Latest news with #BudapestPride
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Mayor will ‘come up with plan C' if police try to impose ban on Budapest Pride
The mayor of Budapest has vowed to go ahead with the city's Pride march next weekend, declaring he will 'come up with a plan C' even if the police try to impose a government-backed ban. Hungarian police said on Thursday they were banning the country's main Pride march from taking place in the capital, citing recent legislation passed by Viktor Orbán's government that prohibits the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s. 'The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time,' the police said. But Gergely Karácsony, the liberal mayor, said the gathering would go ahead regardless, saying the police decision had 'no value' because the march did not require official authorisation as it was a municipal event organised by the city council. 'Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on 28 June as a city event. Period,' he wrote on Facebook. The mayor, who was re-elected to the position last summer, is among the harshest critics of the rightwing government's politics. He has hung an LGBTQ+ and a Ukrainian flag on the administration building in central Budapest, in defiance of Orbán's Fidesz party's rhetoric. In an interview with the Guardian this week, before the police statement, Karácsony said he was determined the event would go ahead. 'There is currently no law that could ban [a municipal event],' he said. 'Obviously, anything can happen in Hungary. But we will come up with a Plan C.' Dozens of MEPs have said they will attend a Pride event in the city in defiance of the government, as well as politicians including the Spanish culture minister, Ernest Urtasun; Ireland's former taoiseach, Leo Varadkar; and the mayors of Amsterdam and Brussels. Karácsony, who won a seat in the Hungarian parliament as a member of a new green party in 2010, the same year Orbán came to power, said he also expected the police to help guarantee the safety of the event. 'I believe that everyone can attend safely on 28 June,' he said. Since Orbán returned to power, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the EU for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of 'child protection'. The bill passed in March by the Fidesz-majority parliament was only the latest but perhaps starkest example, seen by many as a direct attack on Budapest Pride, which has been held in the city for nearly three decades. Karácsony, who was elected mayor of the capital in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024 by just a few hundred votes, insists his drive to ensure the march lives on is not about currying favour with voters. 'A good politician has a strong moral compass,' he said. 'But I know that most Budapest residents agree with me.' At a time when the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community feels increasingly embattled, Karácsony has openly supported LGBTQ+ rights. He was among the speakers at Budapest Pride in 2021, after the government passed a law banning the 'display or promotion of homosexuality' to under-18s. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The mayor's support of liberal views has earned him the ire of the increasingly authoritarian populist government, which has portrayed him variously as an agent for a previous socialist prime minister, for the US billionaire George Soros, the Biden administration and the EU. Karácsony was one of the strongest candidates to stand against Orbán in the last general election in 2022. In the end, the six-party joint opposition chose another city mayor, Péter Márki-Zay, to run for PM. Fidesz retained a two-thirds majority in parliament, and Orbán was elected for a fourth consecutive term. Karácsony told the Guardian he would not run in the 2026 general election, where Orbán is expected to face his strongest opponent to date, Péter Magyar. Magyar, a conservative politician, has not endorsed Pride, but spoken up for the right of people to assemble. 'We use power to encourage or support those who need it,' said Karácsony, a sociologist by trade. Quite what will happen on 28 June is unclear. Orbán's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, told a briefing on Wednesday that no matter what the mayor said, a Pride gathering would fall under the legislation that governs the right to assemble. In their statement police said any appeal against the ban must be lodged with the Hungarian supreme court within three days. The march, they said, 'by its very nature cannot be held without the representation' of people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. 'If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the ban,' the police said.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Police ban Budapest Pride march in Hungary, but mayor vows it will go ahead
Police have banned Hungary's annual Budapest Pride march later this month, prompting a defiant response from liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony."Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march as a local event on 28 June, Period," vowed the the latest twist in a cat-and-mouse confrontation which pits nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz government, backed by the city police, against Hungary's LGBTQ community and its supporters, with some legal backing from the courts. The annual Pride march has been in doubt since Orban announced in February that it would not take place this year, and a law was then passed restricting gatherings if they broke child protection laws on public promotion of homosexuality. Karacsony said police had no right to ban a "Day of Freedom", organised by the city council as an umbrella event for Pride, as it does not come under the rules on freedom of of thousands of people from Hungary and abroad are expected to take part in the 28 June event. "They might as well try to ban a procession of unicorns," the mayor wrote on the new law on gatherings, passed in March, all those identified by the police as participants using facial recognition software could be fined between £14 and £420."The protection of children trumps all other laws. And in that spirit we changed the laws, we make politics, and we will act in future," Fidesz state secretary Tamas Menczer told news portal 444."Pride has nothing to do with freedom of expression or freedom of assembly… Pride is a festival, the festival of a certain sexual community, which is not suitable to be seen by children." Viktor Orban announced in his annual state of the nation speech last February that Pride organisers "need not bother this year". That was followed the next month by a law restricting the right to freedom of assembly, if it fell foul of the 2021 Child Protection get around it the Rainbow Mission foundation, which organises Pride in Hungary, and other human rights groups, announced a series of events on 28 June in solidarity with they kept authorities guessing about which event would mark Pride itself. Police attempts to ban those events were thwarted by Hungary's Supreme Court, the Curia, in two rulings so far. The Budapest