SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Today in Budapest, thousands of people are defying a national ban to participate in the city's annual Pride march. The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned marchers of legal consequences, but the city, which is sponsoring the event, insists that it's legal. Dozens of members of the European Parliament have traveled to Budapest to show solidarity with the marchers. NPR's Central European correspondent Rob Schmitz joins us. Rob, thanks so much for being with us.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Thanks for having me, Scott.
SIMON: The Budapest Pride March, I gather, has been an annual event for three decades. Why did the government ban it now?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been cracking down on civil rights in Hungary for years, and banning this event is its latest example. Orban is a right-wing nationalist, and he considers those in the LGBTQ+ community as threats to society and threats to children. And he was able to get the votes in Parliament back in March to ban this event by labeling it that way. I happened to be in Budapest on a reporting trip when Parliament had voted on this, and I interviewed Pride march spokesperson Johanna Majercsik at a cafe. She said the ban on the march has bigger implications for Hungary.
JOHANNA MAJERCSIK: So if the government succeeds in banning such a peaceful protest, that means that in the future, they will be able to ban or restrict any other peaceful event, any other peaceful demonstration organized by another social group.
SIMON: Help us understand the context here. Why is Viktor Orban so interested in banning protests?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, this is what she's sort of getting at here is that this ban is not just about a Pride march, it's about banning any public assembly that the government deems a threat, including political protests. There's an important national election next spring, and Viktor Orban is not doing so well in the polls right now. Opposition to his rule is gaining momentum. So if he bans public assemblies using this rather vague edict, then it's a useful tool for him to curb opposition to his power. This is a leader who has spent years consolidating power, changing the Constitution to do that, and his step-by-step process of doing so has been studied by aspiring autocrats throughout the world.
SIMON: The police, I gather, consider today's Pride march a banned event, but the mayor of Budapest says, no, it's not. That sounds like a face-off.
SCHMITZ: Yes, I think that there's a lot of concern that there might be. I mean, police have threatened to fine anyone who attends this event. They have cameras with facial recognition software to help them do just that, and there's concern that if police start arresting people, what is usually a peaceful event could turn violent. The leadership of the European Union are particularly concerned about this because, as an EU member, Hungary is supposed to ensure equal rights for everyone. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen posted her support on social media.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: I want to express my full support and solidarity to the Budapest Pride and to the LGBTIQ+ community. In Europe, marching for your rights is a fundamental freedom. You have the right to love who you want to love and be exactly who you are. Our union is one of equality and nondiscrimination. These are core values enshrined in our treaties. They must be respected at all times in all member states.
SIMON: And of course, Rob, Hungary is one of those member states. If Hungary cracks down on this protest, is its membership in the EU at stake?
SCHMITZ: Yes, it is. And it's important to point out here that Viktor Orban and his government have violated European Union laws and principles over and over in the past 15 years of his rule. The European Union has responded by freezing funding to Hungary and has attempted to strip it of its voting rights inside the European Union. But often when this happens, other EU member states like Slovakia or, in the past, Poland, states that have had authoritarian-style governments like Orban's have prevented extreme actions against Orban's government.
SIMON: NPR's Central Europe correspondent Rob Schmitz. Rob, thanks so much.
SCHMITZ: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF GOGO PENGUIN'S "SATURNINE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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