Viktor Orban attacks Dutch for ‘colonial’ criticism of Hungary’s anti-LGBT+ law

“They want to tell us which laws should be enforced in other countries. They want to teach us how we live our lives and how we behave,” Orban said

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte told Orban to respect LGBT rights or leave the bloc. (Shutterstock / Addictive Creative)

Hungarian prime minister, Victor Orban, has accused political leaders in the Netherlands of a ‘moral supremacy’ rooted in a colonial past after they denounced Hungary’s new law banning content in schools seen to promote homosexuality.

The law, which comes into force next week, also stipulates banning gay people from featuring in school educational materials or TV shows for under-18s. Orban argued that the law is not aimed at homosexuals but is about protecting children, whose parents should play the main role in educating them about sexuality.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte told Orban to respect LGBT rights or leave the bloc.

“This is a colonial approach,” Orban told public radio on Friday. “They just give no thought to what they can and cannot say about another nation and the laws of another country.”

Orban added that the EU leaders’ criticism was the result of “bad reflexes caused by their European colonialist past”.

“They want to tell us which laws should be enforced in other countries. They want to teach us how we live our lives and how we behave.”

Orban, who faces a parliamentary election next year, has grown increasingly radical on social policy, proclaiming to safeguard Hungary’s traditional Christian values from Western liberalism.

Seventeen of the 27 EU leaders signed a joint letter condemning the bill and urged the European Commission to bring Hungary to the European Court of Justice on this issue. The EU is pushing Orban to repeal the law.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the law “shame” last week and sent a letter to Hungary requesting clarification of its implications for fundamental rights.

Human rights advocates warned that the ban on LGBT+ portrayals and discussions in the media and schools could harm the mental health of some youth.

Includes reporting from AP, Reuters