A rights campaigner in Hungary has been placed under investigation and is facing potential criminal charges after organising a peaceful Pride march, in a case that campaigners have described as “unprecedented and dangerous” for the EU.
In early October, thousands flocked to the southern city of Pécs to take part in Pride. It was the fifth year that the march was held – the only other annual Pride gathering in the country besides that of Budapest – and was becoming a showcase of the city’s commitment to freedom, diversity and the coexistence of minorities.
This year, however, politics loomed large. In March the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party had voted to ban Pride events and allow the authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify and potentially fine those in attendance, a move Amnesty International described as a “full-frontal attack” on LGBTQ+ people.
Even so, in June tens of thousands of people defied the ban to march in Budapest after Pride was rebranded as a municipal cultural event.
Months later, Pécs Pride also attracted record numbers, with as many as 8,000 people, including several members of the European parliament, taking part despite the police and the country’s highest court confirming that the event was banned.
For the organiser Géza Buzás-Hábel the nightmare began soon after. “We decided to hold Pécs Pride, despite the ban, because Hungary must remain a European country,” the Romani LGBTQ+ activist said. “Freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right, and we cannot allow political decisions to limit our community’s visibility or self-expression.”
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Buzás-Hábel said it was part of a much wider process playing out across Hungary. “This is not really about me. In the eyes of those in power, I am just a speck of dust,” he said. “This is directed at my broader community, and the goal is to intimidate the people around me. They are using me as a tool to set an example for the entire country.”
He spoke to the Guardian before a trip to Brussels, where, as a board member for Europe’s largest Roma youth network, he was set to take part in a ceremony recognising Roma youth-led projects. The visit would also afford him the chance to meet with EU decision-makers and politicians interested in his case and the situation in Hungary, he said.
“The real question is whether the European Union is ready to stand up for the principles it claims to represent,” he said. “If, in an EU member state, someone can face criminal prosecution simply for organising a peaceful Pride march – and the EU does not respond firmly – it sends the message that European values only matter until defending them requires real political courage.”
Despite the uncertainty that now plagued his life and career, he said he had no regrets. “I have already experienced the personal cost of this system: I lost all my jobs, I was placed under secret service surveillance, and I now face potential criminal charges,” he said.
“But none of this changes the fact that I would organise Pride again in exactly the same way – and I will do so next year as well,” he added. “For me, it is not just an event, but a stand for all those who need visibility and courage in such a hostile environment. Freedom sometimes comes at a high price, but the only thing I would truly regret is failing to stand up for my community.”
That was a truly hilarious comment. I love that so many Europeans are afraid of the "Muslim invaders" taking away their liberty when there are so many more of white Europeans who are ready to suppress freedom and any cultural manifestation that they do not approve of or find deviant.
It is even worse when people talk as if LGBT rights were something intrinsically part of the European culture. It is not. Homosexuality was only partially decriminalized in the UK in 1967. Gay and bisexual men, and some lesbians, continued to be arrested until the late 1990s for public displays of affection, such as kissing and cuddling, under public order and breach of the peace laws. So LGBT rights is a very new thing, a very recent experiment in Europe. In terms of historical scale, it is something that just happened "yesterday", it is still quite controversial and it is at best grudgingly tolerated by a good chuck of European society. The hard reality is that domestic forces, like the ultra-right wing parties that are currently seeing an upswing in Europe, are still a much bigger threat to LGBT rights than brown immigrants.
Couldn't agree more. The people who claim that "Muslim Invaders" are going to take away their liberty are the people who don't care about LGBTQ people; they use the subject to dehumanize the migrants.
It's like Asmongold is the biggest ally to LGBTQ when it comes to Palestine, but he becomes a Nazi when the subject is making sure American LGBTQ people get their rights.
I still can't believe we live in a society where that person is viewed by many as a legitimate source for political opinions
A guy who doesn't even shower
The guy fell for the bait news title saying that the mayor of NYC is making arabic numerals in schools mandatory.
I hate all ideologies that hate gay people, simple as that.
I dont get why you think both groups cant be terrible.
Theres also a huge difference between the rightwing in Hungary trying unsuccessfully to ban a pride parade and people from cultures that openly say all LGBTQ people should get the death penalty... I want to live in a country with as few people with these ideologies as possible.
Dont you?
I live in a country where there are millions of people who want to strip me of my civil rights. I do understand the Islamism problem, but it mostly exists in Muslim majority countries. It doesn't exist in the same magnitude in the EU. The far-right fascists often exaggerate this issue to demonize Muslims. I dislike the fact that you said, "people from cultures that openly say..." Fascists use "culture" as a substitute for race, and anyone who has engaged with the alt-right knows this.
