Protesting Hungarians mock Orban's anti-LGBT moves, saying 'Let's all be the same'

By Krisztina Fenyo and Gergely Szakacs

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Several 1000 Hungarians mocked right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's moves to prohibition the yearly Pride march by LGBTQ+ groups, dressed successful grey and carrying banners ironically denouncing colours and diverseness astatine a rally successful cardinal Budapest.

The rally, called by the Two-tailed Dog Party, a satirical movement, follows respective different protests since Parliament, dominated by Orban's nationalist Fidesz party, passed a instrumentality past period to prohibition Pride connected the grounds that it could beryllium harmful to children. The Pride march was meant to instrumentality spot successful precocious June.

While Fidesz says it is defending household values, critics spot the determination to prohibition Pride arsenic portion of a wider crackdown connected antiauthoritarian freedoms up of a wide predetermination adjacent year. Orban volition look a beardown absorption challenger, seen by immoderate caller sentiment polls arsenic pulling ahead.

Protesters astatine Saturday's rally carried banners saying "being azygous is cool" and "listen to your heart, decease to colours".

"I would portion them (LGBT people) of their close to assembly, due to the fact that they are each criminals," said Samuel Tar, who joined the objection with his friends, each dressed successful grey.

"They would similar to explicit themselves, which is precise harmful. Only I should beryllium allowed to explicit myself, nary 1 else."

The Two-tailed Dog Party said with dense irony that it called the rally to enactment Orban's efforts to stamp retired diversity, saying this trumps each different issues successful Hungary, including precocious inflation, a deficiency of affordable lodging and the mediocre authorities of nationalist services.

"Every occupation successful the satellite stems from diverseness and individualism," it said.

The enactment started retired arsenic a fringe question astir 2 decades agone and changeable to prominence erstwhile its leader, Gergely Kovacs won a mayoral contention successful a Budapest territory past year, defeating Orban's Fidesz successful a erstwhile ruling enactment stronghold.

The enactment has nary lawmakers successful parliament and though it calls itself the lone sensible prime successful a profoundly polarised society, it is unclear if it tin physique capable enactment to get into parliament adjacent year.

(Reporting by Krisztina Fenyo; Writing by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Frances Kerry)