Gays and Muslims not welcome in our village, says mayor

The mayor of a Hungarian village doesn’t want gay people or Muslims to move into the area, even though the village is in dire need of residents.

László Toroczkai, mayor of Asotthalom, which has a population of around 4,000, is keen to welcome newcomers, as long as they are white, from Western Europe and aren’t gay.

The Independent reports that Toroczkai told the BBC’s Victory Derbyshire show that “it’s very important for the village to preserve its traditions”.

He also warned than an influx of refugees and immigrants would “lead to the disappearance of Europe”.

He said: “We can see large numbers of Muslim communities in Western communities that haven’t been able to integrate, and we don’t want the same thing to happen here.”

Toroczkai, who is also the vice-president of the Jobbik right-wing Christian political party, confirmed that the village had recently adopted a “gay propaganda” by-law that bars the “propagation of gay marriage” and public displays of affection by same-sex couples.

He has also banned the call to prayer, the wearing of Islamic dress and the building of mosques in the village. “We’re defending our own traditions,” Toroczkai insisted.

The Hungarian government is set to decide on the legal and constitutional validity of the discriminatory by-laws later this month.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal in Hungary. Same-sex partnerships can be registered but marriage is constitutionally limited to being between a man and a woman.

In March last year, Hungary’s increasingly conservative government blocked an agreement drafted by the Council of the European Union calling for the European Commission to address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and to promote LGBTI equality.