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Protest on 2 April 2017 in The Main Customs Square

Protests in Hungary in spring 2017 were triggered by an amendment to the National Higher Education Act (colloquially known as Lex CEU) .The change affects the Central European University (CEU), founded and financed by George Soros, and other 28 institutions of higher learning in Hungary. The proposal was filed by the government on March 28, 2017, and on April 4, 2017, it was approved by 123 votes in favor and 38 votes against, in an emergency procedure, It was signed on 10 April by President János Áder. Before the bill was approved, no consultation with universities, including CEU, was conducted.

There was a backlash against the bill. There have been many weeks of protests in Hungary and movements outside the nation since the beginning of April and continued until May of the same year.

The reason that triggered the protests

Law on Higher Education

Main aspects of Act XXV of 2017 revising Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education

• 'The name of a higher education institution must be clearly different from that of another higher education institution. (...) The name of a higher education institution shall be considered misleading or confused if its name in Hungarian or foreign languages and the name of another higher education institution registered with the educational authority are the same.'
• "In the territory of Hungary, a foreign higher education institution may carry out a training activity giving a diploma if (a) a training activity concluded by the Government of the Hungary on the principle of supporting its operation in Hungary and the Government of the State in which the foreign higher education institution is established (...) the binding effect of an international treaty has been recognised by the contracting parties, (b) it is a state-recognised higher education institution operating in the country in which it is established and actually pursuing higher education therein, (c) the training it intends to pursue in its Hungary and the diploma awarded with that regard constitute training giving a state-recognised higher education degree and (d) its operation has been authorised by the educational authority.'
• The conditions laid down in the act "must be fulfilled by 1 January 2018 by a foreign higher education institution holding an operating licence in Hungary on 1 September 2017. (...) The operating license of a foreign higher education institution that does not fulfil the conditions is revoked by the educational authority and after 1 September 2018 a student in the first year of the hungarian training of a foreign higher education institution cannot be admitted (...)"

The Hungarian parliament has passed a bill to allow foreign higher education institutions to operate in Hungary if the Governments of their country of origin and Hungary are mutually committed to supporting their operation. Under the bill, a foreign institution may carry out a diploma-granting training activity in its territory if the binding scope of the international treaty on the principle of supporting its operation in Hungary has been recognised by contracting parties.

Central European University, a school founded by the American financier George Soros, could be forced to leave Hungary after a bill passed last week in Parliament by Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party. Foreign colleges would be required to have a campus in their native country under the proposed legislation, among other things and Working at CEU will require work permits in the future, according to the legislation. Moreover, cronies of the “new elite” have bought much of Hungary’s independent news media outlets, thus limiting journalists’ ability to report on or criticize the government’s actions.

János Áder signed the bill on April 10th. The bill was examined in an unusual method at the request of Zsolt Semján.

Tamás Lattmann has filed a complaint against the Prime Minister's Office, alleging that Zsolt Semján was not able to sign a document submitted by the Government on 3 April because he was in Iran at the time. The file initiating the exceptional procedure was transferred to the Secretariat of the Deputy Prime Minister on 31 March 2017 and returned to the Department that cares for the file on the same day.

On 26 April, the European Commission sent a so-called Letter of Formal Notice to the Hungarian Government believing that the amendment of the law restricts the freedom to provide services and to settle down.

The university's rector, Michael Ignatieff, declared on May 30 that "In the next academic year, CEU would conduct all of its operations in Hungary. CEU applauds Prime Minister Kristóf Altusz's meeting with New York's political leadership last Friday."

On 21 August, An unusual parliamentary session was called by opposition parties to address the Higher Education Law. The conference was postponed indefinitely because pro-government MPs boycotted it for no apparent reason.

Law on Civil Society Organisations

On the afternoon of Friday, April 7, 2017, under the names of Gergely Gulyás, Lajos Kósa, and Szilárd Németh, the Act CLXXXIof2011 on "Judicial Registration of Civil Society Organizations and Related Procedural Rules" was filed to parliament. There was a five-party meeting on the subject, and no party in the opposition supported the bill. debate on the bill began on April 19, 2017.

April 9, 2017 protest in front of the parliament

According to the law's reasoning, there is a serious risk that "civil society organizations may be utilized by foreign interest groups," potentially affecting the organization's goals. "The goal of such advantages is to allow support interest groups to pursue their own interests in Hungary's political and social life through the social influence of the NGOs that receive them." This influence might be used to affect a single political or economic decision, the direction of certain policies, or even the operation of a democratic state institutional structure in the broadest sense.'

"The proposed law on transparency of NGOs working with foreign donations in Hungary establishes realistic objectives and strives to promote the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing," experts from the Venice Commission wrote in a decision issued on June 2, 2017." The progressive sanctioning method, the judicial remedy necessary for judgments at each level - in connection to the latter, emphasis was given to proportionality and only the sanctioning of the most serious infringements. Simultaneously, the study criticised the anti-NGO campaign and advocated for engagement with these groups. They argued that the three-year term "during which an NGO should not accept foreign money to be eligible to shed the label for organizations sponsored from abroad" was excessively restrictive, and urged that the disclosure duty be confined to the wealthiest donors. Pál Völner, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, stated that the Hungarian Government was open to the concept of shortening the time it takes for NGOs to be deregistered and that the four-step sanctions system may be changed.

