Zsolt Bayer's anti-Roma article in a Hungarian daily newspaper

Alert DateJanuary 5, 2013 Country: Hungary Address: Budapest General Type: Racist discourse Racism and discrimination phenomena: Anti-roma/ romaphobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Roma & Travelers Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Political discourse -parties - orgs Hate speech/Racist Discourse Medium: Newspaper
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Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

Hungarian journalist Zsolt Bayer has caused public uproar with an opinion piece published in a Hungarian daily newspaper, Magyar Hírlap. Bayer wrote in the article that “this group of Gypsies are animals and behave like animals... They see something. They want it. If they don’t get it right away, they kill;” and:  “They shouldn't be tolerated or understood but stamped out. Animals should not exist. Not in any way.”  Bayer’s article was triggered by a New Year’s Eve incident at a club in a small Hungarian (Szigethalom), where two young men, a 17 year-old and a 19 year-old (both of them are athletes in local sports clubs), suffered multiple stab wounds; and where the alleged attackers were of Roma origin.  [1]

As a reaction to the article, Hungarian human rights NGOs formed a coalition, and issued a communication in which they call domestic companies and Hungarian divisions of multinationals (eg. FedEX, Vodafone, T-Com, IKEA, Procter and Gamble) to reconsider advertising in Magyar Hírlap. [2]

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Sources:

  1. Szilvay, G, 11.01.2013, Bayer and the Roma, http://hungarianglobe.mandiner.hu/cikk/20130111_bayer_and_the_roma, Accessed on 27.01.2013.
  2. Hungarian Helsinki Committe, 22.01.2013,  NGOs call for advertising boycott over anti-Roma statements in Hungarian media, http://helsinki.hu/en/ngos-call-for-advertising-boycott-of-racist-newspaper, Accessed on 27.01.2013.