Törvényjavaslat a MMA-törvény módosításáról

Posted on November 9, 2013 by ellenpolus

A Javaslat a 2011-ben megalakult Magyar Művészeti Akadémia (a továbbiakban: MMA)
kultúrstratégiai szerepének megerősítése érdekében a 2012. év végén eszközölt kormányzati intézkedések folytatásaképpen –az MMA kezdeményezésére –, a köztestület Magyar Tudományos Akadémiával (a továbbiakban: MTA) egyenrangú státusza megteremtésének célját tartva szem előtt az MMA rendes és levelező tagjai jogegyenlőségének biztosítására, a köztestület társadalmasítására, továbbá művészetelméleti szakemberek köztestületi taggá választhatóságára tesz javaslatot.

parlament.hu

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Amid protests, Hungarian far-right party unveils bust of Nazi-allied wartime leader

Posted on November 8, 2013 by ellenpolus

U.S., Jewish leaders condemn commemoration of Miklos Horthy, who allied Hungary with Nazi Germany and oversaw introduction of anti-Jewish laws.

Hungarians protest against Miklos Horthy commemoration

Hungarian opposition activists protest against the erection of a statue of wartime leader Miklos Horthy in central Budapest November 3,2013. Photo by Reuters

The United States on Thursday strongly condemned a far-right party for unveiling a statue of wartime leader Miklos Horthy, who allied Hungary with Nazi Germany, an event which stoked concerns about a wave of anti-Semitism in the country.
The Jobbik party unveiled the statue on Sunday in Budapest.
“Those who organised and participated in the event, including members of Hungary’s parliament, promoted not only their own intolerance, but also a dramatically negative image of Hungary,” the U.S. embassy said in an e-mailed statement.
“Although the significant number of counter-demonstrators showed there is strong opposition to the organizers’ views, and members of the Hungarian government have expressed disapproval, an event such as this requires swift, decisive, unequivocal condemnation by Hungary’s highest ranking leaders,” the statement said.
The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s centre-right Fidesz party has acknowledged Hungarians had a role in the Holocaust and pledged a policy of zero tolerance against racial hatred and anti-Semitism.
Hungary still has one of the largest and oldest Jewish communities in Europe, mostly in the capital.
But while there is a revival of Jewish culture, the far-right has remained strong and anti-Semitism, as well as hatred toward other minorities like homosexuals or Roma, is still a serious problem.
Jobbik has vilified Jews and Israel in parliament, where it is the third-biggest party. It is set to win 8-9 percent of the vote at parliamentary elections next April or May, according to the latest opinion polls.

more: Haaretz

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Spanish government drops plans to cut European student funding scheme

Posted on November 6, 2013 by ellenpolus

Rebellion in ruling party forces U-turn on plan that could have left thousands of students on Erasmus programme without funding

Spanish students demonstrating against education cuts last month in Madrid.

Spanish students demonstrating against education cuts last month in Madrid. Photograph: Mario Pereda/Demotix/Corbis

The Spanish government has abandoned plans for deep cuts to an European scheme that allows degree and post-graduate students to study abroad.
The education minister José Ignacio Wert was forced to back down after a rebellion in his own party, the governing Partido Popular, and has agreed that the 10,000 students already on the Erasmus scheme will receive the grants they were promised.
Spain‘s contribution to the programme has dropped from €62.7m (£53m) in 2011 to €16m (£13.4m) this year, a 71% fall. Wert’s department had insisted that it is not a cutback but a “concentration”, with more funds being available to the candidates with the least resources.
Earlier on Tuesday the EU spokesman Olivier Bailly criticised the Spanish government, saying: “The Spanish authorities should have notified the students of this before the academic year began. I hope that the legitimate expectations of students who are already in the Erasmus programme will be met by the Spanish authorities.”
Erasmus students are funded from three sources: the European commission, which puts €500m (£420m) into the scheme each year, the student’s home government and local authorities. Thirty-six European countries participate in the scheme, and about 250,000 students take part every year.
Around 1,400 students from Granada studying abroad would have found themselves without government support – worth around €180 a month – under the now abandoned cuts. The Spanish government will offer up to €300 a month to a smaller number of poorer students. EU grants are on average €250 a month.

more: The Guardian

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Nationalisten auf dem Heldenplatz

Posted on November 4, 2013 by ellenpolus

Ungarns Premierminister Orban während einer Rede

In Budapest wird man täglich erinnert, wer sich als “echter Ungar” fühlen darf – und wer nicht. Ministerpräsident Orbán schürt Fremdenhass und lässt sich vom Volk feiern. Ein Leserartikel von Andreas Pigl

