Hungary's Orban accuses EU of orchestrating 'repulsive' Pride march
BUDAPEST - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Saturday's Pride "repulsive and shameful", accusing the EU of directing opposition politicians to organise the event, which turned into an anti-government protest, local media reported in Sunday.
The march in Budapest for LGBTQ+ swelled into one of the largest displays of opposition to Orban in recent years, as an estimated 100,000 participants defied a police ban and threats of fines to join the demonstration.
Speaking in a closed online group for his supporters called Fight Club on Sunday, Orban said opposition politicians instructed by "Brussels" had called on their voters to attend the event in large numbers, according to local news outlet Index.
"Since yesterday, we are even more certain that these people [opposition politicians] must not be allowed near the helm of government. And we will not allow them," Orban told his supporters, according to Index.
He did not offer any evidence for his comments. But the event was organised by the municipality of Budapest, led by mayor Gergely Karacsony, and Orban's government has accused him of being a "puppet" of Brussels for years.
Reuters has contacted Pride organisers and the city hall but they did not immediately respond.
The European Commission declined to comment on Orban's reported remarks.
Orban told his supporters that he found the events at the Pride march "repulsive and shameful," specifically mentioning a drag queen show, men wearing high heels and pamphlets on hormonal therapies.
The march had been banned based on a law passed in March that allows for the prohibition of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children.
Orban's opponents see the ban as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when the veteran prime minister - whose party has dominated Hungary's political scene for 15 years - will face a strong challenger.
On Friday Orban said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who earlier this week called on Hungarian authorities to let the Pride parade go ahead, regarded Hungary "as a subordinated country" and likened her message to receiving orders from Moscow in communist times.
Reuters could not independently confirm the contents of the prime minister's message cited by Index. A government spokesman did not immediately reply to Reuters questions on the report's authenticity.
Orban's government, which promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade. His government has defended the restrictions saying that the need to protect children supersedes all other rights. REUTERS
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