In Miskolc, Hungary, as I write this, a Fascist demonstration intended to intimidate the local Roma minority is taking place. The poster for the rally is reproduced above.
Our Minister of Anti-Roma Affairs, Jason Kenney, happened to be in Miskolc just a few days ago. He was there to tell local Roma that “none is too many,” as far as Canada—that is, Jason Kenney—is concerned. He sat in front of a poster incongruously stating that Canadian citizenship was not for sale. Apparently he was not well-received.
Kenney didn’t stick around for today’s rally and march by Jobbik, which holds a sixth of the seats in Hungary’s parliament.
Gina Csanyi-Robah, from Toronto’s Roma Community Centre, provided a copy of the poster, and a translation:
Pay attention to the bottom right corner of the poster—the reference to “torches” (no pitchforks this time) and “protection” to be provided by the “Hungarian Guard.”
The Hungarian Guard is a paramilitary Fascist organization. It’s been illegal, too, since 2009. But things work differently in Hungary. Over to the excellent blogger Contrarian Hungarian:
The party militia in question is banned, illegal, participation in it is criminal; yet its celebration was secured by the police and officially authorized by the courts. Only upon appeal, one must add: citing that the Hungarian courts summarily banned the Hungarian Guard in a decision dating back to 2009, the police at first rejected the far-right’s protest permit application. In their appeal, the organizers of the event argued that their guard was a guard completely different from the one officially banned. To be even more precise, the event was sponsored not by the banned Hungarian Guard but by the New Hungarian Guard. Though the organizers were still quite open about their intention to celebrate five years in existence - of the old guard, obviously - the court bought their argument.
Read the whole post, by the way—it’s eye-opening.
Applications for refugee status continue to be turned down in Canada, no matter what the evidence. Hey, it’s a democratic country, isn’t it? Member of the EU and all?
This is what living there is like for the Roma. Sound democratic?
Meanwhile, playing soft cop to Ezra Levant’s hard cop, the National Post’s Chris Selley slyly reinforces the anti-Roma message. He talks of “an absurd 1,389 claimants from Hungary” during the first six months of this year, throws in a stereotype or two, wrings his hands about a possible criminal complaint against Levant, and slavishly refers to “Mr. Kenney’s calm, fearless efforts in Hungary.”
“Absurd?” Tell that to the terrified folks under attack today in Miskolc.
