Riot police clear demonstrators from Parliament area

Riot police moved in early Monday morning to disperse demonstrators who had been making a stand on Budapest's Kossuth tér, in front of Hungary's Parliament building.

On Sunday some organizers of the on-going anti-government protests agreed with the Budapest Police Department on procedures to manage demonstrators in the vicinity of the parliament, where a 2,000-strong crowd has gathered Sunday evening.

However, the agreement led to rancor within the ranks of demonstrators, many of whom called András Takács, one of the organizers, a traitor for allowing police to search tents.

By 3:00 a.m. Monday, Kossuth tér was fully cleared of protestors, and several demonstrators had been arrested. Because of what the police saw as ongoing provocations, officers later cleared the entire vicinity of Kossuth tér.

Speaking this morning on television Budapest Mayor Gábor Demszky said he thought evacuating the square was "not right."

Meanwhile, Takács said that even if the police didn't break any laws, he and other demonstration leaders are consulting with lawyers over ways to sue the police over their action, and said they regard all those arrested as "political prisoners."

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