En Hongrie, des milliers de personnes défilent lors de la marche des fiertés

LE MONDE : Les participants ont condamné le texte adopté l’été 2021, qui interdit « la représentation ou la promotion » de l’homosexualité et du changement de sexe auprès des mineurs.

Lors de la marche des fiertés budapestoise, samedi 23 juillet 2022, en Hongrie. AP
Un an après l’entrée en vigueur d’une loi jugée discriminatoire, plusieurs milliers de Hongrois ont défilé samedi 23 juillet à Budapest pour défendre les droits des LGBT+. Cœur géant, drapeaux et ombrelles aux couleurs de l’arc-en-ciel, la manifestation s’est déroulée en toute légalité le long du Danube par une chaleur caniculaire.

Les participants, parmi lesquels des diplomates étrangers, ont condamné le texte adopté à l’été 2021, qui interdit « la représentation ou la promotion » de l’homosexualité et du changement de sexe auprès des mineurs. Sur un pont de la ville, des contre-manifestants avaient déployé une banderole faisant l’amalgame entre homosexualité et pédophilie, à l’image de la loi. » | Le Monde avec AFP | samedi 23 juillet 2022

De Budapest à Varsovie, le silence et l’embarras des gouvernements populistes d’Europe centrale

LE MONDE : Le Hongrois Viktor Orban espérait qu’une victoire de Marine Le Pen lui permettrait de refonder une droite européenne souverainiste.

La dirigeante du parti d’extrême droite français Rassemblement national (RN) Marine Le Pen (à droite), et le Premier ministre hongrois Viktor Orban (à gauche) avant le « Sommet de Varsovie », une réunion des dirigeants des partis conservateurs et de droite européens, en Pologne, le 4 décembre 2021. WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP
En allant inaugurer le salon hongrois de la formation professionnelle de Budapest, lundi 25 avril, Viktor Orban n’a pas eu le temps de commenter les résultats des élections françaises, où son alliée, Marine Le Pen, a essuyé une défaite dans les urnes, la veille. « Les forces nationales ont remporté les élections législatives il y a trois semaines avec un soutien sans précédent », a seulement vanté le premier ministre nationaliste, mais c’était au sujet de sa propre réélection, écrasante, le 3 avril. La quasi-totalité des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement européens, y compris ses alliés polonais, ont pourtant félicité M. Macron dès dimanche soir.

Ce silence n’est pas une surprise. M. Macron a utilisé le souverainiste hongrois comme épouvantail pendant toute la campagne et il n’a toujours pas, lui non plus, félicité M. Orban pour sa réélection. Mais, surtout, la défaite de Marine Le Pen contrarie tous les plans de refonte des droites et les espoirs de chamboulement de l’Union européenne que le chef de gouvernement hongrois partageait avec ses alliés ultraconservateurs au pouvoir à Varsovie. « Le camp souverainiste est devenu une force incontournable de la politique européenne et, nous aussi, nous voulons voir une Europe des Etats-nations », avait espéré M. Orban lors de la visite de Mme Le Pen à Budapest, en octobre. Une banque hongroise appartenant en partie à son ami d’enfance, la MKB, a par la suite financé la campagne de la candidate d’extrême droite. » | Par Jean-Baptiste Chastand (Vienne, correspondant régional) et Jakub Iwaniuk(Varsovie, correspondant) | lundi 25 avril 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

« Viktor Orban a une technique de stigmatisation désormais bien rodée »

LE POINT : INTERVIEW. Fabienne Keller, eurodéputée Renew, était présente lors de la Gay Pride à Budapest. Elle soutient le bras de fer de la Commission avec le régime d’Orban.

Désormais eurodéputée macroniste, Fabienne Keller a gardé de ses années à la mairie de Strasbourg le réflexe d’aller voir sur le terrain. Elle était le week-end dernier à Budapest lords de la Marche des fiertés pour se tenir aux côtés des LGBT hongrois au moment où le régime de Viktor Orban vient de passer une loi extrêmement contestée et qui lui vaut les foudres de nombreux leaders européens. La Commission a engagé une procédure d’infraction. Le plan de relance hongrois est suspendu jusqu’au 30 septembre. » | Propos recueillis par Emmanuel Berretta | jeudi 29 juillet 2021

Hungary to EU: Migrant Quotas Will Repeat Western Europe's 'Failed' Attempts at Multiculturalism

THE TELEGRAPH: Budapest tells EU officials to stop "lectures" over question of taking in Syrian refugees

Hungary has defended its opposition to Brussels' plans for compulsory migrant quotas, saying it did not wish to repeat the West's "failed experiments" in multiculturalism.

