Former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski fled his home country ahead of his two year prison sentence on a corruption-related conviction and has claimed political asylum in Hungary. Mr. Gruevski ignored the order to surrender to authorities on 9 November, in order to begin his prison sentence and instead escaped to Budapest. He claimed that he had no choice but to flee his homeland, after allegedly receiving death threats.
Fidesz communications director Balázs Hidvéghi, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, explained that while Hungary has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, such as Macedonia, the ruling party is nonetheless convinced that Mr. Gruevski is a victim of George Soros and his left-wing conspiracy.
“A politician who is being persecuted and threatened by a left-wing government, clearly under the influence George Soros, has claimed political asylum in Hungary,” explained Mr. Hidvéghi. While in power, Mr. Gruevski was a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and it would appear as though Hungary is now prepared to harbour a convicted criminal and fugitive, assisting him in avoiding his prison sentence.
Former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (L) welcomes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) in Ohrid, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 28 September 2017. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Ohrid to meat the leader of opposition VMRO DPMNE and Former PM Nikola Gruevski on the start of election campaign for the local election. EPA-EFE/ALEKSANDAR KOVACEVSKI
It would appear that the convicted former politician left Macedonia illegally–using an unofficial border crossing and leaving without his valid passport, which had been confiscated by Macedonian authorities after his arrest. It follows from this that he would have also entered Hungary, and by extension the European Union, without a valid passport.
Mr. Gruevski, after a decade in power, was forced to resign following his involvement in a wiretapping scheme against some 20,000 political opponents and in the cover up of a murder committed by Macedonian police. In his 2017 criminal trial it also emerged that Mr. Gruevski illegally used his influence as prime minister to have the state procure a €600,000, bullet-proof Mercedes-Benz 600. After having failed to surrender on 9 November, the former prime minister is now considered a fugitive.
Macedonia’s government is demanding that Hungary immediately apprehend and deport the fugitive. According to media reports, Mr. Gruevski may have spent his first night in Hungary at a luxury hotel in Budapest–the Corinthia Hotel was specifically named. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is demanding that Hungary not protect a convicted criminal who has harmed his own people. Mr. Zaev raised the absurdity of having a member state of the European Union become a place of refuge for criminals, disregarding international practices and norms. Macedonia’s Interior Ministry added that no valid reason exists for the former prime minister to be granted asylum in Hungary.
In a fine example of what passes for journalism in Fidesz circles, the internet propaganda tabloid Origo deflected the unpleasant attention of the Orbán regime harbouring a convicted criminal by publishing an unsigned article accusing former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány of having met with Mr. Gruevski in 2006, during a visit to Skopje. Origo can count on the fact that Fidesz’s two and a half million voters won’t detect the absurdity of attacking the former Hungarian prime minister, merely because he met with a sitting prime minister in the region, 11 years before the Macedonian leader was actually accused or convicted of anything. The only silver lining in all of this, is that people who work for Origo at least have a slight sense of shame and prefer not to take personal responsibility for the rubbish that they produce.
Ahol és akik elhiszik a Sorost említő indoklást, azok megérdemlik és élvezzék az államilag szervezett és adminisztrált diktatatúrát, jogtiprást, a korrupciót és a totális parasztvakítást! Akik pedig ellenzik ami történik MO-n nap mint nap, azok tegyenek felőle, hogy megszűnjön és máskép legyen.
Mi történik MO-n nap mint nap ?
Vàci KK
Mi törtènik …
Q. What is going on in Hu?
A. Plain, rather fascist dictatorship, but spiced up with huge corruption.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dr8JtpFWoAAbW3W.jpg
NG: As a prime minister I lied, cheated and stole, this is why they persecute me in my country. Are you going to accept me?
VO: We are always glad to accept those who are from our culture.
