Hungary: Student protest in Budapest February 23

Event

Student activist groups will lead a protest march in Budapest on Friday, February 23, demanding that the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán implement educational reforms. The march is expected to begin at 17:00 (local time), and will proceed through Deák tér, Bajcsy Zsilinszky út, Alkotmány utca, and Kossuth tér/Parliament. An increased security presence and associated transportation disruptions are likely in the vicinity of the protest.

Context

Student groups previously protested in Budapest on January 19, issuing a series of demands for educational reform. The students claim that the current educational system does not prepare them to work in the current global market.

Multiple student protests took place in Hungary in 2017, largely in response to the possible closure of the Central European University (CEU) - a move denounced by more than 900 academics across the globe, and to a bill passed by Prime Minister Orbán's government which stipulated that without a relevant inter-state agreement, no foreign higher education institution could operate in Hungary.

Advice

Individuals in Budapest are advised to monitor developments to the situation, avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution, and allow for extra time to reach their destinations