In a defiant rejection of diktats from Europe's high command, the country's right-wing government said it was not interested in "lectures" from the European Union about taking in Middle Eastern refugees.

The comments were a direct challenge to remarks last week by one of the EU's most senior figures, who criticised Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, for opposing the quotas plan and for fencing off its borders to migrants trying to reach Europe.

Frans Timmermans, the Dutch vice-president of the European Commission, said that "diversity was the future of the world," and that Eastern European nations would just have to "get used to that."

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Orban's spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, responded by saying that integration in much of Western Europe had been at best a limited success. Hungary, he said, felt neither the wish nor the obligation to follow suit.

"Contrary to Mr Timmerman's vision, we can't see into the future," Mr Kovács said. "But we are aware of the past, and multi-culturalism in Western Europe has not been a success in our view. We want to avoid making the same mistakes ourselves." » | Colin Freeman, Chief foreign correspondent | Saturday, September 26, 2015

My comment:

Viktor Orbán is now the true leader of Western Europe, not Mutti Merkel. As Mr. Orbán rightly states, Europe is founded on Judaeo-Christian, not Islamic, principles. More power to Viktor Orbán. If he came here, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. I'm sure many others would too. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Migrants: la Hongrie envoie l'armée contre les migrants

L’EXPRESS: Budapest vient d'adopter une loi qui durcit les moyens employés pour stopper les migrants: elle autorise les forces de l'ordre à tirer contre eux avec des balles en caoutchouc ou des grenades lacrymogènes.

Budapest franchit encore un pas pour bloquer la route aux candidats à l'asile en Europe. Le parlement hongrois a adopté ce lundi une nouvelle législation qui autorise l'armée à faire usage, dans certaines circonstances, d'armes non létales.

La nouvelle loi, qui nécessitait une majorité des deux tiers, a été adoptée par 151 voix contre 12 et 27 abstentions. Le texte entérine aussi la possibilité de déployer massivement des militaires aux frontières et autorise dans certaines conditions l'armée et la police à employer contre les migrants toute une batterie d'armes non létales. "Comme la police, (l'armée pourra faire usage) d'armes non létales: balles en caoutchouc, engins pyrotechniques, grenades lacrymogènes et fusils à filet", précise le texte. » | Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | lundi 21 septembre 2015

Muslim Migrants Chant 'F*** You' and ' Allahu Akbar' in Budapest

East-West Divide: Clashes in Budapest, Eastern Europe Rejects Migrant Sharing Quotas (September 4, 2015)

Clashes break out in Budapest as a crowd of football fans marches by a camp of refugees in the heart of the Hungarian capital. Meanwhile, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have unanimously rejected a quota system for sharing migrants.

Migrants Rush to Board Trains after Budapest Station Reopens

Hungary Closes Main Budapest Station to Refugees

THE GUARDIAN: Move follows chaotic scenes after thousands of people were allowed on to trains for Austria and Germany without visa checks

Hungarian authorities have closed Budapest’s main station to refugees and migrants following chaotic scenes on Monday, when people who had been camped outside for weeks were suddenly allowed to leave for Austria and Germany without visa checks.

The move followed the station’s complete closure earlier, when all trains to the west had been stopped from leaving. Police in helmets and wielding batons surrounded Keleti station’s grand, crumbling facade and dozens of refugees and migrants who were inside were forced out.

A government spokesman said Hungary was trying to enforce EU law, which requires anyone who wishes to travel in the borderless Schengen zone to hold a valid passport and visa. (+ video) » | Daniel Nolan in Budapest and Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Cutting Loose: Hungary Pays Off IMF Debt, May Eye EU Exit

Hungary is about to pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund and then wants the creditor gone. The country was saved by Washington-based group with $25 bln loan five years ago but isn't renewing the aid in order to avoid closer scrutiny of its policies. Alexey Yaroshevsky looks at how Budapest is cutting loose.

