Hungarian justice minister says no to the European empire
Hungarians “say no to the concept of European empire” and are “insistent on keeping their freedom won through the sacrifice of blood”, Justice Minister Judit Varga said at a commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight in Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfantu Gheorghe), Romania, on Wednesday.
Varga said the interests of Hungarians living inside the country and outside of its borders “come first”. She warned that a “hegemony of opinion” is taking shape in Europe and said the European Union is “uniting on the matter of self-censorship, not diversity”.
She added that Brussels’ response to the war in Ukraine has “failed”. Hungarians today, as their predecessors in 1848, want peace, freedom and understanding, she said.
Lord mayor: ‘Budapest is and will remain a republic’
“Budapest is and will remain a republic,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said at the Freedom March, organised in the capital on the 15 March national holiday marking the 175th anniversary of the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight on Wednesday.
In a speech, Karácsony said the republic has been “removed from the name of our country and removed from the operation of the state, too”. He added that the republic “remains in free municipal councils, in the work of civil organisations, in the movements of teachers and students, in the Chamber of Physicians, in the struggles of defenders of the city and defenders of the law”.
Pointing to local elections in 2024, he urged “free cities” to be protected and pressed for their numbers to grow. He warned against allowing Hungary to become “a pariah” in Europe. He said the “tragedy of 1848” originated in part from the truth that Europe’s peoples can only be free together.
“Whoever is wearing a cockade”, he said, referring to ribbon rosette of the national colours adopted by the 1848 revolutionaries, “must also declare freedom and peace for Ukraine, Hungary and all peoples”.
Source: MTI