Orban Slams Brussels for Violating Freedom of Speech by Canceling Conservative Conference
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BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday accused Brussels of violating freedom of speech after local authorities prevented a conference of right-wing European politicians from taking place in Belgium's capital.
Earlier on Tuesday, the mayor of Brussels' Saint-Josse-ten-Noode municipality, Emir Kir ordered the shutdown of the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) "to guarantee public security." Orban was scheduled to participate.
"The Belgian police decided to shut down the [National Conservatism] conference in #Brussels, just two hours after it started. I guess they couldn't take free speech any longer. The last time they wanted to silence me with the police was when the Communists set them on me in [1988]. We didn’t give up then and we will not give up this time either! #NoMigration #NoGender #NoWar," Orban said on X.
🇭🇺 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Brussels of violating freedom of speech after local authorities prevented a conference of right-wing European politicians from taking place in Belgium's capital.
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 16, 2024
"The Belgian police decided to shut down the [National… pic.twitter.com/p13VpttkTm
Later in the day, the political director of Orban’s office, Balazs Orban, called for changes in Europe, pointing to the lack of freedoms in the region.
"Brussels is not the capital of freedom anymore, but a tool for left-wing, progressive, liberal oppression, therefore changes are necessary. The elections to the European Parliament on June 9 can lead to such a shift. The national conservative forces are united by being fed up by Brussels' superstate, fed up with a failure policy of the Brussels leadership, which causes a collapse of Europe," Balazs Orban wrote on social media.
UK politician Nigel Farage, the founder of the Brexit Party, who was also attending NatCon, accused Brussels' Kir of being anti-democratic and "anti-free speech."
"What just happened in Brussels this afternoon was a disgrace. For the Mayor and police to shut down a peaceful political event makes me more convinced of Brexit than ever," Farage wrote on X.
25 October 2022, 04:23 GMT
Even Belgium's leader, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, slammed the situation as "unacceptable."
"Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop," De Croo added in an X post.
The NatCon organizers rented a conference hall in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode after being twice refused the use of event venues in other areas of Brussels. Following Kir’s orders, the police arrived on site and reportedly shut down the event in the middle of Farage’s speech.
About 40 people were due to participate in the conference, including ex-candidate for the French presidency Eric Zemmour, former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, ex-Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other right-wing politicians.
