The new bill also allows authorities to detain all adult asylum seekers in its territory and summarily return those refused to the Serbian border as part of “crisis” measures in place until September.
Right before Christmas, Hungary’s PM Victor Orban “praised the victories of the populist Five Star Movement in the Italian referendum and the election of Donald Trump in the United States, claiming these developments are just the beginning of the ‘rebellion.'” He went on to declare: “let’s make Hungary great again.”
Orban also stirred controversy in July when he “described the arrival of asylum seekers in Europe as ‘a poison’, and declared to Germany’s Angela Merkel that “we won’t pay for your error.”
“Humanitarian” organizations are now railing against the new law to detain asylum seekers and send them back home. If European leaders were more careful in their approach to migrants and had more of a sense of responsibility to their own citizens, Orban would not have had to resort to such drastic measures. Orban correctly referred to migration as a “trojan horse for terrorism.”
“Hungarian parliament approves law allowing all asylum seekers to be detained”, by Lizzie Dearden, Independent, March 7, 2017:
The Hungarian parliament has approved a controversial law enabling all asylum seekers in the country to be detained and forced back into neighbouring Serbia.
Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister, claimed migrants were keeping his country “under siege” and must be defended against.
Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for a group of specialist guards known as “border hunters”, he said that Hungary could only count on itself for protection.
Mr Orban, leader of the right-wing populist Fidesz party and a supporter of Donald Trump, has already ordered the reinforcement of fences along Hungary’s southern border and claimed refugees are a threat to Europe’s Christian identity and culture.
The new legislation will see refugees locked in border camps made of shipping containers while their cases are decided.
Applications will be declared inadmissible for anyone who entered the Hungary from Serbia or a “safe third country”, while the appeal period will be cut to just three days and migrants may have to cover the costs of their own imprisonment.
The new bill also allows authorities to detain all adult asylum seekers in its territory and summarily return those refused to the Serbian border as part of “crisis” measures in place until September.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it was “deeply concerned” by the measure, which combines with other policies to make it “nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to enter the country, apply for asylum and receive international protection”.
“This new law violates Hungary’s obligations under international and EU laws, and will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered,” spokesperson Cécile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva.
“Under international and EU laws, the detention of refugees and asylum-seekers can only be justified on a limited number of grounds, and only where it is necessary, reasonable and proportionate…children should never be detained under any conditions.”
Humanitarian organisations had appealed to the European Commission to intervene to block the draft bill, saying it was “at odds with EU, human rights and refugee law” in a letter last month…..