(ANSA) - BUDAPEST, JULY 8 - In Hungary, the law establishing
government control on scientific research comes into force
today. Under this new law, which the government majority
approved last week, the research institutes, which were managed
by the Academy of Sciences (MTA) so far, fall now under the
control of a public body made up of government-appointed
members.
The measure is part of Orban's plan to closely control
justice, the media, cultural life, and universities.
According to technology and innovation minister Laszlo
Palkovics, this change was necessary "to increase the efficiency
of research, the competitiveness of the country". However,
scholars and researchers dispute this argument.
By controlling the funding, they said, the government tries to
prevent the carrying out of sociological and historical research
that criticizes the government's activity. This activity -
according to the researchers - leads to an increase in poverty
and the falsification of Hungarian history with a nationalistic
interpretation.
"Orban does not want to hear critical voices, and wants to
silence uncomfortable science," said the director of the
Institute of Sociological Sciences. According to the president
of the Academy Laszlo Lovasz, an exodus of young researchers
towards the West could happen. The European Commission said it
will monitor the state of research in Hungary, because "any
limitation on academic freedom and research is unacceptable".
(ANSA).
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