What I am saying is that EU countries' main national debate should not be the "Muslim Problem", because this is being used to divert real problems, such as neoliberal policies, rising homelessness, and other issues. Just as streamer Vaush said, "EU has a Muslim problem, but Hitler won't fix it."
Saying that Muslim culture is antithetical to LGBTQ is really Islamophobic. The reason why Muslims in the EU are so ghettoized is because of the failure of the government to integrate the people into their society. America doesn't have this problem (even if it has, it's really smaller than the EU). American Muslims are generally much more progressive and integrated in American society.
The reason people in Europe talk about Islamist extremism isn’t just because some far-right guys on the internet hype it up. It’s because of attacks, killings, harassment of teachers and writers, whole neighbourhoods where social pressure makes liberal values really hard to live by. You don’t have to be a fascist to notice that. Not every uncomfortable fact about a community is a racist conspiracy. You also talk like integration is 100 percent the government’s fault. Communities themselves aren’t blank slates with no agency, but are shaped by religious leaders or family pressure and ignoring this won't help anyone
Plenty of Muslims themselves talk openly about how conservative interpretations of Islam conflict with LGBTQ rights, and they’re the ones paying the price for trying to reform things. Brushing that off as bigotry feels like pretending those internal struggles don’t exist, also you’re skipping over huge differences in immigration patterns, education levels, and class backgrounds between Muslim communities in America and Europe. America has totally different situation than Europe. Yeah, Europe has real issues beyond this, but that doesn’t mean cultural or ideological conflicts magically disappear.
Lgbt people have been a part of history tho
Don't even get me started... I have been downvoted for saying exactly that in r/europe
But I always love how I'm supposed to be more scared about a minority in Europe than with the far-right parties who have prohibited gender affirming care for adults (Hungary, Texas republicans have tried to criminalize our existant, Russia) or try to supress gay marriage (Hungary or some republicans in the USA).
Agreed. Western proponents of LGBTQ recognition are only recent converts (perhaps explaining the manic edge) -- the US completed its shift to legalising gay marriage in all states in... 2015. It has been much discussed that the rainbow flag looks like an imperialist propaganda gambit in some lights.
While banning Pride parades and arresting organisers is bad and should be opposed, people worried about human rights in such contexts should be concerned that Western bloc countries undermine their societies with similar mechanisms -- pro-Palestine protesters in the UK receive the same treatment as gay organisers in Hungary. Where does a person worried about this have to turn to? This question reveals that Hungary is the least of a typical Guardian reader's worries.
Complicating matters: it is transparently obvious that Orban is a geopolitical target of the main phalanx of Western capital. Dollars to donuts you will find NED & EU money flowing into the constellation of NGOs organising protests under the rainbow flag. (Classic Washington Post article on "spyless coups", detailing some of the pretty baisc mechanisms.) Imo it is a strategic error for LGBTQ activists to align themselves with such agents. Orban should be shaken off by Hungarians but their country is a geopolitical battleground and it feels like you need to be wary of monkey paw magic there. Look at Syria, where Assad is overthrown to be replaced by Al Qaeda. There's no promise of improvement in the overthrow of Offical Enemies.
LGBT rights has been something people have been striving for decades. It wasn’t manic and rainbow flags aren’t imperialist propaganda, you weirdo. Pro-Palestinian protestors in the UK are not arrested for trying to have a March. There were huge marches. You are absurd.
Orban is the victim of western capital? More ridiculous crap from you. The guy is a thorn in the side of the EU, is corrupt beyond measure, and represses his people. His country is a geopolitical battleground because of his craven political opportunism and avarice. Trump is going to financially bail out Orban but you think he is the target of “western capital” and an “official enemy”. You might as well just come right out and say that you like him because he pro-Russian and against the EU. It would at least be honest.
My comment clearly distnguishes between state actors who deploy pro-LGBT propaganda and LGBT activists. You're mistaken to respond as if I am talking about the whole campaign for LGBT rights.
Hundreds have been arrested at peaceful pro-Palestine protests in the UK. Climate protesters too. Some climate protesters have been banned by judges from explaining the reasons for their protest in court.
We are two sentences in to your response and I have had to wade through misrepresentation, or woeful misunderstanding, and blatant ignorance. Must I press on?
You are just repeating russian or hungarian, or Iranian, or Chinese state actor's propaganda, by pretending there is LGBT "state propaganda".
How fragile must be your masculinity that you have to repress other peoples gender preferences?
To me it always looks like those people who are pushing so much, are those who are afraid they might be discovered.
How many times have we seen preachers or politicians being a loud voice against gender affirmation and who end up on Grindr? Same goes for those loud anti-pedo politicians who end up in jail for possession of cp.
So weak.
Hungary demonstrates perfectly what actually happens when a nation has no immigrants to complain about - the conservatives and the far right just find another scapegoat to blame for all the problems.