29 August 2022 - Action for Democracy considers it necessary to respond to the press reports - often containing speculative elements - published in the Hungarian media following the interview of Péter Márki-Zay's Magyar Hang podcast, and therefore states the following:
1. Action for Democracy did not donate a single penny to the Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom (MMM) for the parliamentary election campaign, as stipulated in the contract between the two organizations (attached). We do not support electoral campaigns, in Hungary or anywhere else, only civic organizations on the front line of defending democracy. Our support to MMM was exclusively for informational purposes, "with special attention to the promotion of the values related of the rule of law, democracy and a commitment for the Euro-Atlantic partnership". The contract also explicitly states that “Each Party shall comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (as amended), Hungarian Act.1989. XXXIII., Hungarian Act. 2013. LXXXVII., Hungarian Act. 2013. XXXVI. and any analogous laws or regulations existing in any other country or region” All along, Action for Democracy firmly represented to MMM the utmost priority of keeping to these legal provisions, and MMM conveyed to us its commitment to comply.
2. Action for Democracy, as an organization operating under US jurisdiction shall comply with US laws and regulations regarding the disclosure of the identity of its supporters. Nevertheless, the support we collected and disbursed to MMM - along with other Hungarian NGOs, such as Nyomtass-Te-Is - come from thousands of donors, as a result of our comprehensive, strong and highly visible grassroots donation campaign. Many Hungarians living in the diaspora in the United States and around the world are well aware that the future of Hungary depends on the strengthening of democratic institutions and the country's commitment to the West and were happy to support the cause.
3. Action for Democracy’s work extends far beyond Hungary and Hungarian democracy. We - as the diversity of our advisory council shows - are currently active in several countries within the framework of our comprehensive international strategy.
4.Finally: we firmly reject the Hungarian government propaganda’s regularly recurring accusation that our organization wants to disparage Hungary. We have never done that and we would never do that. Both our advisory council members and our supporters regard Hungary and the Hungarian nation with the deepest respect, and it is precisely this respect that guides them in helping to save Hungarian democracy. We follow the words of Mark Twain: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."