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The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Hungary's Orban accuses EU of orchestrating 'repulsive' Pride march
A person holds a six-color Pride flag during The Budapest Pride March in Budapest, Hungary, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Saturday's Pride "repulsive and shameful", accusing the EU of directing opposition politicians to organise the event, which turned into an anti-government protest, local media reported in Sunday. The march in Budapest for LGBTQ+ swelled into one of the largest displays of opposition to Orban in recent years, as an estimated 100,000 participants defied a police ban and threats of fines to join the demonstration. Speaking in a closed online group for his supporters called Fight Club on Sunday, Orban said opposition politicians instructed by "Brussels" had called on their voters to attend the event in large numbers, according to local news outlet Index. "Since yesterday, we are even more certain that these people [opposition politicians] must not be allowed near the helm of government. And we will not allow them," Orban told his supporters, according to Index. He did not offer any evidence for his comments. But the event was organised by the municipality of Budapest, led by mayor Gergely Karacsony, and Orban's government has accused him of being a "puppet" of Brussels for years. Reuters has contacted Pride organisers and the city hall but they did not immediately respond. The European Commission declined to comment on Orban's reported remarks. Orban told his supporters that he found the events at the Pride march "repulsive and shameful," specifically mentioning a drag queen show, men wearing high heels and pamphlets on hormonal therapies. The march had been banned based on a law passed in March that allows for the prohibition of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children. Orban's opponents see the ban as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when the veteran prime minister - whose party has dominated Hungary's political scene for 15 years - will face a strong challenger. On Friday Orban said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who earlier this week called on Hungarian authorities to let the Pride parade go ahead, regarded Hungary "as a subordinated country" and likened her message to receiving orders from Moscow in communist times. Reuters could not independently confirm the contents of the prime minister's message cited by Index. A government spokesman did not immediately reply to Reuters questions on the report's authenticity. Orban's government, which promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade. His government has defended the restrictions saying that the need to protect children supersedes all other rights. (Reporting by Anita Komuves, additional reporting by Andrew Gray in Brussels; editing by Clelia Oziel)
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Huge crowds pack Budapest as banned Pride swells into anti-Orban rally
People attend The Budapest Pride March in Budapest, Hungary, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUDAPEST - Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary's capital on Saturday as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass anti-government demonstration, in one of the biggest shows of opposition to Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Crowds filled a square near Budapest's city hall in sweltering heat before setting off across one of the main bridges over the Danube, waving rainbow flags, some draped in capes and some carrying signs mocking Orban. "This is about much more, not just about homosexuality ... This is the last moment to stand up for our rights," Eszter Rein Bodi, one of the marchers, said. "None of us are free until everyone is free," one sign read. Orban's government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children. Orban's opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when the veteran prime minister - whose party has dominated Hungary's political scene for 15 years - will face a strong opposition challenger. Small groups of far-right counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the peaceful march, but police separated them and diverted the route of the march to avoid any clashes. Orban and his government, who promote a Christian-conservative agenda and have championed family values, have defended the restrictions saying that the need to protect children supersedes all other rights. Orban posted a photo with his grandchildren on the morning of the march, with the caption: "This is what I am proud of." Several of his supporters followed suit. Marchers included students, families and people from the countryside who said they had never attended a rally before. The Erzsebet bridge, built to carry six lanes of traffic, was engulfed with people. Local media sites including and Magyar Hang estimated the crowd at 100,000, though Reuters could not confirm that figure. "The message is clear, they have no power over us," Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony told the rally. He thanked police for securing the march. March organisers said participants had arrived from 30 different countries, including 70 members of the European Parliament. More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. 'LEGAL CONSEQUENCES' Budapest's mayor had tried to circumvent the law by organising Pride as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. Police however banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Orban provided some clues on Friday about what participants can expect when he warned of "legal consequences" for organising and attending the march. Earlier this week Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organising a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. Orban's attacks on Pride initially increased his support, political analyst Gabor Torok wrote on Facebook on Saturday. But opinion shifted after the police ban and the legal debates surrounding the march, he said. Orban's dominance and ability to set the political agenda had faced increasing challenges from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which had a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a poll this month. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-What are the limits to the UN nuclear watchdog's oversight in Iran?
