Protest in Hungary over bill threat to Soros university

Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in central Budapest on Sunday against new legislation that could force the Central European University (CEU), a school founded by financier George Soros, to move out of the country.

The demonstrators called for President Janos Ader to veto tough legislation passed by parliament targeting Central European University, The Guardian reported.

A bill passed in parliament by the ruling right-wing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban targeted CEU by setting out numerous conditions under which it must operate.

The bill has led to criticism from hundreds of leading academics worldwide as well as from the US government and the European Union.

The Hungarian president must now sign the bill by Monday to make it law. The protesters said they wanted to convince Ader to reject the bill and refer it for constitutional review.

"What do we want Ader to do? VETO. Free country, free university! " the crowd chanted.

The government has been tightening up on dissent in other ways as well, proposing tighter rules on non-governmental organisations, which will have to register with authorities if they have a yearly foreign income of 7.2 million forints ($25,000).

--IANS

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