The modified bill was first debated on June 8, 2017. Minor points from the Venice Commission's conclusion were also taken into consideration throughout the discussion. The bill was enacted by the legislature on June 13 with 130 votes in favor, 44 votes against, and 24 abstentions.

Demonstration

Sunday after the announcement of the amendment of the Higher Education Act, announced on April 2, the first in Budapest demonstration of Facebook for Educational Freedom Group of the Central European University in addition, against the amendments to the Higher Education Act vote. Thousands of people gathered for the protest as they marched from the Corvinus University building in Budapest via Astoria to Kossuth Square , where speeches were made.

Parliament voted to pass an amendment to the law on April 4, at which time the building of the Central European University on Nádor Street was surrounded by a live chain , and speakers advocated freedom of higher education. From here, the crowd headed to Kossuth Square , and then demanded that the flag of the European Union be displayed on the Parliament next to the Hungarian and Szekler flags . The flag was finally hung from the window of Ágnes Kunhalmi , a representative of the Hungarian Socialist People's Party .

By April 9, the group was organizing another protest, first to Clark Adam Square , but due to the large number of applicants, the movement was reorganized in front of the Castle Garden Bazaar . On the community portal approx. 32,000 people indicated their participation by the beginning of the event,  but according to the organizers, the number was 70-80,000. The main demand of the protesters was that the President of the Republic should not sign the amendment to the law, Do not sign, John! and Don't be a cadre, Ader! chanting passwords. The weight of the Castle Garden Bazaar, the Chain Bridge over the Kossuth Squaremarched where speeches were made. Some of the tens of thousands of protesters remained in the square after the official event, and then marched to the Ministry of Human Resources and the headquarters of Governor Fidesz , where they wanted to get in. Later, the protest continued in the Heroes' Square and then on the Oktogon , where approx. three hundred, also blocking the traffic of the square, embarked on a kind of civil disobedience forum. The action lasted until dawn.

Despite the protests, the next evening in the evening, János Áder signed an amendment to the law, as a result of which spontaneous organizations started on Facebook. As a result, a crowd of hundreds of people appeared in front of the Alexander Palace on April 10 in the evening, criticizing the president's decision, John Signed, the city will burn! , Free country, free university! , Russians home! and Europe! chanting slogans, singing the Joy Mode. The crowd attempted to enter the building and then headed for Oktogon via the Chain Bridge, marching through the city. The number of protesters swarming across the bridge has risen to thousands. From Oktogon to Blaha Lujza SquareThey went from there to the headquarters of the Hungarian Radio, accompanied by slogans from the Free Country and free press , where the pro-government media was criticized. Protesters tried to enter the building here as well, eventually displaying an EU flag over the main entrance. The crowd disbanded after the Anthem and the Joy of Singing, but the protests dragged on until the wee hours of the morning.

The Sándor palace during the protests Goulash Marton and Gergely Varga activists tried to throw on the building indicating the governing party color orange paint, but Gulyas it protecting police officers, while Varga hit the building, so the Budapest Police took them into custody group vandalism charges .  The next afternoon, hundreds demonstrated in front of the Budapest Investigation Prosecutor's Office for the release of the activists, and then marched across the Chain Bridge to the Gyorskocsi Street prison, where Gulyas was detained. Protesters camped in front of the prison building.  Not for Márton Gulyáshe was legally sentenced to 300 hours of community service for harassment and vandalism - his punishment included his previously imposed and suspended sentences.

On April 12, another protest called Heroes 'Veto was held, this time in Heroes' Square , where NGOs protested the amendment to the law affecting NGOs , but the event also stood up for the CEU. Veronika Móra from the Ecotartner Foundation , Stefánia Kapronczay from the HCLU and Nóra L. Ritók from the Igazgyöngy Foundation spoke at the demonstrationon behalf of. The crowd in the square also formed a huge heart. Some of those who showed up later demonstrated in different parts of the capital, first they moved to the headquarters of Lendvay Street near Fidesz, then, like the previous days, they went to Oktogon, and from there to Kossuth Square.

On the 13th of April, another crowd gathered against the conviction of Márton Gulyás, this time at the building of the Ministry of Justice , and from there they went to the Oktogon, where they also gave speeches. A protester threw paint at the House of Terror Museum building and then said he “chose the House of Terror because he wanted to throw away a public institution that has symbolic value,” he said, “he didn’t want to offend anyone if he did offend someone anyway, from apologizes".  Márton Békés, the director of research at the institution, called the events a particularly unworthy and repulsive barbaric attack.  The man throwing food paint was fined HUF 720,000 in the first instance for vandalism.

On April 15, we organized an anti-government demonstration in Szabadság Square entitled " We will not remain silent " , where Márton Gulyás and Gergely Varga also spoke. Both gave a government-critical speech, and Gulyás called for organization against the government's hegemony until next year's elections. During the demonstration, several people spoke out against the government, and the event was accompanied by music. The crowd, estimated at twenty thousand, then marched back to Kossuth Square and then to Oktogon.