FILE PHOTO: The IAEA flag flutters outside their headquarters after the first day of the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/ File Photo Explainer-What are the limits to the UN nuclear watchdog's oversight in Iran? VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear watchdog, which polices the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has not been able to carry out inspections in Iran since Israel launched military strikes on its nuclear facilities on June 13. Below is an outline of the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspection powers. DOES THE IAEA HAVE UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION? No. The IAEA's oversight is limited to the 191 states that are signatories to the NPT, and other countries it has separate arrangements with. Iran is a party to the NPT and thus subject to IAEA oversight including inspections meant to ensure that no nuclear material such as uranium is "diverted" for use in atomic bombs. Israel is not a party to the NPT and is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not confirm or deny having them. It has a limited safeguards agreement with the IAEA that provides for the agency to oversee some materials and facilities - a fraction of what Israel has and not any of what is widely believed to be its nuclear weapons programme. Iran, by contrast, has a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the IAEA under which it must account for all its proliferation-sensitive nuclear material, including every gram of enriched uranium. CAN THE IAEA GO ANYWHERE, ANYTIME IN IRAN? No. It is largely restricted to inspecting Iran's declared nuclear installations as provided for by its 1974 CSA - sites such as the three uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow that were operating until Israel bombed them on June 13. It had regular access to those facilities until they were attacked. Since then, they have been "closed" and inspectors have not been allowed in, the IAEA has said, adding that it hopes its inspectors will return as soon as possible. HAS THE IAEA HAD GREATER POWERS BEFORE? Yes. A 2015 deal between Iran and major powers placed strict limits on Tehran's nuclear activities but also extended the IAEA's oversight to parts of Iran's nuclear programme not covered by the CSA, such as its production and stock of centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. It was the most comprehensive IAEA oversight of any country. Much of that additional oversight came from Iran agreeing, as part of the 2015 pact, to apply the Additional Protocol, an add-on to countries' CSAs that the IAEA developed to strengthen its hand in preventing nuclear proliferation. Iran has signed but never ratified the Additional Protocol. One of the most important extra tools the Additional Protocol gives the IAEA is the power to carry out snap inspections - short-notice access to locations including ones that Iran has not declared to be nuclear-related. WHY DOES IT NO LONGER HAVE SUCH SWEEPING POWERS? In 2018, during his first term, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal, reimposing U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted as part of the agreement. In retaliation, as of the following year, Iran began pushing past the deal's limits on its nuclear activities but also scaled back the extra IAEA oversight introduced by the deal. In February 2021 Iran said it would no longer carry out its extra commitments under the 2015 deal, including implementation of the Additional Protocol. It struck a deal with the IAEA to keep monitoring equipment like surveillance cameras added under the deal rolling, but ordered them all removed in June 2022. WHAT WAS LOST WITH THE EXTRA OVERSIGHT? Reducing the IAEA's oversight not only took away the important tool of snap inspections. It also left blind spots in the areas to which extra oversight had been applied. The IAEA now says it has lost so-called "continuity of knowledge" for so many years that it will never be able to fully piece together what happened in areas including the production and inventory of centrifuges and certain key centrifuge parts, as well as Iran's stock of "yellowcake" - uranium that has not been enriched. The fact many centrifuges are unaccounted for means it cannot be ruled out that they will be used to enrich uranium in secret at an undeclared facility. Such a facility would be easy to hide in a relatively small building such as a warehouse. The IAEA says it cannot guarantee Iran's nuclear activity is entirely for peaceful purposes but it also has no credible indications of a coordinated nuclear weapons programme. WHAT IF IRAN PULLS OUT OF THE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY? Iran has threatened to pull out of the NPT, while at the same time saying it would not develop nuclear weapons if it did. Tehran has complained that the treaty and non-proliferation regime failed to protect it from attack by a country with a nuclear arsenals, the United States, and another widely believed to have one, Israel. The NPT allows for withdrawal by a party at three months' notice "if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country". The only country to announce its withdrawal from the NPT is North Korea in 2003, which expelled IAEA inspectors before testing nuclear weapons. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-The limits to the UN nuclear watchdog's oversight in Iran
