Hungarian government to end anti-Soros poster campaign - spokesman

Record ID: 899367

  • Title: Hungarian government to end anti-Soros poster campaign - spokesman
  • Date: 13th July 2017
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (JULY 12, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ACTIVISTS TEARING OFF SOROS BILLBOARDS (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) CIVIL ACTIVIST, JUDIT DALLOS, SAYING: "I experience in my everyday life that many people have this Soros thing stuck in their minds, and the idea is that we should hate everyone." TWO SOROS BILLBOARDS ON FACADE VARIOUS OF GRAFFITI ON BILLBOARD READING (Hungarian): 'WE ARE NOT AFRAID' VARIOUS OF BILLBOARDS ON FACADE BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (JULY 10, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANALYST OF POLITICAL CAPITAL, PETER KREKO, SAYING: "George Soros has many ideological critics in the United States among the Republicans, in the UK among the conservative groups, even in Israel among the current governmental side so I think the problem with this campaign is not the anti-semitic tone. I think the Hungarian government has rather good relations with the Jewish communities in Hungary and not openly anti-semitic. The big problem I think is that it can prepare an even stronger break-down on the Hungarian civil society. There is a strong on-going messaging from the governmental side that in the autumn there will be a lot of violent protests against the government and attempts for a coup or something like that and we are afraid that the government can use it as a pretext to introduce even more restrictions in the NGO [non-governmental organisations] sector." BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (JULY 12, 2017) (REUTERS) UNDERGROUND TRAIN PASSING / PEOPLE WALKING PAST LINE OF SOROS POSTERS PEOPLE WAITING FOR UNDERGROUND TRAIN TRAIN PASSING / SOROS POSTER LINED ON WALL
  • Embargoed: 27th July 2017 11:02
  • Keywords: Soros billboard campaign government
  • Location: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
  • City: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0076PJWDO9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:An anti-migrant billboard campaign by the Hungarian government that features the image of U.S. financier George Soros will come to an end on Saturday (July 15), the government spokesman said on Thursday (July 13).
    The billboards and full-page media ads that have appeared across Hungary depict a smiling Soros -- a vocal critic of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government -- with the caption: "Don't let Soros have the last laugh."
    Some Soros billboards have been defaced with graffiti that reads "stinking Jew".
    The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Federations (Mazsihisz) has urged Orban to halt the campaign, which a spokesman for Soros said earlier this week was reminiscent of "Europe's darkest hours". Orban's government has strongly denied that the billboard campaign is anti-Semitic.
    Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told Reuters the campaign, which was a follow-up to the launch by Orban of a "national consultation" on issues of foreign influence and mass immigration, would expire on July 15.
    Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary's right-wing government, in particular over his support for more open immigration.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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