Czech President calls transgenders 'disgusting' amid furore over new law in Hungary

During a discussion on a controversial new law in Hungary regarding LGBTQ content, Czech President Milos Zeman on Sunday called transgender people "disgusting" in an interview with CNN Prima News. Zeman defended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the furious international reaction on the new law and said that interference in the internal affairs of any European Union (EU) country is a gross political mistake.

"I do not see a reason not to agree with him," Zeman said. "I can understand gays, lesbians and so on. But do you know who I do not understand at all? These transgender people," he later told CNN, describing transgenders as "intrinsically disgusting to me".

Zeman's comments came as several cities around the world celebrated Pride with parades and marches aimed at gaining visibility for the LGBTQ community and marking the 1969 Stonewall riots. The Hungarian law bans all educational materials and programs for children that are considered to promote homosexuality, gender reassignment and the concept of sexuality deviating from the one assigned to a person at birth. It has met fierce criticism from other members of the EU.

Last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Hungary "has no place" in the EU after passing the contentious bill. "For me, Hungary has no place in the EU anymore," Rutte told journalists before attending an EU summit in Brussels. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week denounced the bill as "clearly" discriminatory, saying "it goes against all the values, the fundamental values of the European Union, and this is human dignity, it is equality, and is the human fundamental rights."

Hungarian leader Victor Orban has, however, strongly defended the new legislation, reported CNN. "It's not about homosexuals, it's about the kids and the parents. I am a fighter for the rights. I am a freedom fighter in the communist regime," Orban said.

Last Tuesday, 14 out of 27 EU countries had expressed their "deep concern" at the law in a joint declaration initiated by Belgium. Citing advocacy group ILGA-Europe, CNN reported that local rights activists fear the Czech Republic could follow in the path of increasingly restrictive neighbours like Hungary and Poland.

According to a December 2020 report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Czech citizens are required to undergo gender reassignment and sterilization as a condition of officially transitioning.