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DE RUEHUP #0818/01 1411549
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R 211549Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1298

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUDAPEST 000818 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE MICHELLE LABONTE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2022 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KUM ASEC HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY: CLEANING HOUSE AT THE MINISTRY OF 
JUSTICE: MINISTER AND TOP OFFICIALS RESIGN/FIRED 
 
Classified By: Eric V. Gaudiosi.  Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (C) Long beleaguered Minister of Justice Jozsef Petretei 
and Head of the Police Security Service General Jozsef Dobozi 
resigned on June 20, followed on May 21 by National Security 
Service head General Lajos Galambos, amidst a flurry of 
police impropriety scandals that converged in the proceeding 
week.  Previously, on May 19, PM Ference Gyurcsany stated 
publicly that National Police Chief Laszlo Bene and Budapest 
Police Chief Peter Gergenyi "must go," in response to rape 
allegations against five Police Security Service officers, 
video taped evidence of another policeman stealing cash from 
an investigation scene and the arrest of 13 policemen accused 
of accepting bribes.  Critics first called for Petretei's 
resignation for "the heavy handed response" by riot police 
during riots in fall 2006, and he was also criticized 
throughout his tenure for his lack of professional law 
enforcement experience.  No successors have yet been named to 
fill the vacancies. 
 
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CRITICAL MASS: SCANDALS ABOUND 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) The first of three seperate and highly publicized 
scandals emerged with the arrest of five Police Security 
Service officers on allegations of rape after detaining a 
woman for a minor traffic violation.  Lending credence to the 
validity of the charges, RSO contacts say the officers are in 
custody and "are cooperating with the investigation."  All 
five have been fired.  In a second incident, a Budapest 
police investigator was arrested for stealing cash from the 
crime scene of an attempted bank robbery and hostage 
situation on May 4.  During the investigation of the event 
that led to several injuries and the death of the robber, a 
police inspector was captured on bank surveillance video 
pocketing 45,000 HUF (approximately $2500 USD).  The officer 
pled guilty on May 17 to the charge, in return for a 
suspended sentence in an expedited trial.  Capping off the 
week, 13 officers across Eastern Hungary were arrested in an 
ongoing operation aimed at police corruption.  The officers 
allegedly accepted money in return for referring business to 
one particular wrecker and tow service company.  The sudden 
flurry of accusations, bolstered by charges of police 
brutality during public demonstrations last fall and again 
this spring, are reverberating throughout Hungarian society, 
risking public faith in the police and adding fuel to the 
political fight between the government and opposition. 
 
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WRONG MAN, WRONG TIME, WRONG PLACE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Since his nomination in 2006 to head the newly 
combined Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement, Petretei 
has been dogged by critics who say his academic background as 
a legal scholar at Pecs University (and former classmate of 
Prime Minister Gyurcsany) do not qualify him to head a 
prominent ministry with expanded powers.  Critics were 
skeptical at the nomination of Petretei, who has no 
experience in law enforcement, to consolidate all police and 
border security forces under the MOJLE, rather than 
traditional home in the Ministry of Interior.  The move from 
Interior to Justice was viewed by many as Gyurcsany's 
centralization of power under his immediate influence, and an 
indication of his cool relations with Interior Minister and 
MSZP insider Monika Lambert.  Petretei, unlike Lampert, say 
MSZP contacts, was "trusted by Gyurcsany" to consolidate the 
police as part of the PM's sweeping public sector reforms 
proposed in May 2006. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Slow response to the initial riots on September 18, 
2006 and the "crushing response" by riot police on October 23 
provided ample fodder for critics on both sides of the aisle 
to criticize police actions.  Meeting with the Ambassador at 
the time, Petretei seemed out of his depth in discussing the 
demonstrations, and he tendered his resignation in November 
2006, though PM Gyurcsany refused to accept his offer.  The 
official investigation of the police actions regarding the 
riots cited lapses in judgment at lower levels within the 
police services in not recognizing the immediate dangers and 
not responding with significant force.  However, 
investigations by the opposition and by independent watch dog 
groups criticized the police for using rubber bullets, tear 
gas and other means of "excessive force." 
 
¶5.  (C) National Security Advisor Laszlo Valki, whose wife 
 
authored the authoritative review of the Ministry's 
performance, has told us privately that Petretei was the 
wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He believes 
that the decision to combine the ministries was a mistake 
"made to save a few forint" which ended up costing 
considerably more in terms of Hungary's domestic tranquillity 
and international credibility. 
 
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BLOOD IN THE WATER 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (C) News of the resignations was the talk of the FIDESZ 
party convention May 19-20 (SEPTEL).  With speakers 
alternately ridiculing and excoriating the authorities, 
advisors to party president Orban commented "today Petretei, 
tomorrow Gyurcsany!"  Beyond the question of competence, 
FIDESZ officials including moderate party VP Mihaly Varga 
charged that the erosion of confidence in the authorities is 
the residue of the Prime Minister's design, commenting that 
the government is intent on avoiding accountability for its 
actions, dividing the public from the police, and undermining 
the fundamental rule of law. 
 
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CONCLUSION 
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¶7.  (C) The sudden spree of firings and resignations is the 
latest chapter in the continuing saga of PM Gyurcsany's 
controversial statements, leaked to the press on September 
17, 2006.  The leak scandal breathed new life into the 
opposition FIDESZ and party leader Viktor Orban, who appeared 
to be on the ropes after the April 2006 national elections. 
Though coalition SZDSZ and MSZP leaders continue to swear 
unity and allegiance to the PM, Gyurcsany's popularity has 
nose-dived in 2007 and party insiders confess concern over 
the fact that the low numbers are not linked to individual 
issues but rather reflect public disenchantment with the 
party as a whole.  Constant opposition calls for his ouster, 
plummeting personal popularity, and a newly assertive 
coalition partner have stymied Gyurcsany's reform efforts and 
are keeping the government in "constant crisis mode." 
Currently we have no indication of additional firings or 
resignations, though the latest move is a reversal of the 
PM's consistent support for the  Ministry's leadership over 
the past months.  The current shake-up is clearly focused on 
(and thus far limited to) oversight of the various police 
services, but the possibility for further resignations or 
removals exists. 
LARSON