Well!!! Maybe he deserves it more than many migrants which entered the EU and apparently were coached by NGO “Advocates Abroad” to lie and deceive their European interviewers. A video surfaced just recently where their CEO admits to them doing as much.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/ngo-exposed-teaching-migrants-how-to-trick-stupid-eu-border-guards_2714633.html
Since then, UNHCR condemned such behavior after learning of the video, but yet to hear from mainstream media on it. Their coverage is completely absent thus far. A fine example of Western journalism!
Macedonian former PM on the other hand may indeed be the victim of a political hit job, and he may indeed have valid claims to not being able to get a fair trial in Macedonia. I am not necessarily suggesting that there may not be dirt on him, but there seems to be a clear regional pattern lately, where it only starts to matter if you are dirty, if you do not serve the globalist agenda. If you do? No worries!
Going back to that NGO video, Hungary was recently condemned by the EU parliament within that Sargentini report, for restricting such NGOs from “helping” migrants, as an example of “anti democratic” behaviour. Once more, EU leadership is made to look foolish and out of step with today’s realities. They are simply living their existence on a different planet. As for Orban? Once more he is being proven right!
When also factoring in some of the other ridiculous charges, such as on antisemitism, this Sargentini report is increasingly shaping up to be one of the most ridiculous items to ever be voted by the EP.
Fidesznik Joe
All BS again: maybe a convicted (to prove the obvious corruption racket) embezzler on the run “deserves it more”?!
How is that? What about the Hu laws?
Sorry, I alway forget no laws apply to leader/ship in a fascist regime – he IS the law.
Given that the Sargentini report is shaping up to have been an EU-level political hit job, given that most of the accusations are proving to be a sham, I think a politician claiming a political hit job against him in Macedonia is more credible than migrants who were coached to lie in order to get asylum, yet they got asylum.
BTW, still complete mainstream media silence on that NGO. Their discipline is impressive! But then again, we have seen this before, where Germany’s national media ignored the rape & molestation of 1,200 women for five days, before it became too much to cover up, mostly because the stories of the victims spread on social media (Germany made sure it will not happen again with its social media censorship law). And we are told that Hungary lacks media freedom. Another one of the Sargentini charges that rival the antisemitism claim, where the country that is safest for EU Jews to have an openly Jewish life has been accused of antisemitism.
Come again with that “fascist regime”??? I don’t believe that Orban could ever enforce such media discipline in shunning a damaging story in Hungary.
Fidesznik Joe
BS aside, you obviously share the cognitive and logic deficiencies of most Fideszniks:
You state the fact, but you “don’t believe that Orban could ever enforce such media discipline..”.
Your unwarranted belief aside, the facts show that the “mainstream media” is tightly “disciplined” by the Orbàn regime, ie. as it happens under fascists regimes, doesn’t it?
Are you suggesting that Nepszava would pass on an opportunity to make Orban and his government look bad? That is part of Hungarian MSM, is it not? And there are others too, which would not hesitate.
BTW: Day five of the revelation of the NGO which has been coaching perhaps tens of thousands of migrants to lie in order to get asylum. MSM (left or right and multiple languages) blackout of this story still holds and it looks like it will hold. A fact that all EU citizens should be aware of, since it directly concerns them, will only reach perhaps .1% of the public. EU authorities also silent, even though this should be taken seriously as a potentially serious breach of security. After all, just recently we learned that Greek camps are full of some very “interesting” characters.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/10/01/sharia-law-islamic-militants-rule-in-greeces-notorious-migrant-camp-report/
Not sure whether Macedonian ex Prime Minister deserves prison for the state purchase of a car. Maybe a bad decision, but fail to see the corruption involved. If he would have used state money to buy that car for himself, it would be different. We do not send politicians to prison for bad decisions, because then we would have to lock them all up. But NGO staff could be accomplices to sending ISIS members or sympathizers into Europe by coaching them how to get asylum by lying. Yet, the EU has done nothing, neither have any national EU governments, especially those which have been receiving these migrants.
Once more, simply amazing! This is the state of Western Democracy! Perhaps you should check on just how many Orwellian points we qualify on.
“War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength”
Today, it looks like Most Western society stands a lot closer to it than Hungary.
