ANTI-PM RALLY:
People attend a protest against the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday.
BUDAPEST: Around ten thousand Hungarians protested in Budapest on Saturday against government control over the media which they say helped Prime Minister Viktor Orban to a landslide election victory earlier this month.
The rally 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.
In a Facebook post before the rally, organisers said state media has been turned into or ban’ 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 ight for a new, just and fair election law and an investigation of corruption cases.”
Protesters gathered at parliament, waving national and european union lags.
Orban won a third straight term in power after a strong anti-immigration campaign.
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 Conlict with THE EU.