(10 Apr 2017) Several hundred protesters demonstrated against Hungary's president on Monday night in Budapest, after he signed amendments to the country's higher education law that could force a Budapest university founded by billionaire American philanthropist George Soros to close or move.
There was a heavy police presence at the rally as the crowd chanted "Free country, free university", with one chant calling President Janos Ader, "Moustached crap".
One demonstrator said despite expecting the president to assent to the new amendments, he still felt bitter and indignant.
Had he had concerns with the bill, Ader could have asked the Constitutional Court to review the amendments or sent it back to parliament for reconsideration.
Nonetheless, Ader acknowledged that the fast-tracked approval of the law and some of the new conditions "provoked antipathy in many people."
Central European University (CEU), which was founded by Soros, said it "strongly disagreed" with President Janos Ader's decision and vowed to challenge what it called a "premeditated political attack on a free institution."
About 70,000 people rallied in support of CEU on Sunday, calling on Ader to refrain from signing the legislation approved last Tuesday.
It was the third rally in eight days in support of the university, which enrolls over 1,400 students from 108 countries.
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