mayor then appeared on 16 June with the spokesperson of Budapest Pride, Mate Hegedus, in a joint Facebook video, announcing their Day of Freedom, with events from early morning to late in the central event was to be a procession through the city and the event "is not Pride", the mayor wrote to the police. "There will be no trucks, no dancers, no sexuality in any form." The purpose, he maintained, was simply "to make the nation's capital free".That is what the police are now trying to prevent, on the grounds that underage bystanders may witness the procession, no matter the age of those actually taking part, how they are dressed, or what banners they carry. That would breach the child protection law, Budapest police chief Tamas Terdik argued, in a 16-page document issued by police, justifying the ban. So what will actually happen on 28 June? Human rights group the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), has advised anyone going on the day to refuse to pay any on-the-spot suggest anyone who does receive a notification by post to ask for an in-person right of appeal with the police, or in court if that more people take part, the less likely the police will try to attempt this, the HHC argues, as it could create a massive backlog for both the police and the courts.
eNCA
7 hours ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Budapest mayor defies police ban on Pride march
BUDAPEST - Hungarian police on Thursday banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28 but the capital's mayor defied them, vowing it would still go ahead. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of "child protection". "The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time," the police said on their website. Police said the ban was necessary under recent legislation that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s. They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days. Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the ban. He said the police decision had "no value" because the march did not require official authorisation anyway, as it was an event organised by the city council. "Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period," he wrote on Facebook. On Monday he had announced that Budapest city hall would organise the march in an attempt to sidestep the recently adopted law. In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The 2021 law prohibits the "display or promotion of homosexuality" to under-18s. - Pro-LGBTQ protests - In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march "by its very nature cannot be held without the representation" of people belonging to the LGBTQ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. "If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the ban," the police said. Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march. The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children. AFP | Attila KISBENEDEK The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding the ban be repealed. Several members of the European Parliament have said they will attend the parade. European equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib is also due to attend the march, as are ministers from several European Union countries, the organisers said. Attendees risk a fine of up to 500 euros ($570), which the Hungarian authorities say will be channelled into "child protection" projects.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Hungary police, mayor work to ban Pride march in Budapest
Hungarian police on Thursday banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28 but the capital's mayor vowed to hold it despite the interdiction. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of "child protection". "The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time," the police said on their website. Police said the ban was necessary because the march would conflict with recently passed legislation. They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days. Within moments, Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the interdiction. "Given that the city council did not make its announcement within the ambit of the law on gatherings, this ban has no value," Karacsony wrote on Facebook. "Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period," he wrote. The police decision came three days after Karacsony announced that Budapest would organise the march in an attempt to sidestep a recently adopted law. In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The 2021 law prohibits the "display or promotion of homosexuality" to under-18s. In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march "by its very nature cannot be held without the representation" of people belonging to the LGBTQ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. "If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the prohibition of the government," the police said. Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march. The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children. The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding the Pride ban law be repealed. Several EU lawmakers have said they will attend the parade.
France 24
10 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Budapest mayor defies police ban on Pride march
Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of "child protection". "The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time," the police said on their website. Police said the ban was necessary under recent legislation that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s. They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days. Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the ban. He said the police decision had "no value" because the march did not require official authorisation anyway, as it was an event organised by the city council. "Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period," he wrote on Facebook. On Monday he had announced that Budapest city hall would organise the march in an attempt to sidestep the recently adopted law. In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The 2021 law prohibits the "display or promotion of homosexuality" to under-18s. Pro-LGBTQ protests In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march "by its very nature cannot be held without the representation" of people belonging to the LGBTQ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. "If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the ban," the police said. Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march. The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children. The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding the ban be repealed. Several members of the European Parliament have said they will attend the parade. European equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib is also due to attend the march, as are ministers from several European Union countries, the organisers said. Attendees risk a fine of up to 500 euros ($570), which the Hungarian authorities say will be channelled into "child protection" projects.
