Bence Rétvári, State Secretary for Parliamentary affairs at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, has told the Hungarian new agency MTI that the Ministry of Justice condemns the violent incidents that took place on Thursday in Lendvay utca, Budapest.
Mr. Rétvári said that the Fundamental Law of Hungary belongs to Hungarians, and the opinions of everyone must be respected. He added that those who champion the rule of law have a primary duty to respect the rights of others.
He went on to say that in Hungary there is freedom of expression, but aggression is unacceptable, and in a state under the rule of law there can never be a place for violence. Democracy is based on debate, and the acceptance by all of the majority view emerging from such debate. Violence does not show power, but a lack of understanding and tolerance, he added.
Throughout history, the representatives of democracy have never used violence to achieve their goals, said Mr. Rétvári, who pointed out that since the political transition of 1989/ 90 violence has only ever reared its head in demonstrations involving either the extreme right or the extreme left.
"Violence is not the answer, and we do not believe in violence," said the State Secretary, who thanked the police for their calm, restrained and professional work. He added that a good indication of the strengthening of the rule of law in Hungary compared with earlier years is that the actions of the police are now fully compliant with the requirements of the rule of law – in contrast with the mass violations police were guilty of against demonstrators in 2006.
(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)