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Hungary foreign minister slams anti-Jewish remark - Yahoo! News
VIENNA (AP) Hungary's foreign minister said Wednesday that calls by an extreme-right politician to register the country's Jews as potential security risks were "completely unacceptable" and the worst yet in a series attributed to the legislator's party.
Janos Martonyi also denied suggestions that his country was lenient with neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists, telling reporters "Hungary does not put up with" actions by such groups and individuals.
"Hungary has the strongest laws against such manifestations," he said after meeting in Vienna with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.
Martonyi's comments reflect Hungary's attempts to deal with the fallout from the remarks by Marton Gyongyosi of the far-right Jobbik party, which generated headlines across Europe and outraged human rights activists.
Gyongyosi told the legislature last week that it was time "to assess ... how many people of Jewish origin there are here, and especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk."
Gyongyosi later apologized to "our Jewish compatriots" for his statement, but added that Hungary, a nation of about 10 million people, needs to be wary of "Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here."
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VIENNA (AP) Hungary's foreign minister said Wednesday that calls by an extreme-right politician to register the country's Jews as potential security risks were "completely unacceptable" and the worst yet in a series attributed to the legislator's party.
Janos Martonyi also denied suggestions that his country was lenient with neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists, telling reporters "Hungary does not put up with" actions by such groups and individuals.
"Hungary has the strongest laws against such manifestations," he said after meeting in Vienna with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.
Martonyi's comments reflect Hungary's attempts to deal with the fallout from the remarks by Marton Gyongyosi of the far-right Jobbik party, which generated headlines across Europe and outraged human rights activists.
Gyongyosi told the legislature last week that it was time "to assess ... how many people of Jewish origin there are here, and especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk."
Gyongyosi later apologized to "our Jewish compatriots" for his statement, but added that Hungary, a nation of about 10 million people, needs to be wary of "Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here."
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