Thousands of protesters set out on Saturday afternoon from Budapest’s Deák Square to march across the Chain Bridge to Buda Hill to the presidential Sándor Palace. The participants of the march organized by the non-parliamentary opposition party TISZA, according to the server szeretlekmagyarország.hu, are protesting against scandals in the field of child protection and against the lies of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government, reports TASR correspondent in Budapest.
- Thousands of people protested in Budapest against child abuse.
- Pochod organizovala strana TISZA vedená Péterom Magyar.
- The protesters criticized Viktor Orbán’s government.
- The report reveals thousands of cases of child abuse in state institutions.
- The government introduced measures, including the detention of four employees.
Torches and stuffed animals appeared in the crowd
The march is led by the chairman of the TISZA party, Péter Magyar. The first row of marchers carries a banner with the inscription “Hands off the children” and torches, as well as stuffed animals, appeared in the crowd.
Anger against Prime Minister Orbán’s government began to escalate after the opposition on Friday published a survey report from July to November 2021 that revealed more than 3,000 cases of suspected child abuse in state facilities, representing more than a fifth of juveniles in state care, AFP reported on Saturday.
Since his return to power in 2010, Orbán claims that his policy emphasizes the protection of children, but in recent years his government has been mired in several scandals related to the abuse of minors.
TISZA leads in polls of electoral preferences
Ahead of spring elections, the Hungarian prime minister finds himself in an unprecedented situation where Péter Magyar’s opposition TISZA party is leading in electoral preference polls.
According to a report published by Magyar, more than 320 children were victims of sexual abuse in state facilities, while 77 cases involved abuse by adults.
“Orbán’s government has definitely failed,” Magyar wrote on the social network.
The police have already taken four employees of the facility into custody
The government claims that it has taken measures in connection with suspicions of child abuse, and according to the Ministry of the Interior, the report in question was forwarded to the relevant authorities as early as 2022.
The Hungarian government has ordered police surveillance at all juvenile correctional facilities after new allegations of abuse were made public at Budapest’s scandal-plagued Szőlő reformatory. The police have already taken four employees of this facility into custody, reports AFP.
Earlier this week, Magyar called on people to attend a rally in Budapest on Saturday and “stand together for children”.
