Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested on Saturday against government control over the media, which they say helped Prime Minister Viktor Orban to a landslide election victory earlier this month, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The rally in Budapest was the second mass protest against Orban since the April 8 election, with demonstrators urging the fragmented opposition parties to join forces against the rightwing nationalist Fidesz party, which won two-thirds of parliamentary seats at the polls.
Since 2010, the Hungarian premier has increased his control over the media and put allies in charge of formerly independent institutions, while his stand on refusing to accept large numbers of migrants in Hungary has also brought him into conflict with the European Union.
In a Facebook post before the rally, organizers said state media has been turned into Orban’s “propaganda machine”.
“Our main goal is to dismantle Fidesz control over the public media ... but opposition parties also have a task as they are also responsible for this situation we are in,” they said.
“Together with them, we must fight for a new, just and fair election law and an investigation of corruption cases.”
Protesters gathered at the parliament, waving national and EU flags. In the same place last Saturday, tens of thousands had protested against what they see as an unfair election system.
As they marched peacefully towards one of the Danube bridges, protesters held banners with slogans such as “Viktor give us back democracy”, “We want freedom of the press” and “Regime change”.
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