Several thousand Hungarians marched this Saturday in Budapest to defend the rights of LGBT+ people, a year after the entry into force of a law considered discriminatory. Giant hearts, flags and umbrellas in the colors of the rainbow, the event was held legally along the Danube in scorching heat.
The participants, including foreign diplomats, condemned the text adopted in the summer of 2021 that prohibits “the representation or promotion” of homosexuality and the change of sex between minors.
“It’s a tool to divide people and turn them against each other,” according to Armin, who declined to give his last name. “To be honest, the situation is depressing,” said Pal Vas, an 18-year-old student who will leave Hungary in September to study.
“We are a retrograde society”
“I am lucky to have an open family and friends, but I know so many LGBT+ people who are forced to hide,” says the young man, who recounts having recently been insulted on the street. “Just because he was wearing a pink shirt.”
Annamaria Nemet, a 54-year-old vendor, came in solidarity with her son. “I cannot accept the fact that he is considered a second-class citizen in his own country,” she said. “We are a retrograde society.”
On a bridge in the city, counter-protesters had unfurled a banner that confused homosexuality and pedophilia, as the law.
“Leave our children alone”
The Hungarian law, originally intended to combat pedocrime, sparked protests in Europe last year: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of “shame”. In the process, the European executive had launched infringement proceedings against Hungary, before reaching the EU Court of Justice in mid-July.
The nationalist and ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is being targeted by Brussels for its attacks on the rule of law, assures that the law is not homophobic and aims to “protect the rights of children”.
This Saturday, during a speech in Romania, he reaffirmed the government’s position: “The father is a man, the mother is a woman, leave our children alone,” he insisted, rejecting “Western nonsense” on the subject.
Source: BFM TV