By April 17, another demonstration was organized in front of the Russian embassy building, which, however, was held on April 24 in view of the snowfall. Meanwhile, police banned demonstrations in the immediate vicinity of the building.

On April 22, the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party organized a humorous demonstration for the Oktogon Illiberal Pride - Peace March for the government and Russia. And against everything else . A few thousand crowds gathered at the event. The movement was essentially a parody of the Civil Coalition Forum’s Peace Marches in support of government policy . It is shown to the speeches, the banners , banners . The main organizer of the event, the president of the "joke party", Gergely Kovács , also gave an ironic speech, but also said that corruption, criticized the situation in education and health care, and the rapprochement with Russia. Protesters marched across Blaha Lujza Square to Elizabeth Square , where the event officially ended.

On April 24, they protested in front of the Russian embassy building against alleged Russian influence and government policy in general. The event was entitled " Stop Moscow ", referring to the Fidesz Stop Brussels campaign. At the musical event, among others , András Lányi and Róbert Puzsér spoke out against the excessive rapprochement with Russia, in addition to the country's belonging to Europe. A crowd of about a thousand people gathered here, which marched to the Fidesz headquarters, where for a long time they witnessed the policemen assigned to protect the headquarters.

On April 25, one of the leaders of the LMP, accompanied by Bernadett Széll , "civilians" appeared at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on justice and protested against the "civil law." György Rubovszky , the party's chairman of the committee, suspended the meeting for half an hour.

By 1 May, the Momentum Movement is part of an event called Europe , in which they protested against the policy of "opening up to the east" and stood up for the European Union . The procession started from Szabadság Square to Heroes' Square, where members of the Momentum presidency gave a speech, including András Fekete-Győr . Speakers emphasized that "a system of fear in Hungary is being built on the Russian model" and urged that this be broken down. Momentum has announced that it will release the party’s nationwide program in the fall.  Part of the crowd of five to six thousand marched to the Oktogon after the official event. That same night, a hacker group called Anonymus Operation Hungary attacked the " PestiSrácok.hu "  Internet government news site.

On May 20, the LMP, the Together, the PM and the Teachers 'Movement also represented themselves at a demonstration by the Anti-Corruption Association (Kellesz) in Felcsút , the hometown of the head of government, which was fed mainly by Lőrinc Mészáros' local (and national) activities.

By May 21, we will not be silent! group organized demonstration We will not give our future, we will stay here! to the quay of the Budapest University of Technology . Among others , Henriett Dinók , representing Romaversitas , praised the role of the CEU in catching up with the Roma . He was followed by Katalin Lukácsi , who left the KDNP in April.  The crowd of about 10,000  marched to Kossuth Square, where further speeches were given after a short concert. Among the speakers was Gábor Vágó, a former LMP politician who also took part in the previous day's uphill demonstration . Máté Lengyel, aA lecturer at the University of Cambridge and the CEU spoke of the "importance of accepting a dissent", and CEU student László Luca sought a new government in a job advertisement. On behalf of the Civilization Group , Éva Deák spoke about the dangers of the bill stigmatizing non-governmental organizations and called people back to Kossuth Square on 29 May.

May 29 Veto of Heroes II. A demonstration and “picnic” was held in Kossuth Square with the participation of about five hundred people

Opinion Polls

At the first on April 7 and 11, the near-government End of Century Foundation interviewed 1,000 randomly selected adults using the CATI method .  According to the survey, 70 per cent of the respondents agreed with the amendment to the law, they support that a foreign university should only be able to issue a diploma if it complies with Hungarian legislation and carries out actual educational activities at its headquarters. As a result of sampling, the result may not differ by more than ± 3.2 percentage points from the value that would have resulted from interviewing all adults in the country.

According to another survey commissioned by the Hungarian Nation close to Lajos Simicska , 48 percent of those surveyed reject the amendment to the Higher Education Act, and data from the Compass Institute show that 70 percent of pro-government sympathizers agree with the law.

To order the Sunday News , the Publicus Institute will be open April 10-16. According to a telephone survey conducted between 2006 and 2006, 63% of respondents disagree that the government would make the CEU impossible and 66% disagree that the government would make it impossible for a foreign-supported NGO. A representative sample of gender, age and education included 1,021 people. The sampling error for the whole sample is ± 3 percentage points.

In a survey published by the End of the Century Foundation on April 25, 53% of respondents believe that “the activities of György Soros's organizations” are harmful to Hungary. According to 61%, the aim of the amendment to the Higher Education Act was not to close the CEU, but to clarify the operation of foreign universities in Hungary.

According to a survey published by the Median Institute for Public Opinion and Market Research in early May, support for Fidesz-KDNP in the total voting population fell from 37 percent in January to 31 percent by the end of April, a move away from nearly half a million pro-government voters. The popularity of Orbán and Áder also declined significantly.  This is contradicted by the study of the Tárki Institute for Social Research and the Institute of Perspectives : according to them, the popularity of the parties has practically not changed in recent weeks / months, the Fidesz-KDNP is still confidently leading the party competition.