FILE PHOTO: The IAEA flag flutters outside their headquarters after the first day of the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/ File Photo VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear watchdog, which polices the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has not been able to carry out inspections in Iran since Israel launched military strikes on its nuclear facilities on June 13. Below is an outline of the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspection powers. DOES THE IAEA HAVE UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION? No. The IAEA's oversight is limited to the 191 states that are signatories to the NPT, and other countries it has separate arrangements with. Iran is a party to the NPT and thus subject to IAEA oversight including inspections meant to ensure that no nuclear material such as uranium is "diverted" for use in atomic bombs. Israel is not a party to the NPT and is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not confirm or deny having them. It has a limited safeguards agreement with the IAEA that provides for the agency to oversee some materials and facilities - a fraction of what Israel has and not any of what is widely believed to be its nuclear weapons programme. Iran, by contrast, has a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the IAEA under which it must account for all its proliferation-sensitive nuclear material, including every gram of enriched uranium. CAN THE IAEA GO ANYWHERE, ANYTIME IN IRAN? No. It is largely restricted to inspecting Iran's declared nuclear installations as provided for by its 1974 CSA - sites such as the three uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow that were operating until Israel bombed them on June 13. It had regular access to those facilities until they were attacked. Since then, they have been "closed" and inspectors have not been allowed in, the IAEA has said, adding that it hopes its inspectors will return as soon as possible. HAS THE IAEA HAD GREATER POWERS BEFORE? Yes. A 2015 deal between Iran and major powers placed strict limits on Tehran's nuclear activities but also extended the IAEA's oversight to parts of Iran's nuclear programme not covered by the CSA, such as its production and stock of centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. It was the most comprehensive IAEA oversight of any country. Much of that additional oversight came from Iran agreeing, as part of the 2015 pact, to apply the Additional Protocol, an add-on to countries' CSAs that the IAEA developed to strengthen its hand in preventing nuclear proliferation. Iran has signed but never ratified the Additional Protocol. One of the most important extra tools the Additional Protocol gives the IAEA is the power to carry out snap inspections - short-notice access to locations including ones that Iran has not declared to be nuclear-related. WHY DOES IT NO LONGER HAVE SUCH SWEEPING POWERS? In 2018, during his first term, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal, reimposing U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted as part of the agreement. In retaliation, as of the following year, Iran began pushing past the deal's limits on its nuclear activities but also scaled back the extra IAEA oversight introduced by the deal. In February 2021 Iran said it would no longer carry out its extra commitments under the 2015 deal, including implementation of the Additional Protocol. It struck a deal with the IAEA to keep monitoring equipment like surveillance cameras added under the deal rolling, but ordered them all removed in June 2022. WHAT WAS LOST WITH THE EXTRA OVERSIGHT? Reducing the IAEA's oversight not only took away the important tool of snap inspections. It also left blind spots in the areas to which extra oversight had been applied. The IAEA now says it has lost so-called "continuity of knowledge" for so many years that it will never be able to fully piece together what happened in areas including the production and inventory of centrifuges and certain key centrifuge parts, as well as Iran's stock of "yellowcake" - uranium that has not been enriched. The fact many centrifuges are unaccounted for means it cannot be ruled out that they will be used to enrich uranium in secret at an undeclared facility. Such a facility would be easy to hide in a relatively small building such as a warehouse. The IAEA says it cannot guarantee Iran's nuclear activity is entirely for peaceful purposes but it also has no credible indications of a coordinated nuclear weapons programme. WHAT IF IRAN PULLS OUT OF THE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY? Iran has threatened to pull out of the NPT, while at the same time saying it would not develop nuclear weapons if it did. Tehran has complained that the treaty and non-proliferation regime failed to protect it from attack by a country with a nuclear arsenals, the United States, and another widely believed to have one, Israel. The NPT allows for withdrawal by a party at three months' notice "if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country". The only country to announce its withdrawal from the NPT is North Korea in 2003, which expelled IAEA inspectors before testing nuclear weapons. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Iran foreign ministry says parliament is preparing bill to leave NPT
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters outside the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo
