Latest news with #BernadettSzabo
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hungary's Orban accuses EU of orchestrating 'repulsive' Pride march
People cross the Elisabeth Bridge during the Budapest Pride March in Budapest, Hungary, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo 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 Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hungary Pride march wins backing of some foreign embassies, but not US
FILE PHOTO: People take part in a demonstration after Hungarian parliament passed a law that will ban LGBTQ+ communities from holding their annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, at the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo Hungary Pride march wins backing of some foreign embassies, but not US BUDAPEST - Britain, France and Germany and 30 other countries expressed support on Monday for Hungary's LGBTQ community and a Budapest Pride march on June 28, which was banned by police after the government denounced it as potentially harmful to children. However the U.S., whose President Donald Trump shares Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's suspicion of efforts to promote diversity and transgender rights, was not a signatory of a statement by the countries' embassies backing the march. Parliament, in which Orban's Fidesz party has a majority, passed a law in March that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches of the LGBTQ community on the grounds that protecting children should supersede the right to assemble. Critics see the move to ban Pride as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a general election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger, seen by some recent opinion polls as pulling ahead. Orban's government promotes a strongly Christian-conservative agenda, and Fidesz has been trying to cater to core conservative voters mostly in the countryside ahead of the elections. Passage of the new law allowed police to ban the 30th Pride march last week, but Budapest's liberal mayor and the organisers of the event said the march will be held despite the police ban on June 28. "On the 30th occasion of the Budapest Pride Festival, we, the undersigned embassies and cultural institutes, reaffirm our support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons in Hungary and around the world," the embassies' statement said. The statement said the Budapest Pride March "has been a symbol of resilience and progress, reflecting the vital role of LGBTIQ+ persons in the further development of democracy." Orban, in power since 2010 in the EU member Central European country, portrays himself as defending family values and said in February that organisers should not even bother organising Pride in Budapest this year. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Hungary Pride march wins backing of some foreign embassies, but not US
FILE PHOTO: People take part in a demonstration after Hungarian parliament passed a law that will ban LGBTQ communities from holding their annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, at the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Britain, France and Germany and 30 other countries expressed support on Monday for Hungary's LGBTQ community and a Budapest Pride march on June 28, which was banned by police after the government denounced it as potentially harmful to children. However the U.S., whose President Donald Trump shares Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's suspicion of efforts to promote diversity and transgender rights, was not a signatory of a statement by the countries' embassies backing the march. Parliament, in which Orban's Fidesz party has a majority, passed a law in March that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches of the LGBTQ community on the grounds that protecting children should supersede the right to assemble. Critics see the move to ban Pride as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a general election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger, seen by some recent opinion polls as pulling ahead. Orban's government promotes a strongly Christian-conservative agenda, and Fidesz has been trying to cater to core conservative voters mostly in the countryside ahead of the elections. Passage of the new law allowed police to ban the 30th Pride march last week, but Budapest's liberal mayor and the organisers of the event said the march will be held despite the police ban on June 28. "On the 30th occasion of the Budapest Pride Festival, we, the undersigned embassies and cultural institutes, reaffirm our support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons in Hungary and around the world," the embassies' statement said. The statement said the Budapest Pride March "has been a symbol of resilience and progress, reflecting the vital role of LGBTIQ+ persons in the further development of democracy." Orban, in power since 2010 in the EU member Central European country, portrays himself as defending family values and said in February that organisers should not even bother organising Pride in Budapest this year. (Reporting by Krisztina Than, Editing by William Maclean)
