Orbán demands apology for ‘disinformation campaign against Hungary’
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on the propagators of a recent “disinformation campaign against Hungary” to apologise to the Hungarian people.
Hungary has been the victim of a “baseless, unprecedented attack and disinformation campaign”, Orbán said in a letter addressed to the leaders of the members of the European People’s Party (EPP).
This campaign, he added, had been waged when lives were on the line as the world was fighting to mount an effective response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The “attack” on Hungary was not the first,
Orbán said in the letter. But it was the “most despicable and most cynical”.
He said those who had taken part in the campaign had spread “falsehoods and lies”, such as the claim that parliament had been shut down. Orbán said the reality was that parliament’s powers had actually been enhanced, adding that the body had the authority to end the state of emergency declared in March and repeal any of the government’s special measures.
The prime minister lamented that it was not just the conservative grouping’s “formal political opponents” but also “certain EPP politicians” who had engaged in “spreading fake news”.
He said EPP leader Donald Tusk had “even gone as far as to draw a parallel between” the measures introduced in Hungary and Nazi legal scholar Carl Schmitt.
The prime minister pointed out that the European Commission had since confirmed that “these attacks are unfounded”. He cited Vera Jourova, the European Commission’s vice-president in charge of transparency and values, as confirming that Hungary’s epidemic response law was in compliance with EU laws.
Orbán noted
the European Parliament had censured Hungary in a resolution on April 17, and he accused the EP of incorporating “lies” into the text, thereby “making fools of themselves”.
He added that the EP archives would preserve this iniquity, while at the same time the European Commission’s view of the matter would counterbalance the “political hysteria” surrounding Hungary.
He said the damage could not be undone. At the same time, he expressed thanks “to our true allies” for “standing up for us” and speaking the truth in the face of pressure.
He said Fidesz would not allow its political opponents to take self-serving ownership of the rule of law as a political tool. Orbán added that
Fidesz remained a leading conservative force.
An English-language version of the letter was sent to 53 leaders of parties that belong to the EPP, while a Hungarian one was sent to four party leaders and to the head of the Most-Híd Slovak-Hungarian party.
Source: MTI