Dear Major General Bucsek Gábor,
Several extreme right groups will have a protest on July 10 in front of the Keleti train station (Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1642895729330218/).
They have stated that their reason for holding their demonstration in front of Keleti train station is that this is where many migrants can be found. Incze Béla from HVIM stated that:
“The Keleti train station and its vicinity became a sort of center lately. Liberal organisations are distributing food, water and clothes there, mostly to those kind of migrants who are obviously not in need of such help.”
We urge the police to order that the protest will be held far away from the station. Refugees have no choice but to stay there. The system in Hungary forces them to take trains to reach the camps, so they have to travel through Keleti. We are very concerned that the aim of this protest is to intimidate them and those that are voluntarily providing them with food, water and a few good words. Betyársereg, which is one of the organisers of Friday’s demonstration, went to Szeged train station yesterday to do just that. They wanted to intimidate refugees and those who help them: http://hvg.hu/itthon/20150706_Kivonult_a_Betyarsereg_Szegedre. We are horrified that the amazing volunteers that are filling the gaps where the state is failing cannot even count on protection from those hate-protesters.
Several extreme right groups will have a protest on July 10 in front of the Keleti train station (Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1642895729330218/).
They have stated that their reason for holding their demonstration in front of Keleti train station is that this is where many migrants can be found. Incze Béla from HVIM stated that:
“The Keleti train station and its vicinity became a sort of center lately. Liberal organisations are distributing food, water and clothes there, mostly to those kind of migrants who are obviously not in need of such help.”
We urge the police to order that the protest will be held far away from the station. Refugees have no choice but to stay there. The system in Hungary forces them to take trains to reach the camps, so they have to travel through Keleti. We are very concerned that the aim of this protest is to intimidate them and those that are voluntarily providing them with food, water and a few good words. Betyársereg, which is one of the organisers of Friday’s demonstration, went to Szeged train station yesterday to do just that. They wanted to intimidate refugees and those who help them: http://hvg.hu/itthon/20150706_Kivonult_a_Betyarsereg_Szegedre. We are horrified that the amazing volunteers that are filling the gaps where the state is failing cannot even count on protection from those hate-protesters.
According to the law on the freedom of assembly, protests have to have a peaceful aim, and they cannot limit the rights and freedoms of other people. If a demonstration does not fulfill these requirements it does not fall within the framework of the law, and is therefore not legal.
If the police allow the extreme right to hold their protest in front of the station that refugees have to travel through, this will significantly impact their freedom of movement and therewith infringes on their rights. Moreover, a demonstration aimed at intimidation cannot be considered peaceful.
A more practical reason why we think the protest should be held far away from the station is that newly arrived refugees do not speak Hungarian. We have previously observed situations in which they approach protests against them because they do not understand the speeches or chanting and think it is supportive. This increases the risk of conflict dramatically and we are deeply concerned about the refugees’ physical safety.
Lastly, we urge the police to rethink the permission for the demonstration in light of recent developments. The fact that people posing as volunteers went to the station to hand out food poisoned with laxatives requires urgent attention. This also highlights that the situation is currently not under control, and that the refugees at Keleti are under constant threat.
For all of the above reasons we think that the organisers of this demonstration should not be allowed to express their opinion at the Keleti train station because this protest can easily be turned into a hate-demonstration. Therefore we urge the Police to order that they organise their demonstration far away from any place which refugees cannot avoid.
If the police allow the extreme right to hold their protest in front of the station that refugees have to travel through, this will significantly impact their freedom of movement and therewith infringes on their rights. Moreover, a demonstration aimed at intimidation cannot be considered peaceful.
A more practical reason why we think the protest should be held far away from the station is that newly arrived refugees do not speak Hungarian. We have previously observed situations in which they approach protests against them because they do not understand the speeches or chanting and think it is supportive. This increases the risk of conflict dramatically and we are deeply concerned about the refugees’ physical safety.
Lastly, we urge the police to rethink the permission for the demonstration in light of recent developments. The fact that people posing as volunteers went to the station to hand out food poisoned with laxatives requires urgent attention. This also highlights that the situation is currently not under control, and that the refugees at Keleti are under constant threat.
For all of the above reasons we think that the organisers of this demonstration should not be allowed to express their opinion at the Keleti train station because this protest can easily be turned into a hate-demonstration. Therefore we urge the Police to order that they organise their demonstration far away from any place which refugees cannot avoid.
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