(The following article is from the October 1-15, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
As reported in the Sept. 16-30 People's Voice, the Hungarian state has launched a new legal assault on the Hungarian Communist Workers' Party (HCWP). The actions come in the wake of the HCWP's 2005 congress, which expelled its former vice-president Attila Vajnai for his support of the government's neoliberal policies. Vajnai challenged his expulsion in a Budapest court, which ordered his reinstatement, in a blatant case of state interference in the HCWP's internal affairs.
The HCWP leadership characterized the court decision as a political judgement, and a form of revenge against the Party for its role in organizing a public referendum against the privatisation of hospitals.
The latest step in this legal attack took place on Sept. 21 in Szekesfehervar (68 km from Budapest), where the City Court under judge Ilona Sarkozi convened to discuss the case against Gyula Thurmer (President of the HCWP), Magda Karacs and Janos Vajda (vice-presidents), Peter Szekely, Laszlo Kerezsi, Sandor Urban, and Pal Kollat (current and former members of the HCWP presidium).
According to the indictment, the members of the HCWP leadership are accused of "public libel" for calling the decision of the Budapest Court a "political sentence."
Questioned by the judge, the communist leaders declared that the Hungarian Constitution guarantees their right to express their opinion freely. Arguing that they used this right to criticise the previous decision, they asked the Court to finish the legal process and clear them of the charge because no crime was committed. The judge decided to postpone the session of the Court until November 6.
In front of the City Court, hundreds of communists and residents of Szekesfehervar held a solidarity protest meeting, and the Hungarian media gave considerable coverage to the event.
"We have fulfilled the mission the party has sent us to the court," Gyula Thurmer declared after the session. "We defended our rights and showed that the ruling capitalist forces are trying to destroy the communist party before the new referendum and parliamentary elections which can take place in the near future."
Thurmer noted that the second court session will take place on the eve of November 7, the day which will be marked by the international communist movement as the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution.