The main opposition Socialists have initiated a meeting of parliament’s national security committee in connection with a sound recording posted by commercial television channel atv’s website which allegedly contains the mayor of Gyöngyöspata, of the radical nationalist Jobbik party, discussing the possible outcome of a “civil war” with people who also make strong racist remarks, party head Attila Mesterházy said on Thursday.

According to atv.hu, the recording made in May 2011 featured Mayor Oszkár Juhász, a man who identified himself as a campaign chief appointed by Jobbik’s national board, and two alleged vigilantes — thought to belong to the banned paramilitary Hungarian Guard’s successor organisation For a Better Future Association — discussing at length “the possible outcome of an unavoidable civil war,” atv.hu said.
Mesterházy said the recording also contained the voices of others discussing Jews and Gypsies as “the races which have to be ground up as soon as possible”.
Mesterházy said the statements in the recording constituted among the most serious crimes in the penal code, an attempt to overturn constitutional order. He said he had asked the national security committee’s chairman, Zsolt Molnár, of the Socialists, to call a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the matter.
He said the committee should discuss what kind of activities are under way to overturn the constitutional order, whether any preparations are being financed by foreign sources and if any political party or its affiliations are involved in training people and preparing them to “win an imaginary civil war”. Also to be investigated is whether or not any efforts have been made to influence members of the Hungarian army, he said.
Juhász told MTI in reaction to the allegations that he had not heard of the recording. Jobbik declined to comment, stating that it was a private conversation that had only revealed that Jobbik politicians were being monitored using the methods of the secret services.
“I am not aware of the existence of such a recording and I have not made such statements,” Juhasz told MTI after being told about the contents of the recording. He said there was a witch hunt against Jobbik and himself personally, and that even if the recording did indeed exist it must have been doctored.
Zsolt Molnár has called a meeting of parliament’s national security committee for Friday.
The small opposition LMP has called on Hungary’s chief prosecutor to evaluate the recording. LMP also calls on leaders of Jobbik to comment on the statements, lawmaker Lajos Mile told a press conference.
Gyöngyöspata was the flashpoint of friction between radical nationalists and the local Roma community which developed in March and April last year.
Source: MTI