The LGBTQ + community of Hungary defies the government’s ban on the march of pride

Budapest, Hungary – The LGBTQ Community of Hungary is preparing for a confrontation with the country’s autocratic government, and plans to advance a march in the capital on Saturday despite the prohibition of the government and the threats of legal repercussions.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s populist party in March accelerate a law By the Parliament which made an offense to organize or attend events which “represent or promote” homosexuality to minors under the age of 18. Orbán earlier clearly indicated that Budapest Pride – Marking his 30th anniversary this year – was the explicit objective of the law.

But Friday, the organizers of the pride as well as the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, the European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and the vice-president of the European Parliament Nicolae Stefanuta declared that the march would take place on Saturday despite the official threats of the heavy fines for the participants and even the prison sentences for the Liberal Mayor.

They expect walking to be the biggest event in Hungary.

“The government is still fighting against an enemy against whom he must protect the Hungarian people … This time, it is the sexual minorities who are the target,” Karácsony said at a press conference. “We believe that there should not be citizens of first and second class, so we decided to stay next to this event.”

A repression of LGBTQ + rights

Critics of the ban on pride and other Hungarian laws targeting LGBTQ + communities say that policies recall similar restrictions against sexual minorities in Russia.

The recent Hungary Act allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend a prohibited event. The captured being could lead to fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forsits ($ 586).

Orbán, considered the ally closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the European Union, has prohibited in recent years and has prohibited any LGBTQ +content, including in television, films, advertisements and literature available for minors.

His government maintains that exposure to such content negatively affects children’s development. But opponents say that the movements are part of a wider effort For scapegoats for sexual minorities and consolidate its conservative base.

Fines and facial recognition

After the police rejected several requests by the organizers to record the march of pride, citing Recent lawKarácsony joined the organizers and said that he would be considered a separate municipal event – which, according to him, does not require police approval.

But the government of Hungary remained firm, insisting that holding the march of pride, even if it is sponsored by the city, would be illegal. In a video on Facebook this week, the Hungarian justice minister Bance Tuzson, warned Karácsony that the organization of pride or encouraging people to attend is liable to a year in prison.

On Friday, during the press conference, Karácsony sought to dispel the fears that the police inflicts heavy fines of the participants of pride.

“The police have only one task tomorrow: guaranteeing the security and security of people gathered at the event,” he said.

Addressing State Radio on Friday, Orbán said that participation in pride “will have legal consequences, but that it cannot reach the level of physical violence”.

“Police could disperse such events, they have the right to do so. But Hungary is a civilized country,” he said.

Right-back on the right

On Thursday, the radical right -wing part of our movement of the fatherland announced that it had asked for the approval of the police to hold assemblies in many places across the city, many of which on the same route as the march of pride.

Later, a neonazi group said that it would also meet on Saturday at the town hall of Budapest, from which the march of pride should leave. The group said that only “white men and women, Christians and heterosexuals” were invited to attend its demonstration.

European officials respond

The ban on the pride of Hungary has caused a reaction many partners and allies of the country. More than 30 foreign embassies have signed this week a joint declaration expressing their commitment to “the rights of each person to equal treatment and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and the peaceful assembly”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, published on Wednesday on the social platform X, calling on the Hungarian authorities to allow pride to proceed “without fear of criminal or administrative sanctions against the organizers or participants”.

More than 70 members of the European Parliament, as well as other officials from European countries, should participate in the March on Saturday.

Lahbib, the European Commissioner, said on Friday that “all eyes are on Budapest” while the pride walkers challenge the government’s ban.

“The EU is not neutral on hatred,” she said. “We cannot remain passive. We cannot tolerate what is intolerable. ”