Page 6 - aruba-today-20201130

A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 30 noveMber 2020
Hungarian official retracts comparing George Soros to Hitler

the European way of life." statement. which are under EU inves-
The comments drew out- In the article, Demeter, who tigation for undermining
rage from Hungary's Jew- was appointed by Hungar- judicial independence and
ish community, including ian Prime Minister Viktor media freedom, as "the
the Unified Hungarian Jew- Orban to oversee cultural new Jews."
ish Congregation, which production, compared So- The government of Israel, a
called the article "tasteless" ros to Hitler, writing he was close ally of Hungary, con-
and "unforgivable." "the liberal Führer, and his demned Demeter's com-
"(It's) a textbook case of liber-Aryan army deifies him ments.
the relativization of the Ho- more than did Hitler's own." The Israeli Embassy in Buda-
locaust, and is therefore Soros, who was born in Hun- pest tweeted, "We utterly
incompatible with the gov- gary and is a Holocaust sur- reject the use and abuse
ernment's claim of zero tol- vivor, is a frequent target of of the memory of the Ho-
In this June 21, 2019 file photo, George Soros, founder and chair- erance for anti-Semitism," Orban's government for his locaust for any purpose …
man of the Open Society Foundations, looks before the Joseph the group said. philanthropic activities that There is no place for con-
A. Schumpeter award ceremony in Vienna, Austria. Associated In a statement Sunday on favor liberal causes. Gov- necting the worst crime in
Press. Origo, Demeter said he ernment media campaigns human history, or its perpe-
By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. would retract his article targeting Soros have led to trators, to any contempo-
Press "Europe is George Soros' gas "independently of what I charges of anti-Semitism. rary debate."
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) chamber," Szilard Demeter, think" and will delete his The article also noted the Gordon Bajnai, a former
— After facing strong con- ministerial commissioner Facebook page. conflict over the European Hungarian prime minister,
demnation, a Hungarian and head of the Petofi Lit- "I will grant that those criti- Union's next budget, which wrote on Facebook on
commissioner on Sunday erary Museum in Budapest, cizing me are correct in Hungary and Poland are Sunday that if Demeter isn't
begrudgingly retracted an wrote in an opinion Satur- saying that to call someone holding up over provisions removed from his post by
article comparing Ameri- day in the pro-government a Nazi is to relativize, and that could block payments Monday, "Hungarians and
can-Hungarian billionaire Origo media outlet. "Poison that making parallels with to countries that do not the rest of the world will ob-
and philanthropist George gas flows from the capsule Nazis can inadvertently uphold democratic stan- viously consider (his) state-
Soros, a staunch critic of of a multicultural open so- cause harm to the memory dards. Demeter referred to ment as the position of the
Hungary's government, to ciety, which is deadly to of the victims," he said in a the two countries, both of Hungarian government."Q

Over 300 detained in Belarus during anti-government protests

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A human rights group in Be- Minsk alone, police said. More than 300 people have been detained all
larus says over 300 people have been detained Mass protests have gripped Belarus, a former across the country, according to the group.
during Sunday protests against the country's Soviet republic in eastern Europe, since offi- Ahead of the rally, water cannons, armored ve-
authoritarian president, who won his sixth term cial results from the Aug. 9 presidential election hicles and police vans were seen in the center
in office in a vote widely seen as rigged. gave Lukashenko a landslide victory over his of Minsk. Several subway stations were closed
The protests took place in Minsk, the capital, widely popular opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanous- and internet access was restricted.
and other cities and attracted thousands of kaya. She and her supporters refused to recog- On Saturday, Tsikhanouskaya, who left the
people. In Minsk, large crowds gathered in dif- nize the result, saying the vote was riddled with country soon after the election under pressure
ferent parts of the city despite the snowy weath- fraud. Authorities have cracked down hard on from the authorities and is currently in exile in
er for what has been dubbed as the Neighbors' the largely peaceful demonstrations, the big- Lithuania, extended her support to the protest-
March, blocking the roads in some areas. gest of which attracted up to 200,000 people. ers.
"Neighbor for neighbor against dictatorship," Police used stun grenades, tear gas and trun- "I will support everyone who takes part in the
one protest banner read. cheons to disperse the rallies. Neighbors' March this Sunday," Tsikhanouska-
"Go away, rat!" the crowds chanted, referring On Sunday, police once again deployed tear ya said in a video statement. "We have come
to President Alexander Lukashenko, who has gas and stun grenades to break up some of the a long, hard way together already... We're
run the country for 26 years, relentlessly crack- crowds in Minsk, and some were chased into a proud, brave, peaceful people that have
ing down on dissent. residential courtyards and beaten up with trun- learned the price of freedom and will never
Nearly 250 demonstrators were detained in cheons, the Viasna human rights center said. agree to live without it."q

Brazil's Bolsonaro alleges fraud in US presidential election

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Bra- was a lot of fraud there," he dential election.
zilian President Jair Bolson- said. "Nobody talks about The conservative Brazilian
aro — who sometimes has that. If it was enough to de- leader has appealed to
embraced the label "Trump fine (victory) for one or the the same sort of right-wing
of the Tropics" — said Sun- other, I don't know." populist base in Brazil that
day he'll wait a little lon- Asked if he would recog- Trump has courted in the
ger before recognizing the nize Biden's victory, he said, United States, and has wel-
U.S. election victory of Joe "I am holding back a little comed comparisons to the
Biden. more." U.S. president.
Speaking to reporters while He also expressed doubts Like Trump, he has em-
casting a ballot in munici- about Brazil's current elec- braced unproven treate-
pal races, he also echoed tronic voting system, which ments for COVID-19 and
President Donald Trump's he has suggested is vulner- has campaigned to ease
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro talks with the media outside a allegations of irregularities able to fraud. restrictions meant to com-
polling station, after voting during the run-off municipal elec- in the U.S. vote. He has urged the country bat it, arguing the eco-
tions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Associated "I have my sources of in- to go back to a paper bal- nomic loss is more damag-
Press. formation that there really lot system for the 2022 presi- ing than the illness itself.q