Spanish
Budapest, June 27 (EFE).- Budapest is preparing to celebrate tomorrow, Saturday, a Pride March amid controversy for having been banned by the ultranationalist authorities of Hungary and with the support of numerous European center-left politicians, including several Spanish ministers.
The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which has been restricting the rights of the LGBTI community since coming to power in 2010, approved a series of legal and constitutional reforms in March and April to be able to ban the 30th edition of the Pride March, alleging that it is a danger to the "proper development" of minors.
These rules provide for fines for participants in events of this type and plan to use facial recognition systems, according to the independent press.
While the march was never officially announced by the organizers, Budapest Pride, the Hungarian police issued a ban on the gathering two weeks ago.
The mayor of Budapest, the progressive Gergely Karácsony, proposed a Budapest Pride March as a municipal event as an alternative.
In this way, the mayor assures, prior authorization from the police is not required, so the issued prohibition would not be valid.
According to the Orbán government, this is an event that may be banned by the police and participation in it will have "legal consequences".
"If someone does not comply with the laws, they must face the legal consequences," Orbán said this Friday on public radio Kossuth.
Meanwhile, dozens of foreign politicians have announced their participation in the march, as a sign of support for Hungary's LGBT community.
About 70 MEPs are expected to join the march, while the organizers also reported the arrival of dozens of other politicians, such as the second vice president of the Spanish Government, Yolanda Díaz, the Spanish Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, both from the Sumar party.
In addition, the participation of the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, both from the PSOE, is expected.
On the other hand, some 70 NGOs from the Central European country have expressed their solidarity in a joint statement with the organizers of Budapest Pride, stating that they will participate in the March.
"We defend that all people have the same rights and freedoms. We defend Pride and all peaceful gatherings, and we reject the arbitrary restriction of the right to assembly," state the NGOs, including Amnesty International (AI), Helsinki Committee and Union for Fundamental Rights.
AI has delivered more than 124,000 signatures from around the world to the Hungarian police, asking that the March tomorrow not be obstructed.
The European Commission (EC) also expressed its support and the president herself, Ursula Von der Leyen, asked the Hungarian authorities to allow the March to take place.
Orbán, who has excluded the use of force by the police tomorrow, urged the EC not to "interfere in criminal matters of the Member States" and to focus on more important issues.
