Hungarians Stage Mass Protest Over University Targeted by Orban

(Bloomberg) -- Hungarians held one of the biggest demonstrations yet against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, calling for the rejection of legislation on universities that has drawn rebukes from the U.S., Germany and some of the world's top schools.

About 60,000 people attended the rally in central Budapest, Index news website cited organizers as saying. More than 40,000 people had indicated on the organizers' Facebook page that they may do so -- a large crowd for Hungary's almost 10 million inhabitants, who have rarely turned out in force to protest against Orban's policies.

Demonstrators are seeking to dissuade President Janos Ader from signing into law legislation passed by parliament this week that Central European University, the Budapest-based school founded by investor and philanthropist George Soros, said was aimed at shutting it down.

Orban has ignored earlier street protests and criticism from the opposition and a number of Hungary's European Union and NATO allies, over the law. While the government denies the legislation is targeted at CEU, Orban regularly blames Hungarian-born Soros, who also funds organizations that seek to promote human rights and government transparency, for trying to undermine him.

Ader has until Monday to sign the legislation, return it to parliament or send it to the Constitutional Court if he has legal objections. CEU is “determined to stay in Budapest” and will resort to “all legal remedies” to remain there, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Leon Botstein said in a statement on Thursday.

--With assistance from Zoltan Simon

To contact the reporter on this story: Andras Gergely in Budapest at agergely@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net, James Amott, Tony Czuczka