Tank theft premeditated, says Hungarian government

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday October 24, 2006

Budapest- Protestors that stole a Soviet-era tank from an open-air display and drove it at police during Monday's riots in Budapest planned the theft in advance, the Hungarian government said on Tuesday. The T-34 tank had been placed on the street as part of the commemorations of Hungary's 1956 uprising against Soviet rule, but protestors turned it to their advantage.

A protestor expertly drove the tank across tramlines and through crowds toward advancing riot police before giving up in the face of a tear gas barrage.

"All the data available until now shows that the protestors planned this in advance," the government spokesperson's office said in a statement.

The statement said that key components, including the accumulator, had been removed from the tank and that the turret had been locked with a special key.

The protestor who took the tank sawed open the turret and replaced the missing parts.

"Peaceful protestors don't turn up with an accumulator and a saw," the statement read.

The tank was the same type as those used in the 1956 uprising.

More than 2,000 Hungarians and almost 1,000 Soviet troops died during the uprising, which began on October 23, 1956, when secret police fired on students calling for reform and Soviet withdrawal.

Freedom fighters armed with Molotov cocktails and rifles appeared to have driven out the Soviets, but they returned in overwhelming numbers on November 4 to crush the uprising.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency