VIDEO: Hungarian police used tear gas against students protesting for their teachers
Student organisations held a demonstration in Budapest on Wednesday evening, in protest against planned legislation changing teachers’ employment status.
Participants of the protest organised by the United Students Front gathered at St. Stephen’s Basilica and marched down Alkotmany Street to the square in front of Parliament with Hungarian flags and posters depicting chequered shirts, a symbol of teachers’ demonstrations. They also carried banners reading “Change!”, “General strike!”, “Tear gas does not teach”, “Down with the status law!”, and banners of teachers’ union PDSZ.
The crowd chanted slogans such as “No teachers, no future!”, “Free country, free education!” and “Strike is a fundamental right!”.
At the square, speakers noted an earlier protest when demonstrators were dispersed with tear gas when they tried to dismantly a cordon near the prime minister’s office. They announced a “seven point referendum” with questions on “shall there be democracy in Hungary” and “should Interior Minister Sándor Pintér resign”.
After the speeches, organisers told demonstrators that the event ended, but announced another immediately after, a march to Clark Adam Square across Margaret Bridge.
Here, Tímea Szabó, a lawmaker of the opposition Párbeszéd party, thanked the participants for their endurance of protesting for the cause of education for 400 days.
“With the new law on the status of teachers, [ruling] Fidesz has destroyed the future of young Hungarians,” she said, urging the demonstrators “to keep fighting”.
Leaving the square, the demonstrators marched to the Buda Castle to the offices of the prime minister. Párbeszéd lawmaker Bence Tordai, independent lawmaker Ákos Hadházy and Momentum leader Ferenc Gelencsér were in the crowd.
Police called on the demonstrators to take one step back while demonstrators responded by chanting “You are protecting criminals!” and began to dismantle the metal barriers at a nearby construction site. Some of the demonstrators climbed up on the scaffolding and threw objects at the police. Police officers attacked protesters by firing tear-gas.
Budapest police said on its website that five protesters had been taken into custody against whom legal proceedings had been initiated.
A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon
The 16-year-old student in the picture, who was defending himself, was also attacked by the police, who sprayed tear gas at his face from 25 centimetres away. According to witnesses, the officers shouted “beat him, beat him” at each other. The police did not notify the parents even at 22.45.
In the Telex video, a 15-year-old boy tells that he was wearing a mask because of the tear gas, as many of them did. However, he was brought before the police because he cannot use it under the law on assembly and is facing criminal charges. Also in this video, a mother is seen trying to wash her son’s eyes clean.
Source: MTI