Around 50 neo-Nazis allegedly attacked a well-known liberal cultural center in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. They tore down the rainbow flag at the entrance, burned it and smeared Nazi slogans on the gate and on the wall of the house, as Ádám Schönberger, director of the Auróra Cultural Center, reported on his Facebook page.
The center had not been open at the time of the attack, no one was in the interiors, Schönberger said. The police started investigating unknown charges of rioting. The Hungarian news site "Index" also reported on the incident.
The Auróra has been in existence since 2014 and is also a home for critical civil organizations. Among others, the organizers of Gay Pride, homeless activists and the Roma press center have offices there. The until recently acting competent district administration, which was controlled by the right-national Fidesz party, had tried several times to close the club.
But in the municipal elections ten days ago, the Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was also in the 8th Budapest district of the opposition defeated. There is the Auróra. The new District Mayor András Pikó went to the scene immediately after the attack of right-wing extremists. On his Facebook profile, the politician posted a photo to show the attackers.
The attackers had previously participated in a rally of like-minded people on the occasion of the Hungarian National Day. On October 23, 1956, an uprising against the then communist leadership of the country had broken out. Soviet forces had struck the rebellion bloody after nearly two weeks.