Anti-Semitism 'On the Rise' Across Europe
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Hungary's prime minister has told an international assembly of Jews that anti-Semitism was on the rise both in Europe and Hungary, attributing it partly to the economic crisis affecting the region.

Viktor Orban said that his government has declared "zero tolerance" on anti-Semitism, but his speech failed to impress those gathered who said he has failed to confront the country's largest far-right party.

"Anti-Semitism is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated," Mr Orban told some 600 delegates at the World Jewish Congress meeting, adding that it was his government's "moral duty to declare zero tolerance on anti-Semitism."

While delegates applauded some parts of Mr Orban's speech on Sunday, the WJC was also quick to express its disappointment that he had not specifically talked about the country's third biggest political force, the far-right Jobbik party, whose politicians in parliament have made numerous anti-Semitic statements.

"The prime minister did not confront the true nature of the problem - the threat posed by the anti-Semites in general and by the extreme-right Jobbik party in particular," the WJC said in a statement. "We regret that Mr Orban did not address any recent anti-Semitic or racist incidents in the country, nor did he provide sufficient reassurance that a clear line has been drawn between his government and the far-right fringe." » | Edited by Bonnie Malkin | Sunday, May 05, 2013

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Missing the Point: Hungarian Leader Whitewashes Anti-Semitism – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sought this weekend to convince some 500 Jewish leaders gathered in Budapest that his government is committed to combating a frightening increase in anti-Semitism. His speech, however, was notable more for what it left out than what it said. » | James Kirchick in Budapest | Monday, May 06, 2013

Related »

Jobbik Rally Against World Jewish Congress In Budapest
BBC: Hungary's far-right Jobbik party has staged a rally in central Budapest in protest at the capital's hosting of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Sunday.

Several hundred supporters took part, despite attempts by the government to prevent it going ahead.

Jobbik said the rally was a protest against what it said was a Jewish attempt to buy up Hungary.

The party, which says it aims to protect Hungarian values and interests, is the third largest in parliament.

It regularly issues anti-Semitic statements.

The event in Budapest on Saturday was billed as a tribute to what organisers called the victims of Bolshevism and Zionism.

"The Israeli conquerors, these investors, should look for another country in the world for themselves because Hungary is not for sale," party chairman Gabor Vona told the rally, according to Reuters news agency.

Marton Gyongyosi said Hungary had "become subjugated to Zionism, it has become a target of colonisation while we, the indigenous people, can play only the role of extras".

Last year, Mr Gyongyosi had sparked outrage by saying all government officials of Jewish origin should be officially listed, as they might be a "national security risk". » | Saturday, May 04, 2013

Related »

Inside the Far-Right Stronghold Where Hungarian Jews Fear for the Future

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As the World Jewish Congress opens in Budapest amid a rise in anti-Semitism in Hungary, Colin Freeman visits the town of Tiszavasvári, twinned with Iran and the stronghold of the far-Right Jobbik party.

As the self-declared "capital" of the ultra-nationalist Jobbik Party, the town of Tiszavasvári prides itself on being a showcase for how the whole of Hungary might one day look.

Since winning control of Tiszavasvári's local council three years ago on a pledge to fight "Gipsy crime", the party has been on a vigorous clean-up campaign, banning prostitution, tidying the streets, and keeping a watchful eye on the shabby Roma districts at the edge of town. It even swore in its own Jobbik "security force" to work alongside the police, only for the uniformed militia, which drew comparisons with Hitler's brown-shirts, to be banned by Hungary's national government.

Yet Gipsies are not the only bogeyman that Jobbik has in its sights, as a sign on the well-trimmed green opposite the Communist-era mayoralty building suggests. Written in both Hungarian and Persian, it proudly announces that Tiszavasvári is twinned with Ardabil, a town in the rugged mountains of north-west Iran.

On the face of it, there is no obvious reason why a drab rustbelt town in Hungary's former mining area should seek links to a city in a hardline Islamic Republic 2,000 miles away. But this is no ordinary cultural exchange programme, and friendship has very little to do with it. Instead, the real purpose of Jobbik's links to Iran is to show their mutual loathing of the Jewish state of Israel, which the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, notoriously declared should be "wiped from the pages of history".

