Protests. Some people are for them while others are against them. One thing that all can agree on is that when protesters launch a tank assault on riot police, they are very angry.
Protesters in Budapest, Hungary, have recently been making their voices heard since Sept. 17 when it was revealed that the socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany lied about the state of the economy to win the April elections. Gyurcsany has refused to step down from power and retains his position, which he won though lying.
“People should be given the opportunity to vote on what is being done against their will,” said Viktor Orban, leader of the main opposition group to the Prime Minister.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1956 uprising when Hungarians forced Soviet troops out of Hungary in a nation-wide revolt that began in Budapest on Oct. 23. Hungarians revolted against a Soviet police state that was imposed on Hungary. The uprising was crushed with a massive Soviet invasion on Nov. 10. The Institute of Revolutionary History in Hungary reports that 200,000 Hungarians fled Hungary, and 2,000 Hungarians and 700 Soviets were killed in the uprising.
On Oct. 24, 2006, protesters in Budapest were not allowed into Kossuth Square in front of the Parliament building where the commemoration of the 1956 uprising was being held. Police Chief Peter Gergenyi decided to close off the square to protesters for parliament security reasons.
Peaceful protesters tried to gain access to the square, but were stopped by a line of riot police. A few protesters threw bottles and pieces of metal at the police. The police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
A protester climbed inside a T-34 Soviet tank and rammed it at the police line. Officers apprehended the protester before the tank hurt anyone. Protesters then rolled another T-34 Soviet tank at police but did no damage.
The T-34 tanks were on commemorative display.
“The T-34 was the tank that won the Second World War,” said assistant professor of history Philip Slaby. The T-34 tank was one of the best tank designs in WWII.
“They were effective in battle, easy to make and cheap. They became the symbol of Soviet might after the war,” Slaby said. More than 4,000 Soviet T-34 tanks were sent into Hungary to crush the 1956 uprising.
Prime Minister Gyurcsany said: “Our debates on 1956 are not about the past but the present, about who we are, what kind of world we would like. 1956 is just a reminder, a mirror in which we see our present selves, sometimes in an exposed way.