Ritterband (2013) accounts a racist agitation of the publicist Zsolt Bayer against Rroma in Hungary. The publicist Zsolt Bayer defamed Rroma as «murdering animals» using his newspaper «Magyar Hirlap» as a circulation organ. Bayer is known to be a political companion and personal friend of prime minister Orban. The reigning Fidesz party distanced itself from the statements made by Bayer, but didn’t condemn them. Judiciary minister Tibor Navracsics criticized Bayers comments in a public television program, denouncing the statements as incompatible with the Hungary’s democratic principles. Orban himself didn’t take any public position. Zsolt Bayer is known to have made racist agitation before, also using the «Magyar Hirlap» to make anti-Semitic comments against Jews.

Odehnal (2013) complements the topic with a shocking detail: Not only did Bayer compare Rroma with animals and said that they had no place amongst other humans, but propagandized for their immediate extinction. Taking side with the Hungarian left-wing opposition parties, who filed criminal complaint against Bayer because of demagoguery against Rroma, the RCP condemns Bayer’s agitation deeply. Such a public call for the extinction of the Rroma should not be let unpunished. It deeply scares and astonishes, that such a misanthropic statement is aloud to be made public by the Hungarian media and laws. That the proponents of the article appeal to freemdom of the press can only be called absurd. It abandons any sense of ethics and respect towards people in general.

Pester Lloyd (2013/I) states that un-firm distancing of Fidesz from the racist statements shows that the party is trying to bind voters from the ultra right-wing Jobbik party. The article concludes resigned that a silent toleration of racism and open hatred has become a normality in Hungary.

In the most recent article Pester Lylod (2013/II) confirms that the Hungarian chief prosecutor has droped charges against Bayer, stating that there is no visible danger of people persecuting Rroma. Pester Llyod raises the legitimate question what reasons laws have, if they are not applied or only in a very restricted way.

Source:

• Odehnal, Bernhard (2013) Aufruf zum Massenmord. In: Tagesanzeiger vom 9.1.2013.
• Pester Lloyd (2013/I) Der Freund schweigt. Halbherzige Distanzierungen: das offizielle Ungarn und der Fall Bayer. In: Pester Llyod vom 9.1.2013.  http://www.pesterlloyd.net/html/1301orbanschweigt.html
• Pester Llyod (2013/II) Fall Bayer: Roma vertretter sagt Treffen ab, Staatsanwalt sieht keine Hetze. In: Pester Llyod vom 11.1.2013. http://www.pesterlloyd.net/html/1301bayerupdate.html
• Ritterband, Charles E. (2013) Hetze gegen Roma in Ungarn. In: Neue Zuercher Zeitung vom 10.01.2013. 

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