Tens of thousands of protesters on Monday jeered Hungarian leaders outside a glitzy gala to mark the country’s brand new constitution, accusing the government of exerting control over everything from the media to the economy and religion.
A diverse crowd chanted, whistled and hoisted placards outside the State Opera as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and guests celebrated inside. Many protesters called the prime minister the “Viktator.”
“The prime minister took an oath to defend the constitution, but instead he overthrew it,” Laszlo Majtenyi, a former head of the media authority, told the crowd on Andrassy Avenue. “Tonight the Opera is the home of hypocrisy and the street the home of constitutional virtues.”
Photo: Reuters
Opposition activists and civil rights groups say Orban and his center-right Fidesz party, which has a two-thirds parliamentary majority, have passed laws eroding the democratic system of checks and balances by increasing political control over the judiciary, the central bank, religious groups and the media.
Hungarian President Pal Schmitt said Hungarians could be proud of their new constitution, which he said was long overdue and should have been adopted after the fall of communism.
“This constitution was born of a wide consultation, building on national and European values,” Schmitt said during the celebration. “Our Basic Law defines the family, order, the home, work and health as the most important, shared scale of values.”
The EU, the US and international watchdogs have criticized many of the government’s recent moves.
Protesters repeatedly shouted bovli — “junk” in Hungarian — mocking Hungary’s recent credit rating downgrades.
Hungary is facing a possible recession this year and has turned to the IMF and the EU for financial aid. However, preliminary talks ended prematurely last month after the government went ahead with a new central bank law, despite criticism from the EU that it would diminish the independence of the National Bank of Hungary.
Hungary’s constitution was approved in April by Fidesz during an opposition boycott and went into effect on New Year’s Day. While the government said the new basic law completes the transition from communism to democracy that began in 1989, opponents say it entrenches the current government’s power and forces a conservative view on the whole country.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns about lifetime prison sentences without the possibility for parole for violent crimes and a ban on discrimination that does not specifically mention age or sexual orientation.
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