Above photo: Ferenc Gyúrcsány, former Hungarian prime minister from NewsLanc.
BUDAPEST BEACON: “I accuse Viktor Orbán of orchestrating a premeditated attack on refugees. I accuse him of deliberately lying with the intent to manipulate so that violence would break out. I accuse him of preparing this for months so that he could prove that we are indeed being invaded by a wave of violent refugees!” – Ferenc Gyúrcsány, former Hungarian prime minister
At a press conference held this afternoon, former Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of “not only inciting violence, but organizing it.” The opposition politician stated that he could prove that Hungarian police provoked Wednesday’s clash with asylum seekers.
According to eyewitness accounts, it was the Hungarian police who attacked the refugees first, says Gyurcsány, and not the other way around as previously represented by the government of Hungary and Hungarian state media.
“Premeditated and brutal”
Ferenc Gyurcsány said the evidence in his possession proves Hungarian authorities instigated the violent clash between asylum seekers and police guarding the Röszke 2 border crossing.
Gyurcsány claims the evidence shows that Hungarian police opened the border gate of their own accord, thereby allowing the cheering group of refugees chanting “thank you” to pass through the gate into a narrow corridor. Once the asylum seekers reached the police cordon, “instead of opening a path, they started to brutally attack the peaceful crowd, driving them back” claims the former Prime Minister.
Gyurcsány says the evidence is backed up by numerous eyewitness accounts from foreign journalists and people on the scene. He says that prior to opening the gate, the crowd was peaceful, doing nothing to provoke the police.
“I accuse Viktor Orbán of orchestrating a premeditated attack on refugees. I accuse him of deliberately lying with the intent to manipulate so that violence would break out. I accuse him of preparing this for months so that he could prove that he we are indeed being invaded by a wave of violent refugees,” said Gyurcsány.
“I accuse Viktor Orbán of building propaganda on lies and deceiving both the domestic and foreign public opinion. What happened was the climax of the months long campaign of lies,” Gyurcsány said.
The former prime minister said his party would work in the days ahead to expose the truth and show that Hungary has a “lying, dishonest, manipulative, war-mongering prime minister.”
It was an “instigated, ill-intent crime against humanity” and “an abuse of power that led to the beatings of innocent people”, said Gyurcsány, adding that Hungary’s Prime Minister “brings shame to every Hungarian and every respectable human being,”
Gyurcsány announced his intention to turn all the evidence over to Hungarian prosecutors “not because we believe (chief prosecutor) Péter Polt will fulfill his responsibilities, but so that the evidence is there after Polt’s time when the Prime Minister can be held to account.”
“The evidence will be sent to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the International Courts in the Hague because the Röszke atrocity is the result of an unstoppable and evil man using political power to order the police to attack,” Gyurcsány said.
“International organizations must deal with a prime minister who has innocent people beat for political reasons and doesn’t even care if Hungarian police or journalists are hurt in the process. Not only is it shameful, it is also a cheap lie so outrageous it shakes deepest sense of our humanity to the core,” Gyurcsány said.
“It’s important for me to say what I’ve said in the past, the border fence and police on the border are not there to protect Hungary. They are there to satisfy the prime minister’s domestic political goals….If needed, the prime minister will have innocent people attacked with rubber batons and tear gas in order to retain his power,” finished the former prime minister.
NEWSLANC EDITOR: Budapest Beacon and NewsLanc are publications of Real Reporting.