Post Tagged with: "Turkey"

Budapest at a standstill, thousands march against Erdogan, Orbán, Putin

Budapest at a standstill, thousands march against Erdogan, Orbán, Putin

The waitress in our favorite restaurant was livid. “I had to take a cab to get to work today because public transportation was shut down” – she complained. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Budapest on November 7 with massive closures throughout the city all day. Budapest came to a standstill. Thousands marched against the Turkish President’s visit, many […]

by · November 7, 2019 · Politics
Pastor Bunson prays with President Trump in the White House.

Pastor Andrew Brunson becomes a Hungarian citizen

Andrew Brunson, a 50-year old American pastor who lived in Turkey since the mid-1990s was jailed by local authorities for his alleged participation in a coup against Turkish strongman Tayyip Erdogan. Brunson and his wife, Norine were arrested in October 2016 along with other Americans. Norine was released after two weeks but her husband was held for two years, facing […]

by · March 2, 2019 · East
Hungary is now part of the assembly of “Turkic Speaking Countries”

Hungary is now part of the assembly of “Turkic Speaking Countries”

Last year Prime Minister Orbán declared that “Hungarians see themselves as the late descendants of Attila the Hun,” and the country’s citizens are proud of their Hun-Turkic origins and their language which is related to the Turkic languages. Orbán also reminded his audience that there was a time when it was an insult to say that Hungary was Europe’s most […]

by · November 25, 2018 · East
Hungary’s Mr. Tristan Azbej (left) claims that he discussed a “joint US-Hungarian humanitarian action” with Jared Kushner.  The White House didn’t confirm.

Jared Kushner, Erdogan and Hungary’s dubious program for persecuted Christians

On July 27 Deputy State Secretary Tristan Azbej tweeted his smiling photo with Jared Kushner. “Privilege to meet @jaredkushner, advisor (& son-in-law) to @realDonaldTrump and to receive acknowledgment for our program dedicated to aid the persecuted Christian communities. Mr. Kushner was supportive of the idea of joint US-Hungarian humanitarian action. #IRFMinisterial” Joint US-Hungarian humanitarian action? The White House has not […]

by · August 16, 2018 · Politics
Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk – Don’t be Orbán’s poster boy!

Viktor Orbán’s authoritarian government plans to turn the Budapest International Book Festival (April 20–23) into a political propaganda event. The festival is supposed to be for book lovers. It is an annual four-day extravaganza with panel discussions, book signings, readings where thousands of newly published and older books can be purchased. (Click here to see this year’s program of the […]

by · April 15, 2017 · Culture
Sebastian Kurz (left) with Péter Szijjártó (right). Photo: MTI.

Hungary passionately defends Turkey in EU, despite human rights violations

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is at odds with his Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz, over whether the European Union should suspend all accession negotiations with Turkey, due to troubling human rights violations, especially since July’s failed coup. The Orbán government has been a staunch supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey, and Hungarian foreign policy in general has been pro-expansion […]

by · December 13, 2016 · East
Invitation: International Day Festival at St. Joseph’s Parish in Ottawa

Invitation: International Day Festival at St. Joseph’s Parish in Ottawa

Hungarian, British, Filipino, Jamaican, German, Slovak, Indo-Caribbean, Syrian and Muslim–these are some of the peoples and cultures that you can explore on November 26th, 2016, at the International Day Festival hosted by St. Joseph’s Parish. The Roman Catholic community is celebrating its 160th anniversary this fall and while it was originally built on parishioners of primarily Irish and French background, […]

by · November 21, 2016 · Culture
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaking on Saturday in connection to the failed coup in Turkey.

Hungary seeks deeper ties with Erdogan after failed coup in Turkey

Authoritarian Turkish President Recep Erdoğan could have hardly asked for a better coup. Apparently launched by a faction within the military at night (an odd time to launch a putsch in a country where these have, in the past, usually happened in the morning and involved the arrest of political leaders), the coup was put down within about five hours; […]

by · July 16, 2016 · East