Roma groups protest Hungarian Guard march

Roma groups and about 300 Magyar Gárda members staged rival marches in Tatárszentgyörgy, Pest county on Sunday, the former engaging in a solidarity march in the morning in protest against the far-right group's afternoon demonstration against "Gypsy crime." The theft of a pig was instrumental in prompting Gárda members to march through the village, Népszabadság writes. There was a heavy police presence to prevent any trouble.

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány firmly condemned the march by Magyar Gárda members, saying there must be no place for hate-mongering in Hungary.

Village mayor Mrs I. Berente revoked the permit she had issued last week, claiming that Magyar Gárda had misled the local authority as it wanted a permit for a demonstration against Roma crime and Roma society rather than for "cultural preservation" as originally stated.

Far right party Jobbik, which founded Magyar Gárda, called for a policy of segregation. Party deputy chairman Tibor József Bíber repeated several times "No More Olaszliszka" a reference to the lynching by Roma residents of a primary school teacher on October 15, 2006. Bíber also demanded the restoration of the death penalty and urged the media to state in all cases if a crime is committed by a Roma.

He called for scrapping affirmative action for Roma, payment of aid only after completion of public works, and for action against all government measures aimed at a forceful integration of Roma.

Aladár Horváth, head of the Roma Civil Rights Foundation, said his side disagrees with the "extremist" stance which places the right of speech and assembly ahead of social peace and human dignity. He was referring to President László Sólyom's decision to send the hate speech bill passed by Parliament to the Constitutional Court for a preliminary review, saying it might restrict freedom of speech too much.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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