It brings with it the erosion of liberty, the abuse of power, ethnic divisions, and economic restrictions – all of which we have witnessed in Hungary since Prime Minister Orbán took power.”

McCain said Orbán had justified his actions by declaring that Hungary was moving towards an “illiberal democracy”, which was against EU and NATO principles that all members should observe.

“Since Prime Minister Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010, antidemocratic constitutional changes have been enacted, the independence of Hungary’s courts have been restricted, nongovernmental organizations raided and civil society prosecuted, the freedom of the press curtailed, and much more,” he said, noting that such moves threaten checks and balances.

McCain noted that concerns about democracy in Hungary had been expressed by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, the OSCE’s Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the European Central Bank.

He added that recently six Hungarians had been banned from entry to the United States “over alleged corruption” and that U.S. chargé d’affaires André Goodfriend had called the ban “a warning to reverse policies that threaten democratic values.”

Marie Harf, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said on Wednesday that the Administration did not share “a number of views” expressed by Senator McCain, including his remarks calling Orbán a “neo-fascist dictator” on Tuesday.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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