#SpeakUpForHungary: a Successful International Action
During Thursday’s demonstration of solidarity, more than 60 organizations from 20 countries expressed their support for Hungarian civil society organizations against the actions of the government.
The statement expressing solidarity with Hungarians was published by important agencies like Transparency International, the most renowned international anti-corruption organization, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which is the oldest and greatest watchdog organization in the US. A great number of LGBT+ and women's rights groups also participated. Follow the hashtag #SpeakUpForHungary on community pages, including Facebook and Twitter. The opening post of the action has thus far reached 143,000 people, and the HCLU video accompanying the action has had over 3,000 views.
The action was covered by over 15 Hungarian media publications, representing a leading news item published by major online news sites. Today one of the commercial television channels discussed it in its morning talk show. Most importantly, we have been able to impact Hungarian decision makers. Although they did not mention the action directly and explicitly, their prompt reaction betrayed that they had heard the voice of international organizations. A statement issued yesterday suggests that the government had failed to make up its mind and still insists on the state control of the Norway Grants. Nevertheless, we strongly believe that the power of international attention and solidarity, along with public support, will secure the transparency of the government's intentions, and ensure counterweight against its further attacks.
Thank you for supporting our cause!
