Thousands In Budapest Against Crackdown On Media And NGOs - Worthy Christian News

Thousands In Budapest Against Crackdown On Media And NGOs - Worthy Christian News

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Thousands of Hungarians rallied Sunday against new proposed legislation that they fear will lead to a Russian-style crackdown on independent media and other organizations. The protest of up to 20,000 people in front of the neo-Gothic parliament building in Budapest was the latest in a series of anti-government protests. “Let us stand together for the truth, …

Thousands protest in Hungary against Russia-style bill targeting media, NGOs

Around 10,000 people rallied in Hungary’s capital on May 18 to protest a controversial bill that critics say would limit free expression and mimic Russia’s restrictive "foreign agent" law, the Associated Press reported.The demonstration in Budapest, one of the largest in recent months, came after a member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party introduced legislation that would grant the government sweeping powers to investigate, pe…

On Tuesday night, János Halász submitted to parliament his bill entitled “On the Transparency of Public Life”, which would make it impossible for organizations that use foreign funding for their operations. A demonstration was organized on Kossuth Square against the law for Sunday evening. The demonstrators fear for the freedom of expression and believe that the authorities are resorting to such a tool because they are afraid.

At the beginning of the week, the ruling party tabled in Parliament a text on "the transparency of public life", which endangers NGOs and media accused of "threating the sovereignty of the country".

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has issued a statement expressing its concerns about the draft transparency law proposed by the Hungarian government. It says the law would severely restrict the functioning of civil society organisations and independent media and violate Hungary’s international obligations. The committee calls on the Hungarian parliament to suspend the debate on the draft law and to cooperate with the V…

Tens of thousands of people participated on 18 May in a demonstration in Budapest against a bill targeting NGOs and media accused of threatening the sovereignty of Hungary. Read more