Hungarian protesters vow to keep up pressure on PM

BUDAPEST, Sep 21: Hungarian protesters vowed to keep up pressure today for leftist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany to resign after his admission he lied to voters to win elections in April sparked mass protests.

Budapest has been on edge after protests on Monday and Tuesday turned violent in the most serious disturbances since a 1956 uprising against Soviet occupiers.

Protests at yesterday night were peaceful, although National Ambulance spokesman Pal Gyorfi told news agency MTI that 16 people had been taken to hospital with injuries. That number was far lower than the more than 200 injured on previous nights.

''We have done everything to maintain order and public safety and we have been successful,'' Budapest police chief Peter Gergenyi told Hungarian television.

An estimated 15,000 gathered at the neo-Gothic parliament yesterday peacefully waving flags, many vowing to return today to continue demands for Gyurcsany's resignation.

''We will come back tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after. As long as we have to. Until he's gone,'' said Budapest resident Tibor Kozma in the Kossuth Square at parliament.

There were only minor incidents between riot police and a couple of hundred who broke off from the main demonstrationyesterday evening.

Officials followed through on promises to crack down hard on what they have called a small group of hooligans who have fought pitched battles, torched cars and on Monday night stormed the state television building and looted it.

Protesters are demonstrating over higher taxes and fees for healthcare and university tuition, as well as Gyurcsany's statement that he and his Socialist party had lied for years about Hungary's budget in order to win the election.

Gyurcsany, who was also caught on tape telling his Socialist party they did nothing for the past four years, rejected calls to step down and said he would press on with budget reforms.

''The policy of raw emotion and radicalism are in no way a viable path,'' he said at the beginning of a public cabinet meeting yesterday.

''The government does not intend to change its policy.'' But Gyurcsany's credibility has been severely damaged and his Socialist Party's popularity has plunged ahead of key October 1 local elections. A Gallup poll conducted on Tuesday showed 43 percent of respondents believed he should resign, while 38 pct said he does not need to step down. The rest were undecided.

The turmoil has also weakened the forint currency.

Gyurcsany wants his party to abandon the spendthrift ways that caused Hungary's budget deficit to surge to 10.1 per cent of gross domestic product this year, the highest gap in the 25-nation European Union.

Credit-rating agency Fitch lowered Hungary's outlook on foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to 'negative' from 'stable' yesterday citing concern that reform plans would be diluted or abandoned if the prime minister was ousted.

REUTERS