Violence ebbs in Hungarian capital

Police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators demanding the prime minister’s resignation today, but the chaos gripping the Hungarian capital appeared to be ebbing after two straight nights of violence.

Thousands of police were out in force, deployed in new, stronger, riot gear and an official said the government could consider a curfew in the Hungarian capital Budapest as demonstrators demanded the resignation of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany for the fourth day.

The main protest grew to 15,000 by late last night. But he stood his ground, insisting his government intended to press ahead with economic reforms.

The curfew idea was raised by justice minister Jozsef Petretei, who also told state radio that the government “will take whatever measures are required” to stop rioting, without elaborating.

He was separately quoted by hirTV television as saying “the use of weapons would have been justified” by police to stop some of the more violent radicals over the past two days.

The station later cited an unnamed government spokesmen as saying Petretei’s comments did not mean active consideration of a curfew, with Gyurcsany himself opposed to such a move.

Still, the tough comments reflected tensions as demonstrators gathered again on Kossuth Square in front of the neo-Gothic parliament building under the watchful gaze of about 600 riot police officers.

While the crowd at parliament has reached 10,000 or more over the past three days, the trouble has come from groups breaking away to seek mischief.

A wooden coffin placed on a stand in the square bore the slogan: “We are burying the Gyurcsany government. For you, there is no resurrection.”

Police detained a youth after he tried to set the coffin alight. Later, they fired tear gas at hundreds of youthful demonstrators confronting them at a main downtown intersection, and chased others down side streets. Several youths were injured, one in the neck by a tear gas canister, but no other incidents were reported by early morning.

Hungarian media reported smaller demonstrations from half a dozen other cities and towns.

But with the crowd at Kossuth Square down to only a few hundred by early today, it appeared to be the most peaceful night since the first violence erupted on Tuesday before daybreak.

Gyurcsany’s refusal to step down after leaked comments admitting his government had lied about the dismal state of Hungary’s economy had sparked a paroxysm of violence unrivalled since the anti-Soviet revolution 50 years ago.

For two days running police battled thousands of radicals trying to storm strategic or symbolic buildings.

The state MTI news agency reported that baseball bats had been sold out over the past few days at all major sports stores in the Hungarian capital. Many of the younger radicals had swung bats in their confrontation with police.

Police showed off new battle gear, including transparent shields that protected more of the body. Officials said some of those on riot duty would also be wearing flak jackets.

In the pre-dawn hours, police fired water cannon and tear gas at demonstrators who set police cars on fire and hurled plaster from nearby buildings at officers trying to prevent them from storming Gyurcsany’s Socialist party headquarters.

A total of 140 officers were injured over two days, including 38 yesterday, and 137 people were been detained, said Arpad Szabadfi, deputy chief of national police. Dozens of demonstrators also were hurt.

But Gyurcsany – who admitted in taped comments that his government had “lied morning, evening and night” about the economy – remained unbowed.

“The policy of raw emotions and radicalism are in no way a viable path,” he said, adding: “The government doesn’t want to change its policy.”

The violence shook a country that for much of the last two decades had been held up as a model of progress following the collapse of communism in eastern Europe.

The outpouring of rage was additionally fuelled by austerity measures implemented by Gyurcsany’s Socialist-led coalition, seeking to rein in a government budget deficit expected to surpass 10% of Hungary’s gross domestic product this year – the largest in the European Union.