• U.S.-Hungarian diplomatic conflict: Sanctions Target 10 Officials
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[url]http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/press-release/us-sanctions-target-corrupt-hungarian-officials[/url] [QUOTE]“Orban can’t have it both ways; he can’t erode democratic norms, restrict media freedom, crack down on NGOs, and declare ‘illiberal democracy,’ yet remain a member in good standing of liberal democratic alliances like the E.U., NATO and the Community of Democracies,” said Human Rights First’s Sonni Efron. “The White House has been sending stronger and stronger signals that Hungary’s violations of democratic norms, rule of law, and universal human rights are unacceptable.” Human Rights First’s recent report, “[B]We're not Nazis, but...The Rise of Hate Parties in Hungary and Greece and Why America Should Care[/B],” details how the Hungarian government’s actions over the past four years that have violated religious freedoms, curtailed judicial independence and media freedom, and failed to combat a rising tide of violent antisemitism. Among the report’s recommendations are the following steps the U.S. government should take to curtail Hungary’s slide towards authoritarianism: Urge fellow members of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies to vote at its next meeting in December to replace Hungary with a member state more committed to liberal democracy. Urge its European Union allies [B]to consider Article 7 proceedings to strip Hungary of its E.U. voting rights.[/B] Make clear that Hungary’s professed zero-tolerance policy against antisemitism is meaningless unless enforced by a) disciplining officials who make antisemitic or anti-Roma statements, b) ending historical revisionism that downplays Hungarians’ role in the Holocaust, and c) revising its textbooks and curriculum to reflect this. [B]Urge Hungary to step up protection of minority rights, particularly the rights of Roma, after a local election campaign that played on anti-Roma sentiment in many districts.[/B] Urge Hungary to end the crackdown on civil society and[B] stop demonizing Hungarian NGOs that accept foreign funds as “foreign agents.[/B]”[/QUOTE] The national security comission in Hungary is apparently debating this today. I thought I was having a bad dream last night because I did dream a ton of shit that felt like days of action, but actually it seems that I really did see this news story pop up yesterday night before going to sleep. Now I google it and bam, it's true. Wow... [editline]20th October 2014[/editline] [QUOTE] Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First today welcomed reports that the United States has imposed visa bans on[B] ten members of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s inner circle[/B], preventing them from entering the United States, [B]in a rare move against a NATO country[/B]. The rebuke, coming just before Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto arrives in Washington next week, is a strong signal of [B]U.S. anger over Hungary’s slide toward authoritarianism, its alleged corrupt practices, and its ambivalence with respect to of U.S. and E.U. policies to sanction Russia for its behavior in Ukraine.[/B][/QUOTE]
As a half Hungarian I will be the first to say that Hungary is fucked up in many ways. Anti-semites gain in power every day.
[QUOTE=person11;46283541]As a half Hungarian I will be the first to say that Hungary is fucked up in many ways. Anti-semites gain in power every day.[/QUOTE] Saudi Arabia is 1000s of times worse and the US don't cut ties with them. This is political, probably because Hungary is (and has no real choice in the matter) friends with Russia. Another day another hypocrisy. It's not about liberty, morality or freedom, it's about power, influence and money.
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;46283608] It's not about liberty, morality or freedom, it's about power, influence and money.[/QUOTE] As it always was and as it always will be. Maybe it's because i just woke up but i readed this with Kevin Spacey's voice in my head. Anyhow, what bothers me is why would US under any circumstances try to "punish" Hungary with something noticible like this - cause i don't see Hungary suddenly turning around, this will only encourage more ties with Russia.
hungarian here, we are too busy building football stadiums in small ass villages to care, where Orban goes sometimes (sadly).
Dunno why they haven't been smacked earlier, they're in violation of the ECHR which they signed. US doesn't need to do anything (and probably can't without making it worse), just let the EU handle it since afaik the ECHR is a requirement for EU membership.
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;46283608]Saudi Arabia is 1000s of times worse and the US don't cut ties with them. This is political, probably because Hungary is (and has no real choice in the matter) friends with Russia. Another day another hypocrisy. It's not about liberty, morality or freedom, it's about power, influence and money.[/QUOTE] You are right. I was less approving the diplomatic punishment and more worrying about my father's country. Orban is not even the worst, the Jobbik party is ready to ruin everything even more.
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;46283608]It's not about liberty, morality or freedom, it's about power, influence and money.[/QUOTE] I don't see why the U.S. would care about antisemitism or Roma hate if this was just about Russian influence.
[QUOTE=Explosions;46285532]I don't see why the U.S. would care about antisemitism or Roma hate if this was just about Russian influence.[/QUOTE] Well, we wouldn't explicitly say it was about Russian influence.
Okay real talk, since it's midnight and I'm bored. Hungary is kinda fucked up now. This guy got re-elected because they revamped the election system, so they would need less votes. (IIRC, they got more votes in 2006 and they still lost) The general public is split into three. People who are blind supporters of the current government, most of the mainstream media is Pro-Government and they run articles about how the west is shit, all banks are evil, the EU is literally worse than hitler, etc. Then there are Anti-Government folks who say shit's fucked up, but they're too far up their own ass. They're right though, schools are in deep shit, higher education almost got axed, hospitals are in terrible shape, You can only sell tobacco if you get a permit from the government, so it's corrupted as fuck, same with most of the media, they censor shit like crazy, or they don't even report stuff, also, since Orban is a big football fan, they keep pooling money into the damn thing, but we still suck shit at it, it's like North Korea and Basketball. Then there's people who don't give a fuck, since those two are just the same, one side is lining their pockets and the other is complaining, because it's not them that's doing the dirty. People don't go to vote because they feel like there is no point, since it's between these two big parties, and they all want to fuck people over and just pocket as much money as possible. We just had elections for Mayors, and city representatives, and only like 44% went to vote. More and more people are jumping ship to escape west, those who stay keep parroting the same shit, about how the west is dying, we are doing very well, russia is a great country, etc. Meanwhile, nationalism is on the rise, and we get dumb ass oligarchs making incredibly idiotic claims, like this one guy claimed that they are currently working on Energy Cells, that could provide INFINITE ENERGY BY TURNING THE GRAVITY OFF. I shit you not. On the upside, if you are from the west, and want to have a cheap vacation, come here, your minimum wage is like 10x better than ours.
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