Orban seeks to destroy Hungary's independent media

In a conspiracy-laced address that coincided with a national holiday commemorating the 1848 Hungarian Revolution against Habsburg rule, Viktor Orbán told a group of several thousand select supporters that Hungary would liquidate media outlets and other organizations that receive funding from abroad in the coming weeks, comparing such groups to insects.

After today's festive gathering, Easter cleaning will begin. The insects have overwintered.

Viktor Orban

Prime Minister of Hungary

We are dismantling the financial machine that used corrupt dollars to buy politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs, and political activists. We are eliminating the entire shadow army.

Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has in recent years used the March 15 celebration as a platform from which to make increasingly hostile statements against the EU, of which Hungary has been a member since 2004.

He has often compared the EU to the Soviet Union, which occupied and repressed Hungary for nearly five decades in the 20th century, and has vowed to "occupy" the offices of power in Europe.

Now, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, the Hungarian leader has accelerated his long-standing efforts to crack down on critics such as the media, human rights and anti-corruption groups, which he says are undermining Hungary's sovereignty by receiving financial aid from international donors.