Parbeszed: Turkish president’s August 20 visit ‘harmful message’

Turkiye is a key ally of Hungary, and it is important that the two countries are in regular contact, Richard Barabas said in a video posted on Facebook. At the same time, the Turkish president “has veered very far from the values of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and civil rights, which we Europeans, we Hungarians and we Greens firmly believe in”, he added.

Barabas said the Turkish state was engaging in “severe propaganda similarly to [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban’s regime”, creating divisions between rural and urban residents. He said the authorities in Turkiye also imprisoned journalists, cracked down on protests and that members of the LGBTQ community were also often victims of attacks.

He said that by inviting the Turkish president to Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban was sending the message that his views on the state “are very similar to what Turkish President Erdogan envisions and implements in Turkiye”.

Parbeszed condemns the Turkish president’s visit as well as the fact that it will take place on the anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian state, Barabas said. The party assumes, he added, that the visit “has something to do with delaying Sweden’s accession to NATO”.

Parbeszed calls on the prime minister to demonstrate that Hungary is a sovereign country capable of making its own decisions when it comes to international political matters, Barabas said. It also urges the prime minister not to serve the needs of the Turkish president or delay approval for Sweden’s NATO accession, he added.