Anti-Government Protests Spark in Budapest, Hungary

by Yuliya Talmazan | March 16, 2009 at 11:56 am

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Anti-government protests sparked on Sunday in Hungary's capital Budapest. Several thousand protesters came out, and thirty five were detained by police. The tough economic situation that Hungary is facing is thought to have caused the protests.

Several thousand people held anti-government protests in the Hungarian capital during a national holiday on Sunday, and police detained 35 people.

No violence was reported Sunday.

The detainees included Gyorgy Budahazy and Laszlo Torockai, leaders of extreme right-wing radical groups, said Budapest police spokeswoman Eva Tafferner.

Hungary's current economic crisis has intensified anti-government sentiment in the country.

Hungary has been among the countries in Eastern Europe hardest hit by the global economic crisis, and it received a US$25.1 billion bailout led by the International Monetary Fund late last year. Hungary's economy is expected to shrink by at least four per cent in 2009.