Pretoria - Czech President Milos Zeman called transgender people “disgusting” in an interview with CNN’s Prima News on Sunday during a discussion on a controversial new law in Hungary, CNN reported on Monday.
The US broadcaster explained that the new Hungarian law bans all educational materials and programmes for children that are considered to promote homosexuality, gender reassignment and the concept of sexuality deviating from the one assigned to a person at birth.
The law has been met with fierce criticism from other members of the European Union, CNN wrote.
The news channel quoted Zeman as saying that interference in the internal affairs of any EU member country is a gross political mistake, and continued to defend Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying, "I do not see a reason not to agree with him.’’
"I can understand gays, lesbians and so on. But do you know who I do not understand at all? These transgender people,’’ he said.
Zeman described transgender people as “intrinsically disgusting” to him.
According to Human Rights Watch, on June 14, thousands of people gathered in Budapest in protest against the homophobic and transphobic law, which conflates paedophilia with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Our Brussels office is sending a message to #Hungary's permanent representation across the street... #LGBT rights are human rights!
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) June 24, 2021
🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈
Read more about Hungary's new anti-LGBT law: https://t.co/nCFlRNv5Mg
(photo: @philippe_dam) pic.twitter.com/hPqGI6Bc0P
According to Republicworld News, Orban has already ruled out withdrawing the law and insisted that it does not target homosexuals. However, a majority of EU leaders told Orban that the new Hungarian law goes against the 27-bloc’s fundamental values and insisted that discrimination must not be tolerated.
The Indian English news broadcaster quoted Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo telling Orban that “being homosexual is not a choice; being homophobic is”.
In a story on its website, the news channel reported that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte suggested that Orban activate the same clause in the bloc’s treaty that Britain used to leave if he is not happy with the bloc’s principles. “Hungary has no place in the EU any more,” Rutte was quoted as saying.
It said Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who is openly gay, said that the Hungarian law further stigmatises homosexuals and should be fought.
EU leaders have called on Ursula von der Leyen’s commission, which watches over the respect of EU laws, to take the government in Budapest to the European Court of Justice over the bill, Republicworld News wrote.
African News Agency (ANA)