Thousands of people silently protested in Hungary against the law targeting the media and NGOs
Protest in silence in Hungary on Sunday, June 1st. Credit Line: Ferenc ISZA / AFP / Profimedia
Thousands of Hungarians participated in a silent march on Sunday in Budapest against a draft law that allows Prime Minister Viktor Orban to sanction media institutions and NGOs “funded from abroad,” AFP, quoted by Agerpres.
Orban “wants to silence all those who do not write what he wants,” said AFP Zsolt S solyom, a former 49 -year -old soldier.
Many protesters wore a horse in their mouths at the rally on the Freedom Bridge in the Hungarian capital and displayed banners that demanded the withdrawal of the draft law.
After the march, the loud reading of the names of the 115 parliamentarians who support the draft law has been encountered with whistles and harassions.
What provides for the draft law entered in Hungary
The Fidesz government formation of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban submitted a draft law in the middle of the month that was compared to the Russian law on “foreign agents”.
Organizations that receive foreign funding, targeted by a draft law introduced in Hungary. Their activity may be forbidden
The legislation will allow the inclusion on a black list of organizations “that threaten the sovereignty of Hungary through the use of foreign funds to influence public life.”
The media institutions or NGOs targeted will have to obtain authorization to receive foreign funding and will be fined for violations.
Last week, representatives of over 80 media institutions in 22 countries urged their governments and the European Union (EU) to do their best to prevent this reform.
The law was convicted by the Council of Europe and the European Commission, who asked Hungary to withdraw the project, promising otherwise to “take the necessary measures”.
The Hungarian opposition believes that this is Viktor Orban's latest attempt to silence critics since his return to power in 2010.
But Orban's party, Fidesz, believes that this new text is necessary to defend the country against interference.
The parliamentarians are expected to express their vote in mid-June. It is expected that the adoption will be a formality, because the government most dominates the Parliament.
