DAY OF HONOUR - BANNED!

Due to the alternative and infringing interpreation of the law by the police and the Curia(the Supreme Court of Hungary), this year we won’t be able to honour the heroes of the Breakout. They banned the commemoration event, that we wished to join. Our announcement about the case can be read below, which will be extended as part of a press conference on 12th of February.

It is important to know the background of the paragraph on which the prohibition is based, that the history of its origin dates back to 2017. After we hold a large-scale, dignified and successful commemoration, András Heisler, the president of MAZSIHISZ(The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities) personally visited Viktor Orbán. The Prime Minister assured Heisler, that he would find an opportunity to make The Day of Honour impossible to held. In 2018 they modified the Assembly Act. Among other things, the law was expanded with a “rubber pharagraph”, which has since been referred to as “Lex Day of Honour”. According to Chapter II, article 14, the “memory of the victims of the national socialist and communist regimes” is under protection of the law.

As a result of the voluntary work of our lawyers in recent years, the applicants of the event have successfully demonstrated in court, that the police bans were made in an unlawful manner, without any legality, thus the commemorations were held.

Unfortunately, this year the Curia upheld the police ban, and by upholding it, the decision became final.

This year, we cannot hold a public commemoration in honour of the heroes of the Breakout.

The reasoning for the ban and  the contradictions:

The prohibition decision of the police, which was made by Police Maj. Gen. dr. Terdik Tamás, who authenticated it with his signature,  was supported by a historical summary, which taken as a whole, evokes the approach of Bolshevik historiography, and there is no logical connection between its components, and it is burdened with  factual errors. This confusing reasoning was necessary to support the application of the prohibition in the Assembly Act. But what is described in it, still doesn’t fulfill the actions/circumstances which are prohibited in the law. The siege of Budapest and the Breakout from Budavár were bloody and heroic moments of World War II, that in no way are related to this law, which states that the event can be prohibited if: "the fact of inhuman crimes committed by the National Socialist or Communist regimes are denied, questioned, presented as being insignificant, or even attempted to be justified.” Thus, by applying the reasoning for the prohibition, the police and the court are claiming no less than the fact that the defense of Budapest and the Breakout falls into the category of “inhuman crimes”. Nothing proves it more that this ridiculous aspect is validated only against us, than the fact that there is no obstacle to the commemoration of the Ministry of Defense, which, in a schizophrenic manner, also wreaths at the Kapistran square memorial plaque and at the monument of “The Volunteer Regiment of Buda”. Thus, according to the “logic” of the police, these commemorations by the Ministry of Defense are simultaneously questioning the inhuman crimes committed by the National Socialist and Communist regimes, and yet, they can be kept unhindered for years. Double standards.

Although the police have not credibly proven that the announcement in question, which is about a commemoration of the fallen, is actually the Day of Honour event. The ban also states that the commemoration is accompanied by a heated public debate every year, as the event hurts the sensitivities of certain social/minority groups. Every moral and principled resolution/stance force others, in this case, the viewers, to choose a side. This is no different for the Day of Honour. However, the Assembly Act does not include the possibility of banning any event simply because it generates social debate.

If we are wrong, and a fine printed paragraph has escaped our attention somehow, then we are baffled by the fact that the anti-fascists rambling(that are insuling and offensive to the fallen heroes) against our event, are within the scope of the right for assembly. Not to even mention the gay parades held at Budapest and Pécs.

Furthermore, it is a point of reference for the authorities inferring from the past Day of Honour events, that there is a risk of such individuals and groups joining the event, whose past activities may be linked to the aspects listed in the ground for prohibition. In support of this, they also refer to the report of a “partner authority” (meaning: Secret Service), which confirmed their concerns. The report was not attached neither in complete nor in partial form, and it was also not clarified which partner authority released it. In this form, the decision is based on preconceptions which are waiting to be substantiated, which cannot be grounds for prohibition in the absence of proof. As for the fact that there were no violations of any law in the history of the Festung Budapest commemoration, we cooperated with the police during the preliminary negotiations and on the spot, often beyond the minimums defined by the law. It is inequitable that the police do not take that into account and ban the commemoration (for obvious political pressure) on the basis of fictions instead of the facts, and the court upholds it. Against whom this aspect could be applied are the group of anti-fascist counter-protesters. It is known that they were prosecuted two years ago for abuse of the right of assembly, as they left their designated location on several occasions in an organized manner. We have no knowledge of whether they were prosecuted for misuse of a pyrotechnic device, nor about the consequences of attacking the participants of the Breakout 60 memorial and endurance hike, in hordes.

For the first category, on 23th of October, 2020, several of our members were fined by the police, and if there were no such action against the anti-fascists, it supports again the application of double standard. The second case completely fulfills the criteria of law against armed violence committed in groups against a community. In relation to this, the antifa movement in Hungary is known to be associated with foreign groups that carry out violent actions on several continents.

The “authority partner” mentioned above has turned blind eye on this network or doesn’t even know about it.

In summary, we find the police ban and its endorsement by the Curia unacceptable and disgraceful. It is obvious to us that all of this happen under political pressure, as it would be uncomfortable for the regulating authorities to have a commemoration what is unpleasant for them at the same time as Viktor Orbán's year starting event, and during an election year.

 In itself, it is outrageous that Section 14 of the Assembly Act was created under the pressure of a small social group, as well as the fact that the authority applies it only to us in a discriminatory manner, while the events of the far left can be held unhindered. We are not the most committed proponents of democracy, but if we are forced to operate within this framework, we won’t leave it unasnwered that they narrow our options.

 Of course, we will continue to keep the Day of Honour in 2022 too, in another form that is not covered by the Assembly Act.

In connection with this, we will hold a press conference on February 12th in Buda Castle, at Kapistran Square. Only the press will be notified by the exact details of this.

Glory to the heroes of the Breakout!

 

organizers of Day of Honour