Budapest braces for another trying Oct. 23rd holiday

The Budapest Police (BRFK) are currently preparing for the October 23 holiday, which in recent years has seen violent anti-government protests throughout the capital. On October 22 and 23, traffic restrictions in downtown Budapest will be in effect in areas where officially-sanctioned events will take place, BRFK Spokesperson Éva Tafferner told index.hu. Andrássy út, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Erzsébet tér, Szabadság tér, Kossuth tér and Corvin köz will be closed to traffic. In addition, the Budapest-Bratislava-Vienna super marathon will start on October 23, resulting in additional limitations to traffic.

According to fn.hu, from 8 p.m. on Wednesday, parking will not be permitted in front of the Prime Minister's Office, on Kossuth tér, Balassi Bálint utca, Alkotmány utca, Olimpiai park and around Vértanúk tere up until Nádor utca.

Andrássy út between Oktogon and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út and most neighboring streets (Révay utca, Lázár utca, Dalszínház utca, Hajós utca, Székely Mihály utca, Káldy Gyula utca, Ó utca, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Paulay utca, Révay köz and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky köz) will be closed to traffic on Thursday. Andrássy út between Nagymező utca and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út will also be closed to pedestrians.

Kossuth tér and Vértanúk tere will be closed from 8:00 a.m. on Thursday. Two hours later, Hősök tere, Dózsa György út, Állatkerti körút, Kós Károly sétány, Olof Palme sétány and Andrássy út will be closed.

Farther from downtown, Teve utca between Róbert Károly körút and Gömb utca, Déryné köz between Váci út and Kassák Lajos utca, the parking lot bordered by Angyalföldi út, Janicsár utca, Kassák Lajos utca and Róbert Károly körút and the outer lane on Róbert Károly körút between Váci út and Kassák Lajos utca will be closed from Thursday early afternoon.

In Buda, parking will not be permitted from 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday on Dísz tér, Tárnok utca, Úri utca, Szentháromság tér, Színház utca, Hunyadi János út and Palota út.

The police will increase checks between October 22 and 25 in Budapest, reports stop.hu. Those appearing near public events wearing backpacks or hoods will be asked for identification. Areas closed to pedestrians - in front of the House of Terror Museum on Andrássy út, Deák tér and the vicinity of the Opera House - will only be accessible to local residents or participants of events held there.

Individuals who are believed to be infringing laws will be removed from these areas, and checkpoints will be established at several locations in the city to filter out possible troublemakers.

Meanwhile, Antal Rogán, mayor of the downtown District V, has asked National Police Chief József Bencze to deny permission for October 23 events in areas where traffic restrictions are in effect due to road and public utility repairs. According to gondola.hu, Rogán thinks that in these areas, holding demonstrations is especially dangerous and risky. Tafferner replied that effective laws on assembly do not include the reason mentioned by the mayor among those which can be a basis for banning an event.

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