Hungarians rally in mass protest against bill allowing blacklisting of Orbán critics

BUDAPEST Hungary AP A mass protest in Hungary on Sunday drew around people in what chosen demonstrators called an act of resistance against latest actions by the right-wing populist leadership to restrict basic rights and crack down on independent media The protest the latest in a latest wave of anti-government demonstrations came days after a lawmaker from the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orb n submitted a bill that would allow the executive to monitor restrict penalize and potentially ban media outlets and non-governmental organizations it deems a threat to the country s sovereignty The bill which has been compared to Russia s foreign agent law is expected to pass in the parliament where the ruling Fidesz party holds a two-thirds majority It is seen by plenty of of Orb n s opponents as among the the majority repressive policies the long-serving leader has leveled at his critics in the last years of his rule Protesters on Sunday filled the square beside Hungary s parliament in central Budapest to denounce the bill which would allow the leadership to blacklist organizations that receive any amount of financial help from outside Hungary and subject them to intrusive monitoring searches major fines and doable bans on their pursuits Politicians in Orb n s party as well as the Sovereignty Protection Office a controversial executive body tasked with identifying alleged threats to Hungary s sovereignty have specifically identified numerous media outlets and anti-corruption organizations that they claim are serving foreign interests From a stage at the protest on Sunday speaker Jakab T th revealed the bill submitted this week is nothing more than a threat a threat against people being able to express their opinions clearly and freely T th added he believes the regime has a responsibility to protect the sovereignty of citizens to exercise free speech and take part in masses life If it doesn t belong to all of us if not all of us are free then sovereignty is solely and exclusively the sovereignty of the regime he disclosed Orb n who polls show faces the largest part serious challenge yet to his power in elections scheduled for next year has claimed that foreign interests primarily originating in the United States and in neighboring Ukraine have sought to instrumentalize independent media outlets and anti-corruption watchdogs in Hungary to influence community opinion with the aim of toppling his ruling body Those organizations have vehemently denied such insists and argued that the work they perform is done to professional standards and in the citizens interest Orb n has for years enacted crackdowns on NGOs and independent media passing laws that critics say seek to stigmatize and obstruct groups that provide protection for women and minorities offer legal and human rights assistance and expose official corruption Those efforts ramped up in when Orb n s right-wing populist establishment launched the Sovereignty Protection Office an authority tasked with analyzing organizations and media outlets it deems to be exerting foreign influence The bill introduced last week outlines a broad definition of what constitutes a threat to sovereignty Organizations may be targeted if they oppose or portray in a negative light values such as Hungary s democratic character national unity traditional family structures or Christian tradition suggesting that even legitimate criticism of administration program could be treated as a national prevention threat Sunday s demonstration came after two-and-a-half months of weekly protests against an anti-LGBTQ law passed in March that banned Pride events and allows bureaucrats to use facial recognition system to identify individuals attending the festivities Hungary s ruling body has argued its policies on LGBTQ rights are necessary to protect children from it calls gender madness But multiple critics believe the measures were designed to stir up animosity against sexual minorities and help Orb n mobilize his right-wing base ahead of next year s elections Source