Fascist regime
The license of the very popular Slager Radio station, owned by the Simicska/Nyerges (former Orban allies) was not extended and the station was deemed unsuitable for broadcasting in the future.
Media freedom the Orbàn way.
And yet, the fact that a seemingly large-scale coordination executed across much of the media in the Western World, meant to keep people in the dark about a story that if examined would most likely have wide-ranging consequences for many things our elites have done in the past few years, does not seem to bother you at all. What does that tell us about media freedom in our society? They evidently do not have to shut any media down here, because all media with any reach worth mentioning can seemingly be tightly controlled at will.
And most of the nations where this info blackout was skillfully executed, will appear on top of the lists of media freedom rankings next year.
Joe
Total mish mash BS… deranged.
But since you mentioned Nèpszava.. and others..
Where are the “others”, dailies in Orbanistan?
Any critical radio station (except Klubràdiò)?
Any tv station (except ATV, sometimes RTL)?
Fascist regime
The UN inspectors on official inspection visit, approved by the gov, were not allowed into the two refugees facilities they came to inspect due to reports about inhumane treatment of the inmates.
“..Hungary has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, such as Macedonia…
A politician who is being persecuted and threatened by a left-wing government, clearly under the influence George Soros..”
All brazen lies:
– Orban/Habony have bought/stakes in TV and print media in Macedonia (with misappropriated Hun taxpayers’ money) and have been actively supporting Grujevski.
– the others are obvious …
More on Orban’s interference in the Macedonian politics:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/orban-hails-push-to-block-a-solution-to-macedonia-name-dispute/
Are not all EU member nations obligated under the international extradition treaty ???
Than every member state/nation is obligated to return him in irons.
More Soros bikaszar ….
Another idiot, or just the same one using another, Phil SS account.
Takes a thief to know a thief. The Hungarian government has given shelter, even passports to scores of criminals fleeing justice in their homeland. This is just a more recent example. Wonder where Mr. Orbán will run to when its his turn to face criminal indictment in his homeland ? Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, maybe Brazil ? Judgement day is coming for Hungary’s criminal in chief. He will also have to account for the billions he stole from European and Hungarian taxpayers.
I wish I could your share optimism re: judgement day, András. Fidesz has massive support and it’s growing; with a two-thirds parliamentary majority (the second biggest party is Jobbik ffs).
They’ve successfully spread fear and loathing against the “migráns” hoards (that are not in, nor wish to be in Hungary) and the “ellensége” in Brussels. Orban is their saviour.
These guys aren’t going away anytime soon, let alone be judged. Of my own extended family, circle of friends and acquaintances in Budapest and Vesprem , (conservatively) 80% support Fidesz. Disappointing and depressing, fortunately I don’t have to live there.
HFP
Pls use “Hungary” very judiciously; the Orbàn regime, which captured the state, cannot be equated with the country since there are no free and fair elections, to start with.
For once Orban may be right: “Mr. Gruevski is a victim of George Soros and his left-wing conspiracy”. After all Soros organizations are against corruption and for transparency of government. Mr. Gruevski was guilty of corruption and his government was not transparent.
Isn’t it great that Hungary is making a home for all of these corrupt and crooked former leaders from around the world who share Oban’s principles?
Stem C
Magyarországon minden tegnap jobb.
As F. Gyurcsány said, the Orban mafia has turned the country into a clearing house for all sorts of criminals. The situation may be better compared to Macedonia and Bulgaria, but it’s definitely the worst in the neighborhood. The tip of the iceberg we have seen so far: the affairs of
– the Azeri ax murderer,
– G.Pharaoh,
– the Sanader/Hernàdi corruption,
– the resident bonds sold to shady characters,
– the Russian operatives training extremists in Hu, and now
– the Gruevski one.
A stunningly amateurish operation, btw, which was laid open in 24h and a fumbling communication which leaves little doubt about Orban’s intentions and the premeditated nature of this operation.
