EU's von der Leyen urges Hungary to allow Pride despite ban
FILE PHOTO: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban looks on as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows a banner reading \"STOP LMBTQ\" hanging from a bridge as people attend the Budapest Pride march in Budapest, Hungary, July 23, 2022. REUTERS/Marton Monus/File Photo
BUDAPEST - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to permit the Budapest Pride parade to go ahead, after police banned the event.
In a response on X, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the European Commission should refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs of member states, "where it has no role to play".
Hungary's police banned Saturday's planned LGBTQ march last week, citing a law passed in March stating that protecting children should supersede the right to assemble.
However, Budapest's liberal mayor and the organisers of the event said that the march would be held despite the ban, as it was a municipal event and did not need a permit from authorities.
"I call on the Hungarian authorities to allow the Budapest Pride to go ahead without fear of any criminal or administrative sanctions against the organisers or participants," von der Leyen said in a video posted on X late on Wednesday.
"In Europe, marching for your rights is a fundamental freedom," she said.
Asked about the possibility that police could disperse the march on Saturday by force, Orban said in Brussels on Thursday that Hungary was a "civilized country, we don't hurt each other".
Critics see the move to ban Pride as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a general election next year when nationalist Orban will face a strong opposition challenger.
Orban, in power since 2010, portrays himself as defending family values and said in February that organisers should not even bother organising Pride in Budapest this year.
On Tuesday, Hungary's justice minister sent a letter to several foreign embassies, informing them that the Pride parade was "a legally banned assembly, organising and announcing of which qualifies as a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for up to one year under Hungarian law".
Minister Bence Tuzson sent his letter to embassies a day after diplomats from Britain, France and Germany and 30 other countries expressed support for Hungary's LGBTQ community and Budapest Pride. REUTERS
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