The National Legion — Far-right launches new paramilitary group in Hungary

The Mi Hazánk, or in English the Our Homeland far-right party announced the formation of a paramilitary group called the National Legion on 14 May 2019. This new group follows in the footsteps of the banned Magyar Gárda, once the paramilitary wing of the Jobbik party–back when it represented the hard right in Hungary. The Gárda, whose uniform closely resembled those of Hungary’s wartime Arrow Cross, was dissolved by the Budapest Tribunal in 2009 on the grounds that it contravened the rights of minorities enshrined in the Hungarian Constitution. László Toroczkai, the former Jobbik politician who now leads Mi Hazánk and announced the formation of this new unit, took steps to avoid any physical resemblance of the uniform to that of Hungarian fascists in World War II nor to the defunct Magyar Gárda, opting instead for army fatigues. A black armband does, however, include the Árpád stripes, a symbol today mostly associated with the far-right. Additionally, the armband references the hundredth anniversary of the formation in the town of Szeged of a new national military by Regent Miklós Horthy in 1919.

Nemzeti Légió (National Legion). Photo: MTI.

This new National Legion aims to focus on “self-defense,” the “preservation of traditions” as well as educational programmes and basic training for Hungarian youth. It also plans to assist in filling sandbags during flooding and would help citizens facing eviction from their homes due to unpaid debts.

Mi Hazánk (Sinn Fein served as the inspiration for the name of this new movement) is contesting the European Parliament elections on 26 May 2019, although current polling puts the party well under the minimum 5% threshold required for representation. The party, comprised mostly of people who have broken away from the more moderate Jobbik, offers a glimpse of its policies in an English statement. This is where we read:

European Union works contradictory to how it should. In political terms, it strives for uniformizing and eliminating the traditional national communities by applying more and more shameless tools masked as legal ones, and, at the same time, in economic terms, it serves the interests of multinational companies and financial groups, facilitates the colonization of the countries of the periphery (including Hungary) and preserves disunity…Our slogan is: Hungary belongs to Hungarians, Europe to Europeans!…

We think that the migration of a population of a different culture is threatening Europe and a Europe with a mixed population is totally unacceptable…It has to be declared that the integration of Gypsies, as old immigrants, has not been successful and their baby booming threatens the national budget, therefore, Hungary cannot harbor masses of migrants…We need to fight against all aspects of Gypsy delinquency and the problem should be settled by strengthening the police and supporting voluntary self-defense associations. The corrupt Gypsy leaders should be held liable and replaced by new leaders who recognize their responsibility and consider Hungary as their home.

Sometimes, however, life is very much stranger than fiction in Hungary. This far-right military group, though quite staunchly opposed to any notion of multiculturalism and migration, launched a paramilitary wing that was the brainchild of a man who himself, recently, was a migrant working abroad. The 444.hu new site reports that György Dorogi lived in Ireland for nine years and brought with him a little eastern multicultural flair. Mr. Dorogi opened a gyros eatery in Dublin under the name Spartan Greek Food. While he ran this business, he launched a local association of the banned Magyar Gárda in the Irish capital, bringing together a group of like-minded Hungarian nationalists who moved abroad to build a new life for themselves.

The National Legion has a major march planned for 21 May 2019 in the town of Törökszentmiklós, in east-central Hungary. A man in Törökszentmiklós recently physically assaulted several people in a store, and the act of violence was caught on camera. It was widely believed that the police took a laissez-faire approach to the incident, releasing the man after the first attack, which then resulted in further violence. The far-right identified the perpetrator as a Roma, which fits with the narrative of combating “Gypsy criminal behaviour”–the same rallying cry that once united the Magyar Gárda.

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