I can’t wait for the next “explanation” dished to the deplorables; the trolls will bring it here and I won’t be surprised if “NG flew over on his own wings”.
PHIL STEIN:
This is an English language portal, so please say it all in English, like :”bull shit”.
That is that goes on here any way !
Dr.Gollner;
In case you have solid evidence to back up your allegation, why the hell you, or your patrons do not take a legal action in Hungary, OR in EU or International court ?
In case you do not have evidence , than hope you realize, you may be committing a libelous act.
Sweden and other EU countries granted asylum to ISIS members and the Talaban. These people actually participated in murder. Many countries wire tap people who are supported by foreign entities, e.g. soros, to safeguard a country. Ordering a bullet proof car is not a crime, most EU leaders have one. Hungary can grant asylum legitimately.
Another idiotic argument and logic.
Wow. Amazes me that there are English speakers in Hungary who actually have access to balanced media still fall for the diabolical diatribe that eminates from the Hungarian language Fidesz controlled media. Wake up you people, Orbán is stealing your future and that of your children. After all this time still using Soros as the scapegoat for your country’s ills is a brilliant piece of misdirection that is fallen for time and time again. I don’t know if Soros is a good or bad person but he simply can’t have done all that he is blamed for. What I can see however is that Orbán and his circle of now very very wealthy friends have amassed their obscene wealth at the expense of the poor Hungarian people that daily scrape a living and endure shocking health care, poor schools and crap roads amongst so many other things. Ask yourselves why your people are leaving the country, are you mothers and fathers happy to see your offspring leave the country of their birth to attain the lives they want and deserve? I suspect not! Stand up to this regime before it becomes a complete totalitarian state to rival Putins Russia from which you will never escape.
“I don’t know if Soros is a good or bad person but he simply can’t have done all that he is blamed for.”
https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/17/news/george-soros-18-billion-open-society-foundations/index.html
$18 billion allocated to political interference all over the world.
Now, in the US they have been on “Breaking News” mode on CNN over a few Russian facebook trolls for two years now. Apparently, Russia may have spent about $1.25 million/month during the election campaign months in 2016. And you are wondering what $18 billion can do?
I agree, Soros is not the puppet master, but the amount of money he allocated to the cause, as well as the sympathies and direct help he gets from high places all over the Western World, given aligning interests, sure make him very much relevant.
$18 billion is Hungary’s entire defense budget for over a decade, and that sum does not include all the money Soros spent till now, only what he allocated recently to finance future interference.
Hate to break it to you, but it is you who is living in a totalitarian state. One that is extremely sophisticated. So sophisticated that you and most others think that you are free, living with a free media and so on.
If you are so free, then how come your media never thought it would be nice to inform you that just recently a major NGO in Greece was caught coaching perhaps tens of thousands of migrants to lie in order to get asylum?
https://www.theepochtimes.com/ngo-exposed-teaching-migrants-how-to-trick-stupid-eu-border-guards_2714633.html
Not newsworthy right? I mean many such people who were coached could be ISIS fighters, and all the sudden they found themselves eligible for the EU relocation quota and sent all over Europe. That is your “free” media at work!
Germany takes the asylum seekers and Hungary the European fascists and Chinese triads and other criminals. You just have to be white and Christian … if that is not a mind!
@ Joe
“Given that the Sargentini report is shaping up to have been an EU-level political hit job”
Joe – given by whom ? Given by that mini-train conductor friend of yours, Viktor Orbán, the guy who specializes in stealing the EU taxpayers’ money, to stuff his own pockets ? Your argument stinks from its unsubstantiated opening premise.
“Joe – given by whom ?”
Given by the facts! Hungary was called out for antisemitism, which is perhaps the greatest farce, given that in much of Western Europe Jews can no longer live an openly Jewish life. It was also called out for restricting NGOs from working with migrants. Now we understand why Hungary was justified in doing so. Should note that this was not the first time NGOs were caught misbehaving in this regard. And as I pointed out, we also learned a lot about media freedom in the Western World with this occasion as well. Five days, and dead silence in the Western MSM on the subject of that NGO. 100% discipline, across the board, in multiple countries!
