LARGEST NEO-NAZI GATHERING IN
EUROPE SINCE WWII
Hero's Square - Budapest,
Hungary
On
August 25, 2012, the Hungarian Guards, paramilitary arm of the Jobbik political
party, celebrated their five year anniversary with a march through downtown
Budapest, and a rally at the infamous Hero's Square. Jobbik, an
extreme right wing ultra nationalist political party, which openly expresses
hatred and promotes violence toward the Roma and Jewish minorities in Hungary,
is currently the second largest political party operating in Hungary.
Many
of the small cities, towns, and villages in Hungary, especially where there is a
significant concentration of Roma living, now have mayors and city councillors
that are members of the Jobbik party. In 2009, when the Hungarian government
made a move to ban the Hungarian Guards, Jobbik political party leader, Mr.
Gabor Vona, taunted Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the ruling Fidez party by
wearing the banned Hungarian Guards uniform to the Hungarian National Assembly
the very next day. He was applauded by the 47 Jobbik (21%) Members of
Parliament.
This
past Saturday, thousands of uniformed Hungarian Guards carrying the Arrow Cross
flag of the WWII Hungarian Nazis marched up Andrassy Utca, the street famous for
its international embassies, toward the landmark Hero’s Square in central
Budapest. Roma Community Centre’s executive director, Gina Csanyi-Robah, said,
“this was comparable to 10,000 Klu Klux Klan members carrying the Confederation
Flag up University Avenue in downtown Toronto to a mass gathering at Queen’s
Park. How could you be an African Canadian and not feel that your personal
safety was being threatened, especially when the country does nothing to
intervene? Thankfully, in Canada, this would be considered enticing hate and
dealt with as overt hate crime rather than an expression of freedom of speech or
freedom to assembly.”
“Quite interestingly, in Hungary the human rights of groups that
promote hatred are protected more than the victims of hatred, said Csanyi-Robah.
She went on to say that she was astonished that “the largest gathering of
neo-Nazi’s since World War II took place in Budapest, Hungary and it was not
addressed at all by the Canadian government who are staunch supporters of the
Canadian Jewish Community.” In fact, on November 4, 2012, at the Royal York
Hotel in Toronto, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will be conferred with an
Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy Degree by Haifa University in Israel for his
tremendous work in Holocaust commemorations and education
initiatives.
So,
why then is the Canadian government remaining boldly silent about a group of
10,000 neo-Nazi’s who call themselves the Hungarian Guards, whom happen to be
the paramilitary arm of the Jobbik political party? Are Hungarian Jews not as
important to advocate for as Israeli Jews? According to Csanyi-Robah, she is
certain that the government’s three years of silence is a “censorship of the
truth so that Canadians will continue believing that Hungary is a safe and
democratic European country for the Roma minority”.
Unfortunately, for the four years that Romani refugees have sought
asylum in Canada, there has yet to be an accurate glimpse into the reality of
what is taking place in Hungary, Czech Republic, or Slovakia. As a result, “many
Canadians have been led to falsely believe that a visit to the dentist or
doctor, or a $550.00 welfare cheque is more important than raising your child in
safety without the constant sense of shame, endemic racism and discrimination,
and the ominous threat of violence with no one to turn to for help in countries
where the state has oppressed them for centuries, or participated in their
annihilation” said Csanyi-Robah.
Perhaps, one day Prime Minister Stephan Harper and Minister Jason
Kenney will remember to include the estimated 1,500,000 Roma who were murdered
during the Holocaust in their commemoration speeches. As for today, you can rest
assured that the Hungarian government is breathing a hugh sigh of relief that
the Canadian government continues to ignore the growing threat that they are
unable to control in their country. Will the Canadian media pay
attention?
For more information, please
contact Gina Csanyi-Robah, at (416)
561-0770 or gina@romatoronto.org.
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