Free press, free civil society!

Speech by Veronika Móra, Director of the Ökotárs Foundation, at the demonstration against the adoption of the opressive "transparency" bill on 18.05.2025 at Kossuth Square.

Hello everybody!

We started our work because of you. We are here with you. We are going to stay for you.

We started our work because of you: We are ordinary people who have created a civil society organization, an association, a foundation, because we wanted to be active. Are the streets dirty? Are the schools of poor quality? No doctor in the vinicity? Our job as civil society is to change that, to work together for our common cause.

We are here with you: anyone can have a cause. We're here to make yours succeed. This is only possible if we stick together with you, with our communities, volunteers and supporters, and we need to be many.

We are going to stay for you. Whatever happens - we stay. For all of us, for our country, to make it a better place for everyone.

Let's say it together - Hungary is our home!

Don't we have so many different voices? Did you hear how many different voices were playing together? That's what this opressive law is trying to silence, and to let only one voice to be heard: that of the government. So that there is no diversity, no public debate. To have no press, only propaganda. No thinking citizens with opinions.

They say the devil is in the details. But no: this law as a whole is rotten to the core and vile in every way. It does not ban organisations by name, pretending to be for the sake of transparency. But in fact: it not only deprives the arbitrarily listed organisations, newspapers and companies of their foreign funding, but would also deprive them of all kind of support by administrative means. Have you ever transferred two thousand forints to an association? Have you subscribed to any independent newspaper?

Well, in the future, you will have to prove with two witnesses that you did not use foreign money. Maybe you've been asked to be a board member? Watch out, you'll be a prominent public figure - then they can look into your bank account and rummage through your private life.

But why do you need foreign funding at all? The answer is simple: because there is no domestic one. Independent civil society organizations and the press have not received a single cent of public funding for a long time. Your support is vital, but it is not enough on its own, which is why international donors come into the picture. I work for an organisation, called Ökotárs, which is dedicated to strengthening the domestic civil society sector. We have always prided ourselves on being able to bring home funds in international competition for causes that the government cannot or will not spend money on, even though they have a duty to do so.

For example, to pay those who teach Roma children in schools or those who give jobs to people with disabilities or lawyers who defend unlawfully fired people in court. To be able to take water measurements around battery factories and then have someone publish the results. 

This is what we need foreign funding for in Hungary today. Isn't it ridiculous? 

That's what they put on the list. The organisations and editorial staff that Tamás Lánczi points out. 

No country was ever built on blacklists. Blacklists only breeds division and poisons us all. 

If it scares you - they win.
If it gives you sleepless nights - they win.
If it keeps you quiet - they win.

Don't let them! We must remain strong in spirit, and be present in the community where we can find supporters - in our families, with our friends, in our organizations, in our editorial offices.

And we must know: there is always a way out. This law has not yet been passed and we already know that the vast majority of Hungarians do not agree with it. To stop this law, we must continue to reinforce our message, every day and by every means: verbally, in writing and in action! People have recently succeeded in preventing similar despicable laws from being passed in Slovakia and Bulgaria. People know everywhere: we need free press, we need free civil society.

We will exploit all legal means within Hungary and in the EU to stop this law. More importantly, you should also tell your friends about this, publish articles in newspapers, post about it in social media, take part in debates, demonstrations and protests - but not only protests. Be creative, find different ways to resist. If nothing else, cover the city with civik heart shaped stickers.

And, of course, support independent civil society actors and the press with your money and time, with 1% of your taxes. We will continue, too, and we will organise the next action, and the one after that. We will write the next article, we will speak out and we will not be afraid to criticise. We are not silent!

Free press, free civil society!