Road signs being put up to deter tractor protest

Over a hundred traffic signs barring tractors from the roads will be placed at busy intersections around Budapest over the weekend, in a bid to prevent demonstrating farmers from paralyzing the capital with agricultural machinery.

The "No entry for tractors" traffic sings will block tractors and other agricultural machinery from the Nagykörút (Pest's inner ring road), Margit körút in Buda, Dózsa György út near City Park and Andrássy út, among other key traffic arteries.

The measure is in response to the planned demonstration by the Union of Hungarian Agricultural Organizations (Magosz) between November 2 and 20 in the vicinity of the Parliament, which is expected to draw upwards of 1,000 tractors. The demonstration is being held to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. A similar demonstration on issues relating to the state of Hungary's agricultural sector brough much of the capital to a standstill last winter.

Budapest Mayor Gábor Demszky has written a letter to the president of Magosz asking that tractors not be brought into the capital. The vice-president of the group said he believes the police, in collaboration with the capital's government, are determined to prevent the demonstration.

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