There were also other jewels in that report, such as a cynical reference to minority rights. In Hungary, you can go to Mehkerek and you can see Romania’s flag flying in front of its municipal hall. In Romania, all ethnic Hungarian towns which dared to adopt local flags, with locally significant cultural or historical symbols have been fined, even though Romanian majority towns have been making use of local flags at will. EU authorities have been alerted about such legal discrimination and abuse, and every time they declared they are not interested.
These are all facts that say it is a farce. Now please be specific and point out what about any of this is “unsubstantiated”!!!
@ Bendy Goose
I don’t fetch for wing-nuts like you. Why don’t you ask Joe to sit on your goose eggs. Don’t you know – birds of a feather flock together 🙂
Hey Joe. If Soros is determined to flood Hungary with migrants what does he gain? He is 87 and as your news article states he is giving his vast fortune away to support the under privileged and oppressed throughout the world. People of Hungary benefited from his foundation in the past to help them break away from the Soviet Union and mr Orbán was happy to take his money to further his education in England. It seems to me that Soros aims to try to prevent the despots of the world, including Orban, destroying the lives and hopes of populations in order to stop these criminals stealing their respective country’s wealth.
Joe answer this question honestly Are you happy that Orbáns circle of crooks have stolen so much of your money? We are talking billions and billions of huf by the way, theft on an industrial scale. Would you prefer that they were honest and used the vast sums stolen to make your life and those of your nation better?
When Fidesz is finally defeated whenever that might be you will be amazed at the stories of corruption that will be uncovered. This is why your government fill your mind with fictitious stories, to spread fear and keep you all from seeing through their lies. They simply can’t afford to lose power now because they will all have To seek asylum elsewhere to save them from the anger of Their downtrodden subjects.
Wake up Hungarians you can’t sleep forever.
“mr Orbán was happy to take his money to further his education in England.”
Yes, Orban (and Fidesz) have well established form for biting the hand that feeds them.
1) I don’t think Orban and his circle are clean, but no dirtier than predecessors, nor are any other options in the future any cleaner. But at least Orban does a decent job on the economy, unlike the other clan of corrupt leaders. Not just in Hungary, but everywhere politicians come with their supporters or sponsors. Everywhere on this planet those sponsors need to be satisfied. In developing world they do it in a more crude fashion, in the developed world they developed more sophisticated schemes, no longer called corruption, but they still satisfy those sponsors, to the detriment of everyone else.
2) Soros is beyond personal gain at this point in my view. His gain would be a legacy. A legacy he believes its noble. He wants to erase distinct native cultures and transform the world into a multikulti stew, where no one is anything in particular. And all will be subjects to a new global nobility, and because they will have no particular bonds to coalesce around, they will be easier to control by these new overlords. I guess he probably figures his grandchildren will be part of that new nobility, which given their wealth, it would indeed be the case. It is basically the Kalergi plan (you probably never heard of him, because not even historians with a PhD know about him, even though he is considered one of the main architects of the EU). It may sound ideal and noble to many, but it is in fact evil and perverse. As all ideologies based on extreme idealism, it would most likely become a world-wide Stalinist state if it were to ever be achieved and those leaders would have absolute power over the masses. Just think of a world where opposition dissidents will have nowhere to turn for political asylum. In my view, there will be no more dissidents, no more opposition, no more whistle-blowers, just the rulers and the ruled. Not to mention the ethno-cultural genocide planned along the way, on the road towards that ideal. That is what Soros represents in my view, and like I said, he is no puppet master, but he is a prominent warrior of this cause. And, no I don’t think this will succeed. It will only succeed in destroying the Western World and most cultures that belong to it.
@ Joe
“I don’t think Orban and his circle are clean, but no dirtier than predecessors, nor are any other options in the future any cleaner. But at least Orban does a decent job on the economy.”
