Péter Magyar asked the rally’s participants to boycott MTVA as well as Hir TV, TV2, news portals Origo and Index, daily Magyar Nemzet and the Metropol newspaper, and “every tentacle” of the “Rogán propaganda”, referring to cabinet office head Antal Rogán.
He called for the elimination of the “propaganda machine” and an objective news broadcast by the public service media. Magyar demanded that news channel M1 report about the demonstration in a live broadcast or, if it missed doing so, show “unedited footage” of what happened at the event.
He also demanded the dismissal of MTVA’s chief executive Daniel Papp, relieving members of media authority MNHH from their positions and new regulations as a deterrent “for press organs that disseminate lies”.
Magyar said how MTVA was operating calling itself public service media was “a global scandal”. “How come that the leader of the biggest opposition party is still not allowed in to the public service media after 210 days”?
The Tisza leader said that at Hungary’s next general election the current regime “must be brought to its knees”, adding that Saturday’s demonstration was only the first step towards the goal of dismantling it. “If elected into power, the Tisza Party will eliminate corruption, Hungary will join the European Prosecutor’s Office, cut the 27 percent VAT on healthy foods to 5 percent and bring home the 8,000 billion forints worth of EU funding Hungary is entitled to from Brussels,” said Magyar.
Speaking at the event, Zoltán Tarr, an MEP of the party, said that public service media providing authentic and objective information to citizens is a pillar of democracy and if it is hurt, democracy is hurt as well. At the end of the demonstration, Magyar demanded that he could present the party’s 16-point petition in a live broadcast.
After a couple of minutes, he told the rally’s participants that he was told by MTVA’s leaders that it was not possible, however, the public service media would carry reports about the demonstration in its news programs and would welcome representatives of the opposition parties in its television and radio programs.
Magyar, wrapping up the event, invited participants to attend the party’s rally to be held on October 23 at Bem tér.
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