Parliamentary opposition parties of Hungary paid tribute to victims of the Roma Holocaust in statements sent to MTI on Thursday.
Racism must not become an objective nor can it be used as a tool by politicians, the main opposition Socialist Party wrote in a statement.
The document warned that “the anti-minority, far-right rhetorics which has once swept across the Carpathian Basin leaving inconceivable destruction behind is again part of our present”.
The statement, signed by party chair Attila Mesterhazy and board member Laszlo Teleki, called on the government to take appropriate measures to fight sentiments against the Roma and other groups of society.
In its statement, the small LMP party also condemned all expressions of hatred and called for solidarity and cooperation to ease tension within society. Lawmaker Timea Szabo, who signed the document, said that Roma and non-Roma were equally responsible for Hungary’s future.
Leftist group Democratic Coalition voiced sympathy over the 3,000 Hungarian Roma who were killed in Auschwitz Birkenau on the night of August 3, 1944. The statement also said that “hatred and discrimination against the Roma has again become legitimate” and referred to the radical nationalist Jobbik party as one embracing racism.
Commemorations for the Roma victims of the Holocaust are held across Hungary on Thursday, marking the last day of executing several thousands of Roma in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp during the WWII.






