Péter Magyar says Ukrainian flag displayed at Tisza event an act of provocation

Péter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza Party shared a time lapse video of the crowd’s movement at the Tisza Party' March 15 event on his Facebook page and at the same time reacted to the sudden appearance of a huge Ukrainian flag at Deák Square just as the party's procession was starting. According to the president of the Tisza Party

“Fidesz and their propaganda have once again resorted to pathetic lies and provocation, with a Ukrainian flag.”

As previously reported, witnesses who were present at Deák Square said that the flag was not unfurled by Tisza Party supporters, but by an organized group. An eyewitness who also filmed the group reported the following to Telex:

“About 8–9 people appeared out of nowhere and ran into the crowd, forming a well-organized circle, and then, under the direction of one of them, they unfurled a huge Ukrainian flag, about 4–5 meters long, in the middle of the crowd. At the same time, photographers appeared, documenting the unfurled flag both within the crowd and from the surrounding balconies.”

According to the eyewitness to the incident, when he asked them why they were doing this, members of the group threatened him. “After 1–2 minutes, by which point many people started to try to tear down the provocateurs’ flag and told them to get lost, at the sound of a whistle, they gathered up the Ukrainian flag and hurriedly ran out of the crowd,” he added.

As can be clearly seen in the footage, the participants involved in the act were visibly indignant and refused to be filmed, which is at the very least surprising at the start of a major parade held on a national holiday and attended by over a hundred thousand people in the heart of Budapest. “Why are you holding this flag? Can you tell me?” “No,” came the reply in a brief exchange, after which one of the young people finally said, “We stand in solidarity with Ukraine.”

The incident lasted only a few minutes, but according to a compilation by 444.hu, numerous pro-government media outlets (Origo, Hír TV, Ripost, and in opinion pieces on the websites of Magyar Nemzet, Bors, and Mandiner) reported on it very quickly, nothing that one could hardly expect anything else from a pro-Tisza event, and contrasted this with Fidesz’s parade adorned entirely in national colours.

Several Fidesz politicians also shared the story on their Facebook pages, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, State Secretary for Health Péter Takács, and MEP Kinga Gál.

The central message in the Fidesz campaign has been that Ukraine and Brussels want to drag Hungary into the war in Ukraine, and only Viktor Orbán can stop this from happening, while Péter Magyar is a puppet of Brussels paid by the Ukrainians, and he would send Hungarian men to die in the war.

The governing Fidesz and its challenger in the upcoming elections, the Tisza Party held separate commemorations in Budapest, in honour of one of Hungary's biggest national holidays on Sunday. Viktor Orbán gave a speech at Kossuth Square, while the leader of the biggest opposition party spoke to their supporters at Heroes’ Square.