Hungary’s Viktor Orban Issues Chilling Warning Over Budapest Pride March
HuffPost
Orban's right-wing party passed legislation in March that created a legal basis for police to ban LGBTQ marches.
BUDAPEST, June 27 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday there would be “legal consequences” for organising or attending a Budapest Pride march in violation of a police ban on the event planned for this weekend.
Hungary’s parliament, in which Orban’s right-wing Fidesz Party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that created a legal basis for police to ban LGBTQ marches, on the grounds that protecting children would supersede the right to assemble. It also lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend and impose fines.
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.
“We are adults, and I recommend that everyone should decide what they want, keep to the rules ... and if they don’t, then they should face the clear legal consequences,” Orban told state radio.
He said police could disperse a banned event but Hungary was a “civilised country” and the task for police was to convince people to follow the law.
