Foreign minister Maxime Prévot has announced that he “fully supports” Saturday’s Pride parade in the Hungarian capital Budapest. The Pride parade, which has been banned by right-wing populist prime minister Viktor Orbán, “must be able to proceed unhindered and without fear,” Prévot said. Nevertheless, he advises participants to be vigilant, in line with the revised travel advice issued by the FPS Foreign Affairs.
In March, Orbán had the Hungarian parliament pass a law banning gatherings that “promote homosexuality and gender change among minors”. Saturday’s Pride parade also falls into that category. Participants risk fines of up to 500 euros, organisers a prison sentence. Nevertheless, the organisation expects 35,000 participants, which would make the Pride the largest since the parades began in the 1990s.
Many Belgians are also likely to travel to Budapest. Several Belgian MPs have already confirmed their attendance. Foreign minister Maxime Prévot stated that he supports the participants.
“Love, freedom and identity are not privileges, they are fundamental rights,” he said. “No one in Europe should be forced to choose between their safety and their pride. Hungary has a duty to protect these basic values, not undermine them. Belgium stands firmly behind everyone who stands up for equality, diversity and human dignity.”
However, Prévot also calls on participants to be vigilant, as does the Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs in a new travel advisory. Foreign Affairs points out that Hungarian law allows the use of facial recognition to identify participants and recommends, for example, staying away from counter-demonstrations.
