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Anti-immigrant billboard war in Hungary
Mariana Andrei - Communication coordinator
17 June 2015
The recent billboards posted by the Government in Hungary, with messages warning refugees not to steal locals' jobs, raised the concern of international public opinion.
Moreover the Government ordered a survey among population about "immigration and terrorism", which includes tendentious questions such as, “Do you agree with the Hungarian government that instead of migrants, we should support families and their future babies?”
The Government spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, explained: “We are simply curious about what people think about this political question,” “because (...) immigration is a political issue, both on a Hungarian and European level.”
The Government's statements and actions caused the indignation of human rights activists. Gergő Kovács, leader of the Two-Tailed Dog Party, said: “It made us very angry that the government spends our money on a campaign to tell us who to hate,” "We would like to show that many people think differently from the government.” He launched the idea of a retaliation against the government campaign by posting billboards in English with pro-immigration messages.
It is known that the Hungarian Prime Minister's statements, who has recently stated that "migration is a threat to European civilisation” and launched debates on whether to bring back the death penalty to Hungary, have raised the concern of the Members of the European Parliament; they have passed a non-binding resolution saying Hungary should be monitored for abuse of human rights and the rule of law.
In 2014 Hungary received about 43,000 asylum requests, with the highest number of asylum seekers after Sweden. The increasing numbers of asylum seekers have fuelled the anti-immigration discourse in several Central European countries.
Source: http://www.euronews.com/2015/06/10/hungary-billboard-war-sparks-international-concern/
Moreover the Government ordered a survey among population about "immigration and terrorism", which includes tendentious questions such as, “Do you agree with the Hungarian government that instead of migrants, we should support families and their future babies?”
The Government spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, explained: “We are simply curious about what people think about this political question,” “because (...) immigration is a political issue, both on a Hungarian and European level.”
The Government's statements and actions caused the indignation of human rights activists. Gergő Kovács, leader of the Two-Tailed Dog Party, said: “It made us very angry that the government spends our money on a campaign to tell us who to hate,” "We would like to show that many people think differently from the government.” He launched the idea of a retaliation against the government campaign by posting billboards in English with pro-immigration messages.
It is known that the Hungarian Prime Minister's statements, who has recently stated that "migration is a threat to European civilisation” and launched debates on whether to bring back the death penalty to Hungary, have raised the concern of the Members of the European Parliament; they have passed a non-binding resolution saying Hungary should be monitored for abuse of human rights and the rule of law.
In 2014 Hungary received about 43,000 asylum requests, with the highest number of asylum seekers after Sweden. The increasing numbers of asylum seekers have fuelled the anti-immigration discourse in several Central European countries.
Source: http://www.euronews.com/2015/06/10/hungary-billboard-war-sparks-international-concern/
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