Lifting ban on symbols of dictatorship not timely, says Orban

Lifting a ban on the symbols of dictatorship is not timely in Hungary and stands against human dignity as defined by the constitution as long as there is any person left in the country who has been persecuted or tortured by those that wore such symbols, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday.

Orban delievered a speech at the cemetery of Rakoskeresztur at an event marking the Memorial Day for the Victims of Communism and he inaugurated a national memorial pole.

"We must remember that the 20th century was perhaps the bloodiest century in human history, when two terrible ideologies, Nazism and Communism, were associated with the torture, damaging and destruction of millions," Orban said.

Hungary's Constitutional Court last Tuesday annulled passages from the Penal Code banning the use of symbols associated with Nazi and Communist dictatorships. In a statement, the court said that the annulled parts were too broad and not sufficiently clear-cut, penalising the use of symbols in a general way, with no consideration to the purpose, the way or consequences of the act. The ruling is effective as of April 30.