Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said on Tuesday that he had asked police to use all necessary means to restore social order.

The freedom of expression did not mean that protesters could resort to violence, Gyurcsany was quoted by the MTI press agency as saying after an emergency meeting of the national security cabinet.

He delivered the order to police in the wake of the violent demonstrations in Budapest from late Monday to early Tuesday, in which over 150 people, including 102 policemen, were injured.

The violent clashes were the "longest and darkest" night since 1989, and the police were unprepared for the scale of the riots, Gyurcsany said.

"Taking to the street is not a solution, but only causes conflict and crisis. Our job is to resolve the conflict and prevent a crisis," he said.

Massive protests erupted at the weekend to call for Gyurcsany's resignation following the broadcast of a tape-recording by Hungarian public radio, in which the 44-year-old prime minister admitted during a closed-door discussion with his Socialist Party deputies that he had lied to voters about the true state of Hungarian economy to win April's re-election.

Hungary's opposition parties on Tuesday renewed the call on Gyurcsany to resign after a peaceful demonstration turned violent.

Source: Xinhua