Anti-fascists arrested as far right rallies
Published on Monday, 03 September 2012 11:25 Written by The Budapest Times
Several hundred participated on Saturday in a rally by the far-right paramilitary group calling itself the “Hungarian National Guard”. The event on Heroes’ Square marked the fifth anniversary of the founding of its precursor, the Hungarian Guard (Magyar Gárda). Jobbik leader and lawmaker Gábor Vona called for “zero tolerance” of “Gypsy crime” and likened Hungary’s largest ethnic minority to “parasites”.
The rally had been banned but a court ruling overturned the suppression, which the police had justified on the grounds that it would disrupt traffic. Around a hundred police were deployed to secure the event; four demonstrators were briefly detained, three of described by state news agency MTI as female, foreign nationals.
The Hungarian Guard was banned in 2009 after it was found to have infringed the human rights of Roma villagers during a show-of-strength parade, but several new far-right groups have appeared since. The government said it had no choice but to respect the court’s decision to allow the event. The opposition Socialists called the rally “a disgrace for all Hungary” and demanded legislation banning marches by any organisation that espouses racist ideology.
Credit: Budapest Times