Protest march planned for anniversary of PM's "lies" speech

Two groups formed by the "Kossuth tér protesters," people who staged a months-long anti-government protest in front of the Parliament building in Budapest in the fall of 2006, are planning a protest march for Monday, the first anniversary of when Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's speech admitting the government had lied to the public was leaked. Last year, the protests ended in violence, but this year, organizers expect them to remain peaceful.

The groups, called System Changing Forum (Rendszerváltó Fórum) and the Hungarian National Committee (Magyar Nemzeti Bizottság) will gather at Corvin köz at 4 p.m. from where they will march to Kossuth tér on the Blaha Lujza tér - Astoria - Deák Ferenc tér - Báthory utca route.

Earlier, police did not give them permission to use Kossuth tér on this day, because it had been reserved for a handball gala. However, organizers of the sports event - in part because they received threats from the protesters - decided to choose another venue, thus allowing the protesters to occupy the square Monday afternoon and evening.

The march will be secured by police, and traffic will be stopped for periods of time to allow for the procession to pass. This, added to the usual weekday afternoon congestion, is expected to cause traffic chaos. In addition, parking is not allowed around Kossuth tér until midnight on Tuesday.

Károly Fáber, leader of the System Changing Forum, said that they had been given permission by police to stay at Kossuth tér until 11 p.m. If the crowd refuses to leave then, organizers will discuss their options with police.

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