New US Ambassador To Hungary Critical & Criticized

  • 30 Jan 2014 5:35 AM
New US Ambassador To Hungary Critical & Criticized
Remarks by the US ambassador designate to Hungary at a US Senate Committee hearing last week caused “justified and serious outrage in Hungary”, said Gergely Gulyás, a lawmaker of the ruling Fidesz party. The rise in Hungary of extremist parties is of particular concern, she told the committee.

Gulyás said in an open letter published in daily Magyar Nemzet on Wednesday that Colleen Bradley Bell had told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 16 that over the last two years Washington had clearly voiced its concerns about the state of checks and balances in Hungary and the independence of some key institutions.

Bell said at the hearing that if confirmed, she would work to uphold American and European democratic values, express concerns where appropriate, and urge Hungarian partners to work collaboratively with international partners and civil society.

Gulyás said that the ambassadordesignate’s remarks were suggestive not only of a lack of understanding of Hungarian domestic politics, but were also - knowingly or not - an expression of political bias, which anywhere in the world would make it difficult to fill an ambassadorial post, especially in Hungary, where double standards applied against the centreright government have increasingly triggered adverse sentiments.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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