Ms. Réka Szemerkényi has been recently accredited as Hungary’s Ambassador to Washington. After she presented her credentials to President Obama at the White House she promised to open a new chapter in US-Hungarian relations.
She did.
Never before had a Hungarian Ambassador to the US embraced neo-Nazis. Ms. Szemerkényi is the first Hungarian diplomat in history to welcome the neo-Fascist Jobbik party’s delegation in Washington. Mr. István Szávay, vice chairman of Jobbik and Mr. Gábor Staudt, both MPs, have visited the Embassy in Washington where Ms. Szemerkényi briefed them. (Jobbik reported about the event on their Facebook page.)
Ms. Szemerkényi with her family and President Obama in the Oval Office.
Just to give you an idea who these thugs are, let’s quote a 2012 letter written by fifty US congressman to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán: “We are deeply concerned however, by anti-Semitic and homophobic positions espoused by members of the Jobbik party. For example, Jobbik’s presidential candidate, Krisztina Morvai, referred to Israeli Jews as “lice infested, dirty murderers” and warned Hungarian Jews that “your kind’s time is over.” The Jobbik magazine implied there is truth to the myth that Jews used Christian blood in religious rites, and Jobbik introduced a bill in Parliament referring to homosexuality as a perversion and calling for the imprisonment of those who “promote” homosexuality. Further, Jobbik has attacked the employers of those who may be gay, calling for the ouster of Robert Alföldi, the director of the National Theater, based on his presumed homosexuality. These statements take place against the backdrop of broader problems of intolerance and discrimination against Roma, migrants and others.” (Full letter here.)
Before you think this was a mistake by the Hungarian diplomacy, an unfortunate oversight – think twice. The very same Jobbik delegation was welcomed earlier in New York by Mr. Ferenc Kumin, Hungary’s Consul General.
Just recently, Mr. Kumin met ADL (Anti-Defamation League) director Mr. Andrew Srulewitch and assured him “absolute zero tolerance” against any form of racism and anti-Semitism. Mr. Kumin earlier “firmly excluded the possibility of any kind of cooperation with Jobbik and called them a danger to Hungarian democracy.” (Read here Mr. Kumin’s statements about Jobbik.)
Mr. Kumin’s “misinformation team” in action at ADL. From right: Mr. Kumin, Mr. Csaba Latorcai junior minister of the Orbán-government, Mr. Andrew Srulewitch ADL director, Mr. Dávid Singer cultural attaché at the Washington embassy, Mr. György Szabó, a Fidesz operative, currently head of MAZSÖK, Mr. Gábor Galik section head in PM Orbán’s office.
We all know about the tricky double-talk of Hungarian politicians, on one hand they quietly support neo-Nazi Jobbik, on the other hand they busily organize Holocaust memorials and preaching „zero tolerance.” But this incident went beyond the usual Janus-faced Hungarian diplomacy.
On April 27, Ms. Szemerkényi attended on a Cybersecurity conference at Georgetown University. Her section was moderated by Phyllis A. Schneck, who is Deputy Undersecretary for Cybersecurity at the US Department of Homeland Security.
Why was Ms. Szemerkényi invited to this conference? A diplomat who “briefs” Hungarian Jobbik operatives shouldn’t attend meetings where highly sensitive Homeland Security issues are discussed. Jobbik’s close relations with Russia and President Putin are well known, and this is not baseless fearmongering. The European Union has recently launched a formal investigation of a prominent Jobbik politician, Mr. Béla Kovács, who is suspected of having ties with the Russian intelligence dating back to the late 1970s. (Read about it here.)
I find it disturbing that pro-Putin Hungarian fascists are parading at the Washington Embassy, and I also wonder if the time has come for the State Department to take a closer look at Ms. Szemerkényi’s and Mr. Kumin’s activities and accreditation. What do you think?
György Lázár
