Due to a lack of capacity, the ambulances will not undertake to secure the demonstration announced for February 25.

The Democratic Coalition suspects that the Orbán government is in the background (when isn't it?), but this assumption was refuted by the OMSZ, asking the party's politicians:

they should not use the issue of saving lives to support their daily party political goals.

The Democratic Coalition, Momentum, MSZP and Párbeszéd - Greens are jointly organizing a demonstration in favor of the direct presidential election on February 25.

In relation to the event reported to the parliament, the DK stated: citing a lack of capacity, the National Rescue Service did not undertake to secure the demonstration. They emphasized: by taking a stand, they intend to speak not only in favor of the direct election of the president of the republic, but also "against the Orbán pedophile network".

It has never happened that the Orbán government has ordered the ambulance service to withdraw medical care from demonstrators exercising their democratic rights, thus violating the right of opposition demonstrators to assemble

- the party said in a statement, adding that they will not give up: they will hold the demonstration on Kossuth Square and "will sweep Orbán's pedophile network out of Hungary."

The OMSZ reacted

The National Ambulance Service wrote the following response to Index's inquiry regarding the case:

Health insurance for events is a health service, it has nothing to do with politics

- they stated, and then explained that according to the legislation, the National Ambulance Service can undertake such a task at the expense of its free capacity without jeopardizing its core activity, and the clients and event organizers can choose from dozens of service providers that carry out event insurance activities with a license.

"In the specific case, the request for a quote from the representative of the DK was received by the National Ambulance Service on February 14, 2024, while health insurance for a sports event in Budapest requiring a large ambulance capacity and a mass event in the city center had already been obtained from our institution (on February 12, 2024 and January 29, 2024 me) was ordered, that is, the territorial free capacities of the OMSZ were already booked by the orders received before DK's quotation request. We respectfully ask the representatives of the Democratic Coalition and all political parties not to use the issue of saving lives to support their daily political goals"

- they stated in their letter.

Featured image: MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry