Prime Minister Orban asks Hungarians to 'resist' Brussels like USSR
Published: 04:10 PM,Oct 23,2024 | EDITED : 07:10 PM,Oct 23,2024
Hungary's PM Viktor Orban delivers a speech, in the Millenaris culture center of Budapest. — AFP
BUDAPEST: Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday urged Hungarians to 'resist' Brussels like they did Moscow almost 70 years ago, as he marked the central European country's 1956 anti-Soviet uprising. The nationalist premier -- Moscow's closest EU ally whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency -- has been stoking fears of a war between the West and Russia, which he blames on the European Union and Nato.
At home, Orban, who has ruled Hungary since 2010, is under rising pressure, facing an unprecedented challenge from former-government-insider-turned opposition leader Peter Magyar. 'Do we bow to the will of a foreign power, this time from Brussels, or do we resist it? ... I propose that our response should be as clear and unequivocal as it was in 1956,' Orban told thousands of people in Budapest. 'For us, the lesson of 1956 is that we must fight for only one thing, for Hungary and for Hungarian freedom,' he added.
The 1956 anti-Soviet uprising left about 3,000 people dead and 20,000 wounded between October 23 and November 4 and became a symbol of Hungary's fight against repression.
Since Russia's war of Ukraine in 2022, Orban has refused to send weapons to Kyiv and urges a speedy ceasefire without any preconditions. He warned that under a Kyiv-proposed 'victory plan', 'we Hungarians would wake up one morning to find Slavic soldiers from the East stationed on Hungarian territory again'.
In his speech, Orban also accused Brussels of wanting to impose a 'puppet government' under his rival, Magyar, in Hungary. 'We know that they want to force us into war. We know they want to force their migrants on us. We know they want to hand our children over to gender activists,' he added.
In June, the European Court of Justice fined Hungary for failing to uphold international procedures for asylum seekers. Hungary has so far refused to pay the fine. Orban attended a ceremony marking the 1956 uprising in a Budapest park rather than outside the capital as he has the previous two years.
Magyar has seized on remarks by one of Orban's top advisers, Balazs Orban, which caused an outcry last month. The political director, who is not related to the premier, said Hungary would not have defended itself like Ukraine did against Russia, as it learned to be 'cautious' following the 1956 uprising, which Moscow crushed with overwhelming force. The aide later apologised, claiming his words were misinterpreted, but resisted calls to resign. The prime minister called the comments a mistake. — AFP
At home, Orban, who has ruled Hungary since 2010, is under rising pressure, facing an unprecedented challenge from former-government-insider-turned opposition leader Peter Magyar. 'Do we bow to the will of a foreign power, this time from Brussels, or do we resist it? ... I propose that our response should be as clear and unequivocal as it was in 1956,' Orban told thousands of people in Budapest. 'For us, the lesson of 1956 is that we must fight for only one thing, for Hungary and for Hungarian freedom,' he added.
The 1956 anti-Soviet uprising left about 3,000 people dead and 20,000 wounded between October 23 and November 4 and became a symbol of Hungary's fight against repression.
Since Russia's war of Ukraine in 2022, Orban has refused to send weapons to Kyiv and urges a speedy ceasefire without any preconditions. He warned that under a Kyiv-proposed 'victory plan', 'we Hungarians would wake up one morning to find Slavic soldiers from the East stationed on Hungarian territory again'.
In his speech, Orban also accused Brussels of wanting to impose a 'puppet government' under his rival, Magyar, in Hungary. 'We know that they want to force us into war. We know they want to force their migrants on us. We know they want to hand our children over to gender activists,' he added.
In June, the European Court of Justice fined Hungary for failing to uphold international procedures for asylum seekers. Hungary has so far refused to pay the fine. Orban attended a ceremony marking the 1956 uprising in a Budapest park rather than outside the capital as he has the previous two years.
Magyar has seized on remarks by one of Orban's top advisers, Balazs Orban, which caused an outcry last month. The political director, who is not related to the premier, said Hungary would not have defended itself like Ukraine did against Russia, as it learned to be 'cautious' following the 1956 uprising, which Moscow crushed with overwhelming force. The aide later apologised, claiming his words were misinterpreted, but resisted calls to resign. The prime minister called the comments a mistake. — AFP