|
|
2011. június 26., vasárnap 15:42 |
Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by Former Hungarian Political Dissidents |
|
Budapest, 2011. június 26., vasárnap (OS) - |
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State of the United States of America
26 June 2011, Budapest
Dear Madame Secretary:
It is a great honor for Hungary that you will represent the
United States on the occasion of the opening of the Tom Lantos
Institute in Budapest.
For us, members of the erstwhile democratic opposition to the
one-party communist regime, this is an occasion of utmost
importance. Tom Lantos gave his whole-hearted support to the cause
of freedom at a time when Hungary was still a dictatorship. We all
held Representative Lantos in great esteem; many of us maintained
bonds of friendship with him until his death.
Regretfully, however, Hungary is rapidly moving away from the
standards upheld by Tom Lantos. While it is only to be commended
that the Tom Lantos Institute was established with the consensus of
the Hungarian government and the democratic parties, today our
government refuses to seek accord concerning any issue crucial to
democracy.
In the past one year, the rule of law has been seriously damaged
in our country. The Prime Minister, overwhelmingly elected in 2010
with a promise to strengthen civic liberties, is today openly
distancing himself from the ideals of Western democracies, calling
them obsolete. His ruling coalition systematically demolishes the
constitutional guarantees of separation of powers, removing all
checks and balances that restrain the executive.
An autocratic system is in the making in Hungary.
The first victim of these restrictions was freedom of the press.
An omnipotent authority was created, composed solely of
governing-party delegates, empowered to supervise not only
broadcasting, but also the print and online media. The
public-service media were re-nationalized, and obliged to only use
news provided by the state press agency. This one-party authority
arbitrarily imposes massive fines, and can deny to media outlets the
renewal of their licenses. This in turn has already triggered media
self-censorship.
Neither was the Constitutional Court, the most potent safeguard
of the rule of law during the past twenty years, able to avoid this
fate. First, its scope of competence was curtailed, and now the
Court is being expanded, with five new justices appointed by the
ruling parties.
Despite appeals to find common denominators, the ruling parties
drew up a new constitution on their own, cold-shouldering the
opposition. The constitution has recently been met with fierce
criticism by the Council of Europe's legal commission, both for
curtailing fundamental rights and for arbitrarily requiring a
supermajority for future revisions of the present government's
economic policies.
In a similar vein, the ruling parties are intent on modifying
the election law, a cornerstone of democracy, while disregarding the
opinion of the opposition parties.
The independence of the judiciary is under grave assault as
well. Despite judges having proven their integrity for the past
twenty years, they are now being forced into retirement en masse;
the National Council of Justice, the safeguard of the courts'
autonomy, has been deprived of its constitutional protection; the
process of appointing judges will heretofore be defined by the
governing parties.
All independent public services are now being headed by
functionaries loyal to the ruling party. It has become standard
practice to strip citizens of their civil rights, mostly by passing
retroactive laws.
Let us cite just two developments of the past week. Private
entrepreneurs have been obliged to raise wages through a government
decree. Habeas Corpus will be virtually repealed through a draft law
soon to be passed by Parliament: the length of detention without
judicial oversight would be raised from 72 to 120 hours, and the
right of detainees to consult a lawyer would be denied during the
first 48 hours of detention.
Madame Secretary:
The historic visit of President George Bush in 1989 helped us
Hungarians to establish democracy in our country. Your visit may
help us to prevent its demolition today.
We are certain that you will speak up for Hungary's once again
endangered freedom.
Yours sincerely,
Attila Ara-Kovács
György Dalos
Gábor Demszky
Miklós Haraszti
Róza Hodosán
János Kenedi
György Konrád
Bálint Magyar
Imre Mécs
Sándor Radnóti
László Rajk
Sándor Szilágyi
Gáspár Miklós Tamás
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kérjük előfizetőinket, hogy az Országos Sajtószolgálat anyagait
minden esetben OS jelzéssel használják fel.
Az MTI szó szerint, minden változtatás nélkül továbbítja az
OS-be beadott közleményeket, a szövegekért minden esetben a
közleményben jelzett közlő a felelős.
(c) Copyright MTI Nonprofit Zrt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Az Országos Sajtószolgálat (OS) politikai, társadalmi, kulturális és különböző civil szervezetek, valamint közéleti szereplők közleményeit, állásfoglalásait közli. Az OS anyagai nem képezik az MTI-kiadás részét, a szó szerint továbbított szövegekért minden esetben a közlő a felelős.
|
|