Uproar in Hungary

Ministry draft on refugee camp leaked

Construction work continues on the site of a former vocational school near the border with Austria.

(Bild: facebook.com/Remete László)

The small town of Vitnyéd on the Hungarian-Austrian border cannot rest. No matter how vigorously the Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán may deny reports about the secret construction of a migrant shelter, the local population and the opposition do not believe these assurances. Now a ministerial draft has been leaked, adding fuel to the flaming fire.

As the weekly newspaper "Magyar Hang" reports, it has come into possession of a document from the Ministry of the Interior which talks about a sum of 4.7 billion forints (around 12 million euros) that has been estimated to realize the construction of the camp with a capacity of 500 places. Referring to the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on June 13, the document orders "the construction of a new reception center for the accommodation of asylum seekers in the village of Vitnyéd", the medium quoted. In June, the ECJ sentenced Hungary to pay massive fines for non-compliance with EU asylum regulations, which the Hungarian government still refuses to pay.

Bunk beds for young people in a vacation camp or for asylum seekers after all?

(Bild: Screenshot facebook.com/gabor.nyikos)

Government: vacation camp planned for young people
At the end of September, Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyás declared that the facility not far from the village was to be used as a vacation camp for young people. Nobody in the region believes this, explained the non-party local politician László Remete. "Why does a vacation camp need a three-meter-high wire fence in the middle of the forest, why police protection? We will continue to demonstrate," asked the candidate for mayor of Kapuvár.

Remete reported on Monday that the recently built high radio tower had been dismantled again. According to him, there is still great uncertainty regarding the alleged construction of the refugee camp 15 km from the Austrian border. This is because construction work is continuing (see photos below).

Outrage in the opposition camp
Opposition leader Péter Magyar was outraged by the new revelations and strongly criticized the Orbán government. "While the government has presented itself for years as an unconditional advocate of the fight against illegal immigration, in reality it has released 2,000 smugglers, trades in 'golden visas', brings 60,000 economic migrants into our country every year... And now, while denying everything and not even informing the locals, it is building a migrant camp on the site of a former prestigious school, with a transmission mast and barbed wire."