Protest against forex “looting” in Astoria area

Sights

Amid the fun and events of St. István’s Day in Hungary, at least one group was seriously protesting against foreign business interests’ “looting” of the country and its resources. Calling itself the Siklós National Assembly (Siklós Nemzetgyüles), the group managed to organize a few hundred in Budapest yesterday for a peaceful public demonstration.

The Siklós National Assembly is a populist/nationalist group which proudly flies the virtual Árpád-style flag on its official website; its mission statement includes among its aims “to discredit the country and Hungarian society, to prevent participation in looting. [We believe in t]he historic restoration of constitutional legal [rule], as well as active participation in the social order based on popular representation…”

By “looting,” the group refers to foreign-based banking interests taking money out of the area, seemingly a central tenant of the Assembly’s beliefs.

Assembly leader Árpád Kásler explained to HVG online that the group had agreed on a statement and on Tuesday – the national holiday – sought to submit the document at President János Áder’s office. Not getting past office staff, the group was told that Áder could only accept such submissions during regular working hours.

With an agenda of spreading the message “Our Home is Not for Sale,” a sound bite often repeated to local media covering the story, Kásler and his group occupied space in the Astoria area, displaying signs protesting forex-based loans, among other topics. The movement ultimately succeeding in causing traffic to be diverted until the demonstration was dissolved at around 7:45pm.

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