Yet another Hungarian politician representing the ruling party has been denied entry to Ukraine. All the details of the incident

On Wednesday afternoon, September 22, Hungarian MP Nacsa Lőrinc announced on his Facebook page that he had not been allowed to enter Ukraine, saying he had been barred from entering the country for three years.

According to the Hungarian politician, he brought humanitarian aid to Zakarpattia, planning to pay a visit to several settlements in the region. Apparently, these are places of compact residence of local Hungarians. In his post on Facebook, the MP expressed his regret at the incident, at the same stressing that the humanitarian aid was delivered to the region nevertheless.

Also yesterday, September 22, the Hungarian national news agency MIT, citing Lőrinc Nacsa, reported the same incident on the border providing further details.

In particular, in a comment to the Hungarian state media, the Hungarian MP said that he had not known the exact reason for his having been banned from entering Ukraine. He suggested that it could have been for the speeches he delivered in Strasbourg, or for appealing to Hungarians during the 2020 local elections in Ukraine.

Exclusive details by Infopost

Our editorial office has managed to find out from its own sources that on Wednesday morning, September 22, Hungarian MP, Lőrinc Nacsa really tried to enter Ukraine through the Vylok- Tiszabec checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.

Moreover, the Hungarian MP provided a diplomatic passport on the border.

However, as a result, the Hungarian politician was denied entry. He was also provided with explanatory documents, according to which (without not containing specific reasons), were the ban would remain in force for 3 years. According to the Infopost sources, the decision to ban Lőrinc Nacsa from entering Ukraine was taken last year immediately after the local elections in Ukraine had been held.

The reason for this decision was his interference within the internal affairs of Ukraine, namely campaigning in local elections for one of the political forces (SHCZ – Society of Hungarian Culture of Zakarpattia led by Vasyl Brenzovych), which is prohibited by Article 57 of the Electoral Code of Ukraine.

According to the Infopost sources, Lőrinc Nacsa has not been a frequent visitor to Zakarpattia in  recent years. He did not visit Ukraine last fall when the election campaign in Ukraine took place, either.

At the same time, we have come across a video posted by the Hungarian politician on his Facebook page dated October 22, 2020 (the election took place on October 25). In this video he reflects on the importance of participation in the elections, including youths. He ends the video with an eloquent appeal “Hajrá Kárpátalja, hajrá KMKSZ ! ”, the Hungarian for “Forward Zakarpattia! Forward SHCZ! ”.

Who is Lőrinc Nacsa

He is a Hungarian politician and member of the Hungarian Parliament (National Assembly) representing the ruling Fidesz-HNDP bloc.

He is also the spokesman of the Christian Democratic People’s Party. Furthermore, Lőrinc Nacsa is also a member of the Hungarian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Hungarian delegation to the Council of Europe.

It was within the walls of this international institution that he repeatedly lashed out at Ukraine because of the country’s new educational law, which became the reason for the current Ukrainian-Hungarian dispute.

Context

It is worth reminding that following the recent local elections a new scandal between Kyiv and Budapest broke out over the participation of Hungarian top officials in campaigning for one of the political forces, namely the SHCZ (Society of Hungarian Culture of Zakarpattia).

As a result of the incident, the Ukrainian authorities banned several Hungarian officials from entering Ukraine.

Péter Szijjártó is not on this list, as it is an unspoken rule in diplomacy that does forbid top diplomats to enter another state.

At the same time, the Ukrainian list of personae non grata includes such Hungarian officials as the special representative of the Hungarian government István Grezsa  (his full title is the Commissioner for Development of the Zakarpattian region and the program of preschool education in the Carpathian Basin) and the Secretary of State, Árpád János Potápi.

The first entry ban was announced publicly after István Grezsa made an attempt to enter Ukraine last November. At the same time, Infopost knows from its own sources that Árpád János Potápi is a persona non grata in Ukraine. It is worth noting that both István Grezsa  and Árpád János Potápi are key Hungarian government officials responsible for Hungary’s “national policy” towards Hungarians living abroad, including the Hungarians residing in Ukraine and Zakarpattia. України та Закарпаття.

Infopost.Media, photo credit: Tibor Illyés/MTI