The move came after the Capital Court ruled on Saturday against a proposed referendum on the statue, saying a government decree had declared the statue to be of outstanding importance for Hungary’s economy.

Pál Steiner, the Socialist former Fifth District mayor, who filed the suit, called the decision “outrageous”.

Opposition politicians and other protesters tore down the protective fence around the memorial and pelted the statues with eggs before noon on Sunday.

Reports said the memorial will be officially unveiled at 10 a.m. Monday.

The demonstrators accuse the government of whitewashing the Horthy regime’s role as an accomplice to genocide by attempting to pass all blame on to Nazi Germany.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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MTI photo: Bruzák Noémi

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