FREE PRESS DEMO

TIME: Monday, December 20, 18.00
PLACE: Szabadság Square, Budapest V.

CALLING

We are students committed to values of democracy and rule of law.

We are convinced, that:

1. Any state accepting the rule of law needs to be under public control and needs counterbalances.

2. There is a need for independent functions of autonomous institutions.

3. The Media Act signed by Hungarian Government on the 20th of December restricts the free press rights and the right for free speech.

We are protesting against the massive and arbitrary power at the disposal of the Hungarian government, which limits the free press rights.

We as students and as responsible citizens are outraged because of the new Media Act undersigned by the Hungarian Government which we cannot interpret as anything but a massive deconstruction of the Rule of Law in Hungary. This is unacceptable for us.

The Hungarian parliament ratifies the new Media Act of 20 December which will enter into force in January 2011.

We protest against this disgusting restriction which threats the press freedom and against this cynical and ignorant style of governing.

We find the Hungarian government's claim for loyalty from the journalist community as something unacceptable and completely incompatible with the principals of democracy.

We are aware that the Hungarian public media has often been limited by political pressure of governing parliamentary subjects in the past. This is unacceptable and completely incompatible with principals of democracy. Its realization takes Hungary back to the state of political oppression before 1989.

We are concerned because of exclusion of the opposition's delegates from the Media Council of Hungarian Parliament which produced a 100% hegemony of actually governing parties for up to a 9 year period!

It's absolutely in opposition with any kind of democratic tradition that the government is free to enact the Media Act without any public control or the control of a parliamentary opposition.

But what is especially scary and definitely unacceptable is that the state authority claims the right to interpret the concept of "public morality" in the law-creating process!

This authoritarian act allows them to penalize persons and subjects via billing without precise justification. These penalties may cost even hundreds of millions of Hungarian Forints which the penalized media producer will be obligated to pay-off immediately. The sneaks of the newly formed and authorized Media Authority will be allowed to raid editorial offices and confiscate documents without any kind of evidence of violation by media subjects. In this way the Fidesz-controlled Hungarian government will be able to efface any/all media subjects in Hungary. This will be the end of the free press in Hungary because those editorials not destroyed by this 'law' will be forced to practice auto-censorship to survive.

We call the representatives of the Hungarian parliament to not vote for the new Media Act which is in its current form absolutely unlawful and which blocks the free flow of information.

The demonstration is independent of political parties and ideologies, the only aim of those taking part will be protesting against the attacks of the Hungarian government on the free press of Hungary.