HEATED CONFRONTATION BETWEEN ROMA AND

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 000819 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE MOORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS SOCI HU SUBJECT: HEATED CONFRONTATION BETWEEN ROMA AND EXTREME-RIGHT GROUPS REF: A. BUDAPEST 612 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. BUDAPEST 790 ¶1. (U) Responding to a November 14 rally of the extreme-right Jobbik party and the banned Magyar Garda in the north-eastern Hungarian town of Sajobabony, local Roma attempted to break up the event, threatening the local Jobbik party chief. After a group of Roma assaulted one of the organizers, Jobbik and Magyar Garda members proceeded to the Roma section in town resulting in several clashes and damage to vehicles. A massive police response on Sunday November 15, with checkpoints leading into town, eased the situation, but tension remains. ¶2. (U) In response, Jobbik President Gabor Vona and the Uj Magyar Garda (New Hungarian Guard - NMG) Commander Robert Kiss plan to visit the town on November 17 to assess the situation. Additionally, Jobbik's European Parliament Representative Csanad Szegedi, joined the chorus, stating that "the NMG is ready to restore law and order in Hungary." ¶3. (SBU) Embassy contact Peter Juhasz, from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, told EmbOff November 16 that he was in Sajobabony from 11 PM Sunday night until 3 AM November 16, commenting that "the situation is tense, but was relatively quiet last evening." He said that the Roma population was up the entire night, burning fires to keep warm, keeping watch, and afraid to go back to their homes. Juhasz said that Roma groups were to meet with the mayor Monday morning, November 16, and a town hall meeting is scheduled for later in the afternoon. ¶4. (SBU) Comment. This incident will further strengthen Jobbik's political message concerning "gypsy crime" and the inability of Hungarian law enforcement officials to protect the population. Jobbik consistently rails against all the parliamentary parties for their inability to maintain law and order, in particular in smaller towns and villages, while conveniently disregarding a legally binding court decision that banned the Magyar Garda (ref A). With national elections less than six months away, we anticipate that Jobbik will continue to use incidents like this past weekend in an attempt to increase its support, in particular, in areas with a large Roma population (ref B). End comment. LEVINE