State of emergency again in Hungary!

Parliament session starts today and there is a proposal saying that the state of emergency in Hungary should be prolonged by an additional 180 days.

According to index.hu, the government would like to prolongue the state of emergency in Hungary for an additional 180 days. That is because of the ongoing was in Ukraine and the humanitarian catastrophe it causes in the region. Tens of thousands of refugees come to Hungary on a daily basis, but most of them do not remain here. Instead, they go farther to the West.

Opposition proposes amendment to protect gay people from hate speech

Parliament’s “For a Diverse Hungary” group of opposition MPs is preparing to submit its first amendment to ensure protection to LGBTQ people, Momentum MP David Bedo told a press conference on Tuesday, MTI wrote. The opposition group was formed by five parties with the aim of “amplifying the voice” of Hungary’s gay community “in and outside of parliament”, Bedo said.

Laszlo Sebian-Petrovszki, a deputy of the Democratic Coalition, quoted journalist András Bencsik, “one of the oldest opinion leaders of Fidesz”, as recently making fun of homosexuals facing execution in Uganda. The ruling party has not distanced itself from Bencsik’s remarks, which “leads us to think that what he said is in line with Fidesz’s position”, he said.

Sebian-Petrovszki also slammed the civil code for not including gay people among groups protected against hate speech, and said the opposition bill, to be submitted later on Tuesday, would add minorities based on sexual identity or orientation. If the amendment is passed, LGBTI people could go to court when confronted by hate speech, he added. “In the past all actions against minorities started with hate speech, leading to a curbing of their rights and then to physical violence,” Sebian-Petrovszki said, adding that “that trend must be interrupted”.