Latest news with #ViktoriaRadvanyi
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Hungary warns its EU partners not to attend 'banned' pride parade
Hungary has warned EU ambassadors and their staff not to attend a Pride march in Budapest set to be held on Saturday, June 28, saying that police had banned the gathering, according to a letter seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday. "The legal situation is clear: the Pride parade is a legally banned assembly (...) those who take part in an event prohibited by the authorities commit an infraction," said the letter, which was signed by Justice Minister Bence Tuzson and dated Tuesday. "Kindly ensure that your co-workers and colleagues are duly informed of these facts, in order to maintain clarity," it added. Pride organizers, in turn, sent a letter to embassies insisting the police had no right to ban the event – organized by the city council – and that the march is "neither banned nor unlawful," vowing it will go ahead as planned. "We continue to work on ensuring that Hungary's largest Pride takes place this Saturday in a safe and secure environment," Budapest Pride president Viktoria Radvanyi said. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws criticized at home and across the European Union for curtailing LGBTQ+ rights in the name of "child protection." Last week, police banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest, but the capital's mayor has defied the interdiction, saying that police had no right to ban an event organized by city hall and vowing it would go ahead as planned. Police have said the ban was necessary under recent legislation that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s. The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Attendees risk a fine of up to €500 ($580). Police may use facial recognition technology to identify them. Organizers risk a one-year prison sentence. EU officials expected to attend Several members of the European Parliament have said they will attend the parade. European equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib is expected in Budapest on Friday and may attend the march, as may ministers from several European Union countries, according to the organizers. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the Hungarian authorities to reverse the ban and not to punish organizers or participants. "I call on the Hungarian authorities to allow the Budapest pride to go ahead, she wrote on X, calling herself an LGBTQ+ ally.
eNCA
17-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Brussels march urges EU to act over Budapest Pride ban threat
Thousands of LGBT activists marched through central Brussels on Saturday, calling on European leaders to act against Hungary's right-wing government after it moved to ban the Budapest Pride parade. The march followed a law passed in Hungary in March that bans LGBT Pride events and allows facial recognition to identify organisers, a move widely condemned by rights groups and EU officials as an attack on civil liberties. "We have come to sound the alarm," Viktoria Radvanyi, the chair of Budapest Pride, said while standing on a platform at the event. "What is really alarming is that we have not seen the (European) Commission take any legal action in two months," said Radvanyi, who wore a rainbow-coloured necklace. Although she met some Commission representatives on Friday, she accused the EU executive of being "complicit" with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban through its inaction AFP | Nicolas TUCAT "Do your job," she said, waving a Hungarian flag -- a slogan immediately taken up by the crowd, who held signs reading "Protect your children from Orban". "I think it's really important that we keep turning out for every pride as long as there are people in the world facing discrimination," said Migiel Moens, 39, who was in the crowd with European flag sticking out of his pink shorts. Roland Papp, a 35-year-old journalist who attended Budapest Pride for years, described a "horrible time". "People tend to think that once you have your rights, they're not going to be taken away. That's not true," he said. "Budapest pride had been going on for 30 years and now it's really going back to the horrible times," he said, vowing to be in the Hungarian capital on June 28 for the event. AFP | Nicolas TUCAT Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony, welcomed on stage by two drag queens, vowed that the parade would go ahead. "Budapest Pride cannot be banned, for the simple reason that love and freedom cannot be banned," said Karacsony, inviting supporters from across Europe to join what organisers hope will be the "biggest, most colourful and most international" pride event ever seen.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brussels march urges EU to act over Budapest Pride ban threat
Thousands of LGBT activists marched through central Brussels on Saturday, calling on European leaders to act against Hungary's right-wing government after it moved to ban the Budapest Pride parade. The march followed a law passed in Hungary in March that bans LGBT Pride events and allows facial recognition to identify organisers, a move widely condemned by rights groups and EU officials as an attack on civil liberties. "We have come to sound the alarm," Viktoria Radvanyi, the chair of Budapest Pride, said while standing on a platform at the event. "What is really alarming is that we have not seen the (European) Commission take any legal action in two months," said Radvanyi, who wore a rainbow-coloured necklace. Although she met some Commission representatives on Friday, she accused the EU executive of being "complicit" with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban through its inaction "Do your job," she said, waving a Hungarian flag -- a slogan immediately taken up by the crowd, who held signs reading "Protect your children from Orban". "I think it's really important that we keep turning out for every pride as long as there are people in the world facing discrimination," said Migiel Moens, 39, who was in the crowd with European flag sticking out of his pink shorts. Roland Papp, a 35-year-old journalist who attended Budapest Pride for years, described a "horrible time". "People tend to think that once you have your rights, they're not going to be taken away. That's not true," he said. "Budapest pride had been going on for 30 years and now it's really going back to the horrible times," he said, vowing to be in the Hungarian capital on June 28 for the event. Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony, welcomed on stage by two drag queens, vowed that the parade would go ahead. "Budapest Pride cannot be banned, for the simple reason that love and freedom cannot be banned," said Karacsony, inviting supporters from across Europe to join what organisers hope will be the "biggest, most colourful and most international" pride event ever seen. cjc/jca/srg/rmb
France 24
17-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Brussels march urges EU to act over Budapest Pride ban threat
The march followed a law passed in Hungary in March that bans LGBT Pride events and allows facial recognition to identify organisers, a move widely condemned by rights groups and EU officials as an attack on civil liberties. "We have come to sound the alarm," Viktoria Radvanyi, the chair of Budapest Pride, said while standing on a platform at the event. "What is really alarming is that we have not seen the (European) Commission take any legal action in two months," said Radvanyi, who wore a rainbow-coloured necklace. Although she met some Commission representatives on Friday, she accused the EU executive of being "complicit" with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban through its inaction "Do your job," she said, waving a Hungarian flag -- a slogan immediately taken up by the crowd, who held signs reading "Protect your children from Orban". "I think it's really important that we keep turning out for every pride as long as there are people in the world facing discrimination," said Migiel Moens, 39, who was in the crowd with European flag sticking out of his pink shorts. Roland Papp, a 35-year-old journalist who attended Budapest Pride for years, described a "horrible time". "People tend to think that once you have your rights, they're not going to be taken away. That's not true," he said. "Budapest pride had been going on for 30 years and now it's really going back to the horrible times," he said, vowing to be in the Hungarian capital on June 28 for the event. Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony, welcomed on stage by two drag queens, vowed that the parade would go ahead. "Budapest Pride cannot be banned, for the simple reason that love and freedom cannot be banned," said Karacsony, inviting supporters from across Europe to join what organisers hope will be the "biggest, most colourful and most international" pride event ever seen.
