the people in the public affairs and democracy.
He very strongly criticised him, unusual criticism by a President of the Republic who has no real powers under the Hungarian constitution.
MARK COLVIN: So it's very serious. Just briefly, do you think that the Prime Minister can now survive?
JANOS BETLEN: How long I don't know, but it seems that now that the measures, the financial measures which are very painful are at hand. Nobody wants to take his place. And I think that even if they want to get rid of him later on, first they want him to take the blame for the financial measures which are in place.
MARK COLVIN: Janos Betlen, a political correspondent for Hungarian State TV.
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