The Budapest crowd waving the rainbow flag and carried signs laughing at Prime Minister Victor Orban amid a new ban on Pride’s march.
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BUDAPEST, June 28 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of protesters passed through the Hungarian capital on June 28, causing a ban on LGBTQ+ rights to swell into massive demonstrations against the government.
The crowd filled a square near Budapest city hall before departing through town. Some were waving the rainbow flag, while others were holding signs laughing at Prime Minister Victor Orban.
“This is far more than just homosexuality…. This is the last moment we stand up to our rights,” said Esther Lane Bodhi, one of the marchers.
“Not everyone is free until everyone is free,” one sign read.
A small group of far-right rebels attempted to confuse the parade, but the police alienate them and deflect the marching route to avoid a conflict.
Orban’s nationalist government has gradually reduced the rights of the LGBTQ+ community over the past decade, and its lawmakers passed a law in March that allowed the Pride March to ban pride marchs, citing the need to protect children.
Opponents are seeing the move as part of a broader crackdown on democratic freedom ahead of the national elections before Orban faced strong opposition challengers next year.
According to organizers, participants arrived from 30 countries, including 70 members of the European Parliament.
More than 30 embassies expressed their support in March, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to move the parade ahead.
70 Hungarian civil society groups, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparent International Hungary and the Hungary Helsinki Commission, issued an open letter on June 27th in support of the march.
“Legal Consequences”
“The right to assembly is a fundamental human right, and I don’t think it should be banned because someone doesn’t like the reason you go on the street, they don’t agree with it.
Budapest Mayor Gelgary Kalaksony tried to get around the law by organizing a march as a city event, but he said he didn’t need permission. However, police banned the event and claimed it falls within the scope of the Child Protection Act.
Orban is promoting a conservative Christian agenda, but provided some clues on what participants could expect when they warned about “legal consequences” about organising and attendance in March on June 27th.
Earlier this week, Justice Minister Bens Tazson warned in a letter sent to a foreign embassy in Budapest that organizing a prohibited event would result in a year being punished in prison while attending the count as a misdemeanor.
Laws that allow pride bans allow police to impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people attending.
When asked about the threat of a one-year sentence, Kalaksony said at a press conference on June 27 that such a sentence would only increase his popularity.
“But I can’t take it seriously,” he said.
Zoltan Novak, an analyst at the Centre for the Fair Political Analysis Think Tank, said that by making March an important topic of political discourse, Orban government was able to reclaim the initiative from its opposition and mobilize the voter base.
“For the past 15 years, Fides has decided what the topic controls the political world,” he said, adding that this has become even more difficult as Orban’s party faces challenges from the Tisa party of Peter Magyaru, the central opposition leader who has 15 points ahead of Orban’s Fides in recent polls.
Tisa, who has avoided gaining strong positions on the issue of gay rights, did not specify in response to a question of whether Reuters believes Pride marching is legal, but said attendees deserve state protection.
“Peter Magyar called on Hungarian authorities and police to protect Hungarians this Saturday, even if it means facing the argitrar nature of power, as well as on other days,” the reporters said. Magyaru himself did not attend.
