Hungarian parliamentarians have not listened to voices, both in Hungary and abroad, who accused this text of taking the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to cement control of the national-conservative government.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received the green light from Parliament on Monday (March 30th) to legislate by ordinance as part of an indefinite state of emergency.

Passed by 137 votes in favor, while 53 deputies voted against, the law also establishes up to five years in prison for spreading "false information" about the virus or government measures. The rare independent media in the country are, in fact, regularly the subject of such accusations.

Government orders

The new provisions, deemed "disproportionate" by the opposition, provide for the possibility for the Hungarian leader to extend the state of emergency in force since March 11 indefinitely, without having to seek the approval of Parliament.

Thus, under this regime, the government can "suspend the use of certain laws by decree, deviate from the statutory provisions and introduce other extraordinary measures", by government orders, in order to guarantee "health, personal safety and citizens, as well as the economy. "

"We must do everything in our power to stop the spread of the virus," defended the Minister of Justice, a week before the adoption of the "coronavirus law", adding that "the bill fits perfectly within the Hungarian constitutional framework ".

However, the policy applied by Viktor Orban in ten years of power makes fear with the opposition that the leader of 56 years abuses these exceptional means. Since 2010, it has already, according to numerous independent organizations, increased attacks on the rule of law in the field of justice, civil society, or even freedom of the press.

"Towards dictatorship"

Following the adoption of this law, some parliamentarians who opposed the text did not hesitate to speak of a "coup", of "heading towards dictatorship". Independent MP Akos Hadhazy says the law is also "a trap for the opposition" accused by the government of being "on the side of the virus".

Opponents of the reform urged the government to limit the state of emergency to a fixed term, as is the case in the other countries of the European Union. But a government spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, insisted on Monday that the bill is limited in time by the powers of dismissal from parliament and by the pandemic itself which "will hopefully end one day the ", he wrote on Twitter.

False. Time limited by two things: 1. the parliament which can withdraw it; and 2. the pandemic, which hopefully ends one day. 72% of HUs support this measure. So be happy no elections til 2020. You and your fellow lefty political activists would lose… bigly # youreapoliticalhack https://t.co/XNzElaoeyd

- Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) March 30, 2020

Infringement of fundamental rights and freedoms of the media

For its part, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "following with concern the political developments" in Hungary. The Council of Europe has warned that an "undefined and uncontrolled state of emergency cannot guarantee respect for the fundamental principles of democracy".

Several press organizations have called on EU leaders to react and denounce a law "which infringes fundamental rights and freedoms of the media".

Sweeping away from any criticism, Viktor Orban said: "I made it clear to the European whines that I did not have time to discuss arguably fascinating but theoretical legal questions" when there are "lives to be saved".

At the start of the pandemic, the Prime Minister of Hungary blamed the role of immigration in the spread of the virus, saying that it was "mainly foreigners who introduced the disease".

The country, which closed its borders to foreigners and instituted population containment measures, counted Monday 447 cases of new coronavirus, which made 15 dead in this country of 9.7 million inhabitants.

With AFP

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