Orban: Refugee camp cannot be established in Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – No refugee camp can be established in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview to commercial broadcaster TV2 on Monday.

“The border has not been hermetically sealed but we are simply enforcing the laws that were in any case in force,” he said, adding that until now it was not permitted to cross the border beyond official crossing points.

A high rate of asylum requests are likely to be rejected after midnight, when stricter regulations take effect, the prime minister said. If someone declares themselves a refugee after having failed to lodge their asylum request in Serbia, their application will be rejected in Hungary, since Serbia is a safe country, he added.

He also said that on balance it was more likely than not that a crisis situation would be declared.

Orban said police would arrest illegal border-crossers who could face several years in prison and expulsion. Signs will be placed on the fence indicating where the nearest legal crossing point is, he said, adding that it is at these points that asylum can be requested.

Commenting on the decision by Austria and Germany to restore border controls, Orban said: “Now we could joke that the Austrians, having previously constantly criticised Hungary, are doing the same, but I think now is not the time.”

The prime minister insisted that the vast majority of arrivals are not refugees but were seeking a better life. He warned of the emergence of “parallel societies” in Europe if the bloc allows in migrants, and Christian Europe, he said, would be the loser in any competition between the two cultures.

In its interview broadcast by commercial TV2 late on Monday, Orban said that it was voter pressure that had made Europe’s governments quickly change their positions and introduce border control: “Europe is a democracy after all; you cannot act against the will of people for long and with no arguments.”

In central and western Europe people are concerned about their lifestyles; in countries with large and further growing Islamic communities parallel societies are being formed, which foretells a Europe in which our lifestyle will be in a minority, the prime minister said.

Orban also said that hot spots, refugee camps, collection or distribution centres would not be set up in Hungary. If there is a need for a refugee camp, it should be set up in Greece, he added.