Gypsy authority urging hate speech law

Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's National Gypsy Authority (OCO) on Thursday urged parliament to renew its attempts to pass legislation against hate speech, the authority's chairman Orban Kolompar told reporters.

There has been an increased number of verbal attacks against the Roma minority in recent months, said Kolompar. Legislation is therefore needed to class hate speech as a crime, he insisted.

Early last year, the Constitutional Court nullified a law against hate speech adopted by Parliament, finding it unconstitutional. The rejected law would have expanded the scope of punishable acts, by inserting the phrase "incitement to hatred" to replace "instigation" in the Penal Code.

Kolompar argued that it was not enough to say that "the majority of people reject statements inciting hatred". Legal means are also needed against people, groups, organisations or parties that made openly offensive, racist remarks, he said.

OCO calls on the main opposition Fidesz party and allied Roma organisation Lungo Drom to distance themselves from extreme right organisations, such as Jobbik, which made provocative statements last week suggesting a high ratio of criminal activities committed by members of the Roma community, OCO Spokesman Janos Bogdan, Jr. said.