Mussolini made the trains run on time huh Joe ? Hitler put the German economy on a fast track huh Bendy ? Didn’t Stalin make the Russian economy grow at 10% per year? As long as the Fascists, Nazis or the Bolshies make the GDP grow, who cares about the 6 million Jews, or the fact that 100 million people died as a consequence of these good economic numbers, huh, trolls ?
Listen Joe, you are as ignorant as your moronic friend the Bendy goose. Listen to the economists rather than the bullshit artists. The Hungarian economy is utterly unprepared for the information age – instead of putting the EU’s subsidies to education and innovation, Orbán squandered the money on stadiums, mini-trains in his back yard, and absconded with billions. Hungary’s productivity of labor, competitiveness, her performance in innovation and education, health, taxation, income equality is at the bottom of the barrel. She is living off cheap labor, tied into the German auto industry, and as soon as the AI wave hits or suckers further east volunteer to work at slave wages, her economy will be down the tube. Want evidence? Read, morons. Read instead of spreading BS. Here is a short list that shows some of the indicators of Hungary’s economic fragility. All of these reports cite the OECD, Hungary’s Academy of Sciences, and politically neutral EU sources. From the EU Parliament, to virtually every one of the world’s most respected Conservative think tanks, the evidence is in – the Orbán regime stinks. It’s in bed with meat grinders like the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
1. The results of 8 yrs of crony capitalism
http://hvg.hu/gazdasag /20180308_A_haveri_kapitalizmus_nyolc_eve_Magyarorszagon
2. Hungary No 1 in theft of EU funds
http://hvg.hu/gazdasag/20170531_olaf_toplista
or
https://g7.24.hu/allam/20180425/brusszelbol-nezve-sosem-volt-meg-ilyen-korrupt-kormanya-magyarorszagnak/
3. here are also the latest OECD figures on exploitation of labour
https://mfor.hu/cikkek/makro/ime-a-friss-adat-csapnivaloan-keves-a-magyarok-fizetese.html
4. Hungary has highest tax rates on wages in EU
http://mfor.hu/cikkek /13_eves_csucson_ragadt_a_magyar_berek_adoterhelese.html
5. Hungary has highest minimum wage tax in EU
http://rtl.hu/rtlklub/hirek/magyarorszagon-kell-a-legtobbet-adozni-a-minimalber-utan
6. Hungary’s tax system is least supportive of families in Central Europe
https://zoom.hu/hir/2018/05/08/oecd-jelentes-a-fidesz-romma-adoztatja-a-magyar-csaladokat/
7. Deficit is worse than ever before
https://zoom.hu/hir/2018/06/07/rekordon-az-allamhaztartas-hianya-tavaly-ezer-milliarddal-jobban-alltunk/
8. Funding of health worse in Europe
http://168ora.hu/velemeny/nagy-n-peter-az-egeszsegugy-titkos-reformja-152291
9. Education policy is worse in Europe
https://g7.hu/allam/20181009/szinte-peldatlan-az-eu-ban-ami-a-fiatal-magyar-diplomasokkal-tortenik/
“Mussolini made the trains run on time huh Joe ? Hitler put the German economy on a fast track huh Bendy ? Didn’t Stalin make the Russian economy grow at 10% per year? As long as the Fascists, Nazis or the Bolshies make the GDP grow, who cares about the 6 million Jews, or the fact that 100 million people died as a consequence of these good economic numbers, huh, trolls ?”
1) MSM coverage of Advocates Abroad and their criminal activity yet? EU authorities reaction to it? In terms of tight grip on the media, the current Western elites seem to have as tight a grip as the above historical figures you mentioned. I know, feeling of living in this society is nothing like those times and places. But we have not seen this control mechanism that is in place be activated during hard times yet either. I personally think that in about a decade’s time we will see people going to prison for spreading “fake news”. For now people just tend to lose their jobs for not being ideologically correct.
2) Just because Orban managed to bring Hungary’s economy back to some stability and decent growth, with low unemployment and gains in wages, it does not make him any of those characters. Its an absurd argument to say the least.
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