Thousands disrupt Hungary's national holiday (2nd Lead)

Mar 15, 2007, 16:43 GMT

Budapest - Thousands of right-wing demonstrators disrupted commemorations of Hungary's 1848 revolt against Habsburg rule on Thursday, a day that was widely predicted to turn violent.

Anti-government protestors pelted Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky with eggs and bottles as he spoke at the banks of the River Danube in Budapest by a statue of Sandor Petoffi, the poet credited with inspiring Hungarians to revolt against the Austrians.

Security staff shielded the mayor, a member of junior coalition member The Alliance of Free Democrats, with umbrellas as the missiles flew and protestors drowned out his speech with boos and whistles.

The same crowd, many of them carrying flags associated with the extreme right, had earlier disrupted ceremonies outside the national museum and parliament as they called for the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

However, no significant violent incidents were reported by mid- afternoon, despite fears that the anti-government riots of six months ago would be repeated.

Officials earlier warned that right-wing extremists were planning to attack government targets, and police had uncovered weapons in recent weeks, with one man arrested on Wednesday in possession of the materials for 80 Molotov cocktails.

Violence first erupted last September after a tape on which Gyurcsany admitted lying about the state of the economy prior to April's general elections was leaked to the press.

Hundreds of right-wing extremists and football hooligans burned cars and pummelled police with rocks and bottles on the first night as they stormed the headquarters of state-owned Hungarian television.

Clashes stopped for a few days, but reignited on October 23 - the 50th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 uprising against communist rule - when police fired teargas and rubber bullets at thousands of protestors.

The biggest controversy of that day came when violent protestors got caught up with people attending a rally organised by the main right-of-centre opposition party Fidesz.

The party has organized a late afternoon rally on Thursday at almost the same spot as the one on October 23, and tens of thousands of people had gathered shortly before the rally was due to begin.

Rallies organized by far-right parties Jobbik and The Hungarian Justice and Life Party passed off without incident.