I think there are still lots of people able to remind these days and the days between 1956 and 1989
Is it worth any comments ?

Sorry Daniel,

unfortunately I missed your post on weekend.

I didn't expected this kind of riot again. There was a hope until sunday night, that the protesters and police will make an arrangement about the monday events. Limited protesters, metal detectors, search for explosive. I think it is neccessary everywhere when high officials around.
But again, the celebration went to anti-kommunist protest ('56 was an anti-Sovjet revolution), and then anti-goverment protest.

I don't want to make a one-side commentary (I prefer peace, and didn't went to the city on monday)
but here some pic and video galery:

Items found after pushing out protesters from the Kossuth-square:


Non-violent protesters or celebrators

The famous tank video


more picture, video, comment here:

There is a big difference between the '56 revolution and these days prtests.

In '56 the nation was united against the Sovjet-regime. 3 Years after
Stalin's death, the nation had a chance to go on its own way. The some of the occupation forces from WW2 were still in the country. Moskva had big influence on Hungary. It is said that Hungary was an "autonom" sovjet-region.

These days protesters are not united (not even on the Kossuth square). Here, now there is a democracy. There was no rifle to pushed to my head to put my vote to the good place. Meanwhile most of the country was mislead by the prevoius goverment about the state of the coutnry. And the political opposition side also misleaded the voters.

Lot of life, soul were ruined in '56. Those people who still alive, are angry. They encourage the younger protesters, but I think they forgot something these kids are not the same as the youngs were in '56.

In '56 there was no law about rights of assembly, every protests was illegal. That's what I think good to revolt against.
Now there are official rules, how to make demostration against anything. There are few things when you can't demonstrate, like protests against ethnical groups, sympatize with war-crime banned.
One can protest against the goverment, go to the police, make your arragement for the place and time, make your topics and possibly you get your permission to protest.

The Hungarian Helsinki Commite said the police intervention against the yesterday demostration/(riot) was legal. The protesters violated the right of assembly law, and I think they violated the right to a peaceful evening for the inhabitans of the city.

Were the police force was over-power? Well I don't think so.
Is it unique to use rubber bullets in Europe? I made a goggle search with "rubber bullets Paris" and "rubber bullets Berlin". There was matches.
The rioters complaining there were unarmed. Lucky for all of us. Why did the police use tear gas against unarmed protesters? Because this is a proper way to dissmiss an illegal demonstration.

Unfortunately the police inpinged in several cases. 2 investigation already started against policemen and 36 more will probably start.
In other public forum I would probably get a 'kommunist-worshipper' or something worse attribute for my next sentence:
Thanks the police, that they did their job, and tried to make this city safer.

and for the last:

Every rioters should think about difference crushing a revolution and dismiss an illegal demonstration. And think again before going to sleep.

If a foreigners look at the photos tkaen on the demonstartion, escpecially on connected with the '56 revolution, they can see different types of flag.
Here some historical background (I'm not studied heraldica, so you can correct me if you want), mostly I studied this site and this

According to the Hungarian Constitution, the flag of Hungary is a red-white-green tricolor. The state-flag has a coat of arms on the tricolor (not always)

Flags used in the '56 revolutoion has hole in it. It means that the old, sovjet-style coat of arms were cut out.

The 3rd flag one can see is a red-white striped flag. "Arpad-stripe" flag. This has the same origin as the left side of the coat of arms. There are different oppinions about the exact origin
Arpad was the leader of the Hungarians in 895 when the nation started to settle in the Karpatian-basin. So this flag is very 'hungarian'.
That's why it is populary used by far-right side demonstrators. Unfortunately this kind of flag were also used by the extreme-right side political group at the end of the WW2, who were responsible for war-crimes and terror. So by using this flag one can be accused for sympathy for that group.

I hope that situation will calm down. I can't take sides, I don't know much about hungarian politics. I hope the situation would end up positive for the citizens and that this won't harm Hungary's reputation in EU.

I dare say it has already done a lot of harm...

At least 4th of November ended without scandalous events. (The revolution of '56 was beaten down on Nov 4.) This whole you-lied-get-the-h*ll-out-of-here and no-I-didn't-everyone-else-did-and-it's-my-duty-to-stay affair is so very deplorable...

alice