BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Hungary's capital on Saturday, outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power.
At the center of the demonstration, the latest in a recent series of protests against Orbán's right-wing nationalist government, was political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party who has shot to prominence in recent weeks through his allegations of entrenched corruption and cronyism among the country's leaders.
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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Hungary's capital on Saturday, outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power.
Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, a political newcomer, leads people with a banner that reads: "Do not be afraid!" during a protest on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
Magyar addressed a crowd that filled the sprawling square near the parliament building in Budapest, announcing his creation of a new political community aimed at uniting both conservative and liberal Hungarians disillusioned by Orbán's governance and the fragmented, ineffectual political opposition.
“Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary,” Magyar said, adding that the protest was “the biggest political demonstration in years.”
Magyar, 43, was once a member of Orbán's political circle and is the ex-husband of former justice minister and Orbán ally Judit Varga. But he broke ranks in February in the wake of a political scandal that led to the resignation of his ex-wife and the president, and has amassed a large following with frequent media appearances where he portrays Hungary's political life as having been taken over by a privileged group of oligarchs and anti-democratic elites.
He has argued that Orbán’s government operates as a “mafia,” and advocated for a moral, political and economic transformation of the country that would rein in corruption and create a more pluralistic political system.
“More than twenty years have passed as our elected leaders have incited the Hungarian people against each other. Whether the fate of our country went well or we were close to bankruptcy, we were pitted against each other instead of allowing us to band together,” Magyar said. “We will put an end to this now.”
Hungary's government has dismissed Magyar as an opportunist seeking to forge a new career after his divorce with Varga and his loss of positions in several state companies. But his rise has compounded political headaches for Orbán that have included the resignation of members of his government and a painful economic crisis.
Last month, Magyar released an audio recording of a conversation between him and his ex-wife Varga that he said proved that top officials had conspired to manipulate court records in order to cover up their involvement in a corruption case. He has called on Orbán's government to resign and for a restoration of fair elections.
Orbán’s critics at home and in the European Union have long accused him of eroding Hungary’s democratic institutions, taking over large swaths of the media and altering the country’s election system to give his party an advantage. The EU has withheld billions in funding to Budapest over alleged democratic backsliding, misuse of EU funds and failure to guarantee minority rights.
One demonstrator on Saturday, Zoltan Koszler, said he wanted a “complete change in the system, which is now completely unacceptable to me.”
“I want to live in a normal rule-of-law state where the principles of the rule of law are really adhered to, not only on paper, but in reality,” he said.
Magyar has said he will found a new party which will run in EU and municipal elections this summer.
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, a political newcomer, leads people with a banner that reads: "Do not be afraid!" during a protest on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
People gather in support of a political newcomer Peter Magyar, a former insider within Hungary's ruling Fidesz party on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán mobilized tens of thousands of supporters outlining a plan to unite the country and bring an end to the populist leader's 14-year hold on power. (AP Photo/Justin Spike)
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia's parliament on Wednesday moved a step closer to passing a law that critics fear will stifle media freedom and endanger the country's European Union membership bid, as tens of thousands of protesters thronged surrounding streets.
The vote occurred hours after dozens of people were arrested as police overnight used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the latest protest. Protesters denounce the bill as “the Russian law” because neighboring Russia uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin.
The law would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of funding from abroad. The ruling Georgian Dream party withdrew a similar proposal last year after large crowds protested.
Eighty-three of Georgia’s 150 lawmakers approved the bill in its second reading. A third and final vote in Parliament is needed before it can be signed into law. That's expected in the coming days.
Russia-Georgia relations have been complicated and turbulent since the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s. Georgia joined international resolutions condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it also became a main destination for Russians fleeing military mobilization and political crackdowns. Even Georgia's ruling party has seen internal tensions over its neighbor.
The Interior Ministry said 63 people were detained in the latest protest.
On Wednesday, Georgian TV showed Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the pro-West United National Movement party, arriving in Parliament with bandages on his nose and forehead. Members of Khabeishvili's party said he had been assaulted by police during the protests.
Purple bruising and cuts were visible around Khabeishvili's left eye as he urged fellow lawmakers to scrap the bill.
“If you are not interested in how the leader of the main opposition party has been beaten up, then — for the sake of those young people who were injured, who were hit on the heads and bruised — I want to ask you once more, even though I do not have any hope, withdraw this law,” he said.
Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze alleged at a briefing that Khabeishvili broke through a police cordon the night before and was injured while he “resisted.” Darakhvelidze alleged that protesters and opposition leaders were “constantly committing violence.” Police broke up the protest after demonstrators tried to block entrances to Parliament.
As protesters gathered once more Wednesday, opposition lawmaker Beqa Liluashvili published a live video from the Parliament chamber showing lawmakers shouting and physically confronting each other. One threw a stack of papers at opponents. Others restrained colleagues.
Opposition lawmaker Helene Khoshtaria accused the ruling party of trying to “drag Georgia into Russian influence” and “close off its European future.”
Speaking to The Associated Press outside Parliament, she described authorities’ response to the rallies as “extremely authoritarian" but said it would not dissuade the protesters.
“We do not want the Soviet regime that our parents have experienced," one protester, Kato Salukvadze, told the AP late Tuesday. “I think that everyone should be in the streets and say no to the Russian law and yes to Europe."
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili, increasingly at odds with the governing party, has criticized the bill and vowed to veto it if it is passed by parliament. But the governing party can overrule the veto and ask the parliament speaker to sign the bill into law.
The Georgian presidency, which has notably limited powers, will switch this year from a directly elected position to one chosen by a college of electors that includes members of parliament.
Demonstrators argue with police that blocked them during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Protesters denounce the bill as "the Russian law" because Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Demonstrators blocked by the police wave a EU flag during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Protesters denounce the bill as "the Russian law" because Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Police face demonstrators during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Protesters denounce the bill as "the Russian law" because Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
A woman shows a heart standing in front of riot police during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
A demonstrator stands with a EU flag in front of police block during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Riot policemen stand ready to fire gas grenade during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Demonstrators scuffle with riot police during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Riot police detain a demonstrator during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Riot police use a water cannon during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Demonstrators sit in front of police line during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
