Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed on March 15 to rid his country of those he said worked for foreign powers, saying his right-wing government would dismantle a global "shadow army" that serves the European Union and the "liberal American empire."
Points of attention
- Viktor Orban has vowed to eliminate the 'shadow army' of media outlets and organizations funded by foreign powers in Hungary.
- Orban's comparison of independent media and human rights groups to insects has sparked controversy and raised concerns about freedom of speech in Hungary.
- The Hungarian Prime Minister's efforts to crack down on critics such as the media and human rights organizations are seen as threats to Hungary's sovereignty by receiving foreign financial aid.
Orban seeks to destroy Hungary's independent media
In a conspiracy-laced address that coincided with a national holiday commemorating the 1848 Hungarian Revolution against Habsburg rule, Viktor Orbán told a group of several thousand select supporters that Hungary would liquidate media outlets and other organizations that receive funding from abroad in the coming weeks, comparing such groups to insects.
After today's festive gathering, Easter cleaning will begin. The insects have overwintered.
Viktor Orban
Prime Minister of Hungary
We are dismantling the financial machine that used corrupt dollars to buy politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs, and political activists. We are eliminating the entire shadow army.
Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has in recent years used the March 15 celebration as a platform from which to make increasingly hostile statements against the EU, of which Hungary has been a member since 2004.
He has often compared the EU to the Soviet Union, which occupied and repressed Hungary for nearly five decades in the 20th century, and has vowed to "occupy" the offices of power in Europe.
Now, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, the Hungarian leader has accelerated his long-standing efforts to crack down on critics such as the media, human rights and anti-corruption groups, which he says are undermining Hungary's sovereignty by receiving financial aid from international donors.
