Debrecen residents protest against immigrant centre

Budapest (MTI) – Some 200 people gathered in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, marched to a local immigrant reception centre to show solidarity with “residents living near the facility”, on Thursday evening.

Gergo Keresztesy, one of the organisers of the event, said it was time “to replace words with action”. He called it unacceptable that locals are not informed about who lives in the centre and that people from the facility can “roam in the city without any identification”. Protesters called for the closure of the refugee centre.

Viktor Papp, a local councillor attending the event, told MTI’s correspondent that though locals would like to see the facility closed, this cannot be done under European regulations. He added that the problem had been reported to the government and police continually patrol the area around the centre.

The Debrecen centre, designed for 830 people, currently accommodates 1,600 refugees, Zsolt Harhai, a regional leader of the immigration authority, told MTI at the event.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters