A record number of people were expected to attend yesterday’s Pride march in Budapest, defying a ban that marks an unprecedented regression of LGBTQ rights in the EU.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling coalition amended laws and the constitution earlier this year to prohibit the annual celebration, justifying his years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights on “child protection” grounds.
While Orban has been emboldened by the anti-diversity offensive of US President Donald Trump, his own initiatives have drawn protests at home and condemnation from the EU and rights groups.
Photo: Reuters
Orban on Friday said that while police would not “break up” the 30th edition of the Pride march, those who took part should be aware of “legal consequences.”
Despite the risk of a fine, more than 35,000 people were expected to gather at 2pm near Budapest’s city hall, an hour before the march was to begin.
Ministers from several EU countries and dozens of European lawmakers are expected to attend in defiance of the ban, reminiscent of that in Moscow in 2006 and Istanbul in 2015.
“We are not just standing up for ourselves... If this law is not overturned, eastern Europe could face a wave of similar measures,” Pride organizer Viktoria Radvanyi said.
Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to reverse the ban.
Thirty-three countries have also spoken up in support of the march.
While parade organizers risk up to a year in prison, attendees can face fines up to 500 euros (US$585.95). The latest legal changes empower the authorities to use facial-recognition technology to identify those who take part. Freshly installed cameras have appeared on lamp posts along the planned route of the march.
However, opposition Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony has insisted that no attendee can face any reprisals as the march — co-organized by the city hall this time — is a municipal event and does not require police approval.
“The police have only one task tomorrow, and it is a serious one: to ensure the safety of Hungarian and European citizens attending the event,” Karacsony said during a briefing with visiting EU equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib.
Far-right groups have announced multiple counterprotests along the planned route of the procession.
Hungarian Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson this week sent a letter to EU embassies cautioning diplomats and staff against participating, because of the police ban.
Several EU countries have informed their citizens of the potential of fines through travel advisories.
Since Orban’s return to power in 2010, the country of 9.6 million people has been steadily rolling back LGBTQ rights.
Legal changes have effectively barred same-sex couples from adopting children, prevented transgender people from changing their name or gender in official documents and a 2021 law forbade the “display and promotion” of homosexuality to those younger than 18.
In March, lawmakers passed a bill targeting the annual Pride march, amending the 2021 law to prohibit any gathering contravening its provisions. A month later, parliament also adopted a constitutional change to bolster the legal foundations for the ban.
“Orban is employing a tried-and-tested recipe ahead of next year’s election by generating a conflict,” political analyst Daniel Mikecz said, adding that Orban was “polarizing society.”
An American scientist convicted of lying to US authorities about payments from China while he was at Harvard University has rebuilt his research lab in Shenzhen, China, to pursue technology the Chinese government has identified as a national priority: embedding electronics into the human brain. Charles Lieber, 67, is among the world’s leading researchers in brain-computer interfaces. The technology has shown promise in treating conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and restoring movement in paralyzed people. It also has potential military applications: Scientists at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting
PHILIPPINE COMMITTEE: The head of the committee that made the decision said: ‘If there is nothing to hide, there is no reason to hide, there is no reason to obstruct’ A Philippine congressional committee on Wednesday ruled that there was “probable cause” to impeach Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte after hearing allegations of unexplained wealth, misuse of state funds and threats to have the president assassinated. The unanimous decision of the 53-member committee in the Philippine House of Representatives sends the two impeachment complaints to deliberations and voting by the entire lower chamber, which has more than 300 lawmakers. The complaints centered on Duterte’s alleged illegal use and mishandling of intelligence funds from the vice president’s office, and from her time as education secretary under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Duterte and the
Jailed media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai (黎智英) has been awarded Deutsche Welle’s (DW) freedom of speech award for his contribution to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The German public broadcaster on Thursday said Lai would be presented in absentia with the 12th iteration of the award on June 23 at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Deutsche Welle director-general Barbara Massing praised the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered news outlet Apple Daily for standing “unwaveringly for press freedom in Hong Kong at great personal risk.” “With Apple Daily, he gave journalists a platform for free reporting and a voice to the democracy movement in
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
RSS