Am 23. Oktober fand in Budapest ein Straßenumzug statt, um an den Aufstand der Ungarn gegen die Sowjetherrscher von 1956 zu erinnern. Der Umzug wurde Friedensmarsch genannt. Zum Abschluss hielt der ungarische Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán, der in einem halben Jahr zur Wiederwahl antritt, eine Rede auf dem Heldenplatz. Seit zwei Monaten bin ich in der Stadt und arbeite als Gedenkdienstleistender im Budapester Holocaust Institut. Ich wollte mehr über die politische Situation in Ungarn herausfinden, deshalb habe ich an der Veranstaltung teilgenommen.

Ich schließe mich dem Zug von Regierungsanhängern an, die rot-weiß-grün gekleidet, Fahnen schwenkend und ungarische Volkslieder singend Richtung Heldenplatz marschieren. Dort angekommen drängen sich die Menschen vor der beeindruckenden Kulisse des Platzes dicht aneinander. Überall wird gesungen und geplaudert, doch als die Militärkapelle die ersten Töne der ungarischen Nationalhymne anstimmt, verwandelt sich die Menge von einem Augenblick zum anderen in einen riesigen Chor.

weiter: ZeitOnline

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Hungarian far-right sparks protests as it commemorates wartime leader

Posted on November 4, 2013 by ellenpolus

(Reuters) – Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party unveiled a statue of wartime leader Miklos Horthy, who presided over the country’s alliance with Nazi Germany, in Budapest on Sunday, sparking protests and highlighting concerns about anti-Semitism in the country.
About a thousand Hungarians took to the streets of the capital to denounce the statue while the mayor of central Budapest and parliamentary leader of the ruling Fidesz party, Antal Rogan, warned the bust would provide an excuse to paint an unfair picture of extremism in Hungary.
Jobbik has stoked anti-semitism in the country, vilifying Jews and Israel in speeches in parliament, where it is the third-biggest party.
One of the organizers of Sunday’s ceremony was Jobbik’s deputy parliament group leader Marton Gyongyosi, who sparked outrage last year when he called for lists of people in Hungary with Jewish ancestry to be drawn up. He later apologized and said he had been misunderstood.
“As downtown mayor I consider the statue unveiling ceremony of Marton Gyongyosi a political provocation and I condemn it,” Rogan said in a statement. “This provocative action will obviously give the western European left-wing press an excuse to cry anti-Semitism and paint a malicious picture of Hungary.”
Protesters gathered in a light drizzle near a church in central Budapest where the large bronze bust of Horthy was put on display at the gates, a stone’s throw from the country’s neo-gothic Parliament building.

more: Reuters

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Horthy ist zurück…

Posted on November 3, 2013 by ellenpolus

 

Ein Denkmal für den ungarischen Hitler-Verbündeten im Zentrum von Budapest
Bisher war es eine Spezialität der ungarischen Provinz: das Aufstellen von Denkmälern oder die Benennung von Straßen und Plätzen für den langjährigen Staatsführer Ungarns, Miklós Horthy. Doch seit Sonntag steht eine Büste des Ständestaatlers, unter dessen Herrschaft Zigtausende Menschen gewaltsam den Tod fanden, mitten in Budapest, auf einem der prominentesten Plätze der Hauptstadt. Es gab eine Gegendemo von Opferverbänden und Linken sowie einen peinlichen Alibi-Protest der Regierungspartei.

 

weiter: PesterLloyd

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Hungarians protest against unveiling of Hitler-ally statue

Posted on November 3, 2013 by ellenpolus

Far-right and anti-fascist demonstrators staged rival rallies Sunday outside a Budapest church where a bust of a Hungarian wartime leader was unveiled, the latest tribute to a man who was a close ally of Adolf Hitler.
Around 500 protesters wearing yellow stars — a reference to the Stars of David Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis — chanted “Nazi mob!” across a police line at supporters of Miklos Horthy.
Meanwhile, several hundred of the ex-leader’s supporters, gathered around the bust, shouted: “Long live Horthy!”
An autocrat who ruled Hungary from 1920 to 1944, Horthy passed anti-Jewish laws and oversaw the first wave of deportations of Hungarian Jews in 1944.
But he is also revered by some for saving Hungary after a short-lived communist revolution in 1919 and traumatic losses of territory following World War I.
“In my opinion, Horthy was a war criminal, directly responsible for the killing and destruction of 600,000 Hungarian Jews,” one protester told AFP.
“This should not be happening at a Christian church,” he added.

more: GlobalPost

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