"The Persian people and their leaders are considered pariahs in the eyes of the West, which serves Israeli interests," said Marton Gyongyosi, a Jobbik MP and its leading foreign policy voice. "This is why we have solidarity with the peaceful nation of Iran and turn to her with an open heart." » | Colin Freeman, Tiszavasvári | Saturday, May 04, 2013


Verwandt »

Hungary Party to Follow European Extremism's Move Away from Fringes
THE GUARDIAN: Extremist anti-Roma group Jobbik on course for success at this Sunday's elections in Hungary

Gabor Vona, chairman of Hungary's far right party Jobbik delivers a speech in Budapest ahead of elections this weekend. Photograph: The Guardian
It has been a good few weeks for racists, populists and rightwing radicals across Europe. A comeback for Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front in French regional elections. Big gains in Italy for the anti-immigrant Northern League. The Islam-baiting campaign of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands has taken his Freedom party to 25% and poll position ahead of June's general election.

And this weekend, Hungary is facing its biggest political earthquake in 20 years of democracy. On Sunday, the mainstream right and the neofascists are expected to take over the Westminster lookalike parliament on the banks of the Danube. It will be a landslide victory.

The left and the liberals who have run the country for eight years, taking Hungary to the brink of bankruptcy and into the arms of the International Monetary Fund, will be reduced to a rump.

The next prime minister, Viktor Orban, a combative populist, is leading his centre-right Fidesz party to a huge majority, running at more than 60% in the opinion polls. He may even secure a two-thirds majority enabling him to rewrite Hungary's constitution at will.

But the biggest breakthrough will be for Jobbik, the extremist antisemitic and antigypsy movement "for a better Hungary", which will win seats in the parliament for the first time and may emerge as the second biggest party.

"It's a flood that's coming. Everyone knows it's coming. We're just waiting for it. Will we drown or will we swim," said Pal Tamas, director of Budapest's Institute of Sociology. "People are trying to use the antifascist argument against Jobbik. But it's not working. It's being very poorly received."

During the past week a rabbi's home in the capital has been attacked during Passover and a Holocaust memorial was defaced. Budapest Jews have taken to the streets to protest. The country's large and marginalised Roma and gypsy communities are bracing themselves for a surge in racism and harassment. Roma solution >>> Ian Traynor, Europe editor | Thursday, April 08, 2010

Rioters Invade Budapest's Jewish Ghetto
THE JERUSALEM POST: A crowd of 500 demonstrators, including neo-Nazis and skinheads, rampaged in Budapest's Jewish district.

Hungarian riot police deployed tear gas and baton charges Saturday against the vociferously xenophobic crowd as it tried to disrupt Hungary's annual Gay Pride parade.

More than 30 arrests were made on charges including possession of offensive weapons and riotous behavior. Heightened surveillance was enforced throughout the day to prevent a recurrence of the mayhem that ended last year's parade, in which there were more than a dozen serious injuries, according to Éva Tafferner, press officer at Budapest police headquarters.

The rioters invaded the heart of the traditional Jewish Ghetto District, started a small fire, tore down signs and shouted threatening anti-Semitic vitriol. The attacks were witnessed by families of foreign Jews visiting the district for the current Budapest Jewish Cultural Festival. >>> JTA | Sunday, September 06, 2009

Suspected Nazi Fights Extradition from Australia to Hungary
THE TELEGRAPH: An Australian man has taken a lie detector test as part of his battle against extradition to Hungary where he is alleged to have killed a Jewish teenager during the Second World War.

Charles Zentai, 87, is listed by the US-based Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center as among its 10 most wanted Nazis, but maintains he is innocent.

The Centre claims Zentai "participated in manhunts, persecution, and murder of Jews in Budapest in 1944".

Hungary accuses him of torturing and killing 18-year-old Peter Balazs in a Budapest army barracks on Nov 8, 1944, for failing to wear a star that would identify him as a Jew. Zentai allegedly carried out the attack while serving as a soldier in the Hungarian army, then allied with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Zentai, who emigrated to Australia in 1950 from his native Hungary, denies the allegations.

In August, a Perth magistrate ruled that Zentai could be extradited to Hungary to face war crime charges. But his lawyers appealed the ruling in the Perth federal court, arguing the crime he is accused of was not an offense under Hungarian law at the time.

Zentai's lawyer, Grant Donaldson, said the charges were not valid. >>> By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>