Ferenz Kontra: “I am proud of getting acquainted with the Belarusians thinking in term of freedom and democracy” (Video)

A press conference dedicated to the national holiday of Hungary – the Revolution Day. Here are some statements of the Hungarian ambassador that haven’t been published before.

As “Nasha Niva” newspaper reports, to a question about contacts with the Belarusian public, the ambassador of Hungary to Belarus Ferenz Kontra said: “Meetings with NGO activists, both recognized and unrecognized, are of great importance for us”.

“I am proud of getting acquainted with many people, who think in terms of freedom of speech and democracy,” the ambassador said.

As BelaPAN informs, the diplomat also noted: “Some representatives of the Belarusian authorities are closed for negotiations”. “If I propose a minister to meet two times, but he says he is too busy, I don’t impose myself. I talk to people who want to talk, with whom we have common topics to discuss,” Ferenz Kontra said.

The ambassador of Hungary set an example from the history of his country, when the authorities and opposition started negotiations. “The dialogue revealed that we are not enemies. We have learnt to respect one another the experience shows such processes were noticed in all Eastern European countries,” Kontra said.

The Hungarian ambassador also emphasized that the European Union had offered its hand to Belarus. “The Belarusian side has started certain processes, there are results. But progress is not seen in some spheres, in which changes can be profitable for Belarus and can be reached by just one signature,” Kontra noted. “I’d like the Belarusian authorities to accelerate the pace of actions they started. As soon as they become convincing, the EU will react in an appropriate way.”

The Hungarian ambassador gave his estimation of prospects for Belarus–Hungary cooperation. According to the ambassador, this cooperation should be developed within frameworks of Belarus–EU cooperation. However, Kontra noted that words differed from reality. “You know themselves the situation with freedom of mass media. If journalists are not able to work freely, if they are not allowed to film, it hinders development of cooperation between our countries.”

“Unfortunately, I have an impression that words and actions of the Belarusian authorities sometimes differ,” the diplomat said.

“It often happens at rallies,” Kontra noted, “that militia officers beat young people, peaceful demonstrators. Questions arise: what should be taken into account – words or what TV cameras show?”

When international delegations come in Belarus and estimate the situation with the mass media, officials told them: it’s all right, the ambassador noted.

“When people in civvies close lenses of photo and TV cameras, it may mean that they don’t want the cameras to be here,” Kontra thinks. “If journalists are hindered to perform their duties, these people are not interested in good ties between our countries.”

The diplomat also touched upon the economic sphere. According to him, the embassy hasn’t found investors in Hungary who would be ready to build sporting complexes in Belarus. “I am envious of you,” Kontra said, “that Belarus builds so many sporting complexes amid the crisis. Hungary can’t afford this. Maybe Belarus has money, but it is spent on sporting complexes, not on industry development? Don’t think I am trying to interfere with Belarus’s domestic affairs, it is just a glance from outside.”

According to the ambassador, there are facts of not paying a debt to a Hungarian company by its Belarusian partner. Besides, “investors have used to work according to European standards,” Kontra noted. “This means: they give their money, build, and an enterprise begins to work, they pay taxes. But it is also necessary to build nursery schools, hospitals and so on besides the main object. They don’t understand this. This impedes our economic cooperation,” the diplomat thinks.