NGOs urge Tisza Party to stop using Fidesz's language on migration

Amnesty International Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee have both spoken up about the fact that, in recent days, “anti-migrant rhetoric” has once again begun dominating debates in the Hungarian Parliament.

While Parliament was still in session on Monday, Amnesty posted that “this is not what a humane Hungary sounds like,” and pointed out that in their view, "a functioning and humane Hungary is a place where the government is able and willing to discuss complex social issues, and is able and willing to change the exclusionary rhetoric used by the previous political leadership."

According to the organization, while it is politically understandable that the Tisza Party wants to demonstrate that the previous government lied, “this can be done by speaking about people in difficult situations with respect, while upholding their rights and human dignity.”

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee made a similar point on Tuesday. According to the human rights organization, “the subject of refugees is not about political slogans, but about practical problems and human destinies, to which a functioning and humane state must provide genuine responses which are based on the rule-of-law.”

“An important indicator of moving away from the destructive legacy of the Orbán regime could be whether fearmongering and misinformation are replaced by fact-based, responsible decision-making and honest, calm dialogue with members of the public.”

According to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, “Hungary needs asylum legislation that simultaneously guarantees border control, the rule of law, and respect for the rights of those fleeing persecution.” The organization noted that to avoid having to bear the burden of a daily fine of one million euros, “in the current situation, instead of building new camps, we need well-thought-out, lawful, and humane solutions.”

“The past decade and a half of anti-European Union politics has effectively put an end to any kind of professional dialogue on issues related to refugees,” but the knowledge and experience accumulated by the Helsinki Committee is at the disposal of the Hungarian government, the organization wrote.

As early as September 2024, Péter Magyar had claimed that the Orbán government was secretly building a refugee camp near the Austrian border. At the time, Telex reported that something might indeed be underway in the buildings of the former model farm and school near the village of Vitnyéd, where construction was taking place under police supervision, but the government denied that a refugee camp was being built in Vitnyéd-Csermajor. According to Péter Magyar, this simply meant that the government had been forced to back down in the face of public and local protests.

Last Saturday, Péter Magyar held an extraordinary press conference, revealing the Orbán government’s secret plans for the Vitnyéd refugee camp, where they had planned to house 500 adults and children. Viktor Orbán responded by saying that there are no migrant camps in Hungary, nor are there any migrants, because the people decided in a referendum that this should not be allowed. According to Fidesz’s faction leader Gergely Gulyás, the Vitnyéd project was intended to deceive the EU; Orbán, however, preferred to use the term "tactical manoeuvre" rather than "deception." Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Gergely Gulyás explained the previous government’s plans regarding Vitnyéd by saying that they wanted to do everything possible to avoid the country having to pay a daily fine of one million euros.

In his pre-agenda address at Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Péter Magyar also spoke about a “migrant camp” having been previously planned for Vitnyéd, and, similarly to Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai, confirmed that Hungary will not implement the EU migration pact in its current form, adding that he agrees with Mi Hazánk leader László Toroczkai that the problem of migration should be handled outside the European Union.