“Home defence has to be an important issue again”

The leaders of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) were invited to the Dome Hall of the Parliament for the annual evaluation and tasking meeting of defence minister Dr. Csaba Hende. President László Sólyom and PM Viktor Orbán as well as Dr. István Simicskó and retired General Lajos Fodor, the ministry’s state secretaries appointed last week were also present. Lieutenant General Tibor Benkõ, the new chief of defence staff who received his appointment documents from the president in Sándor Palace right before the meeting, also attended the event. The ceremony started with an update on presidential, prime ministerial and ministerial decisions made in recent days, which was followed by the speech of Viktor Orbán, the head of government.

"Only order can give security"

The prime minister started his address with thanking soldiers and public servants leaving the organisation for their work and wishing the newly appointed well. “I have come here today not only to meet you, or because it is customary when a new government enters into office,“ emphasised Viktor Orbán. He also underlined that the attendees of the meeting must have noticed that even the first couple of weeks have brought more profound changes than usual when there is a change of government. The prime minister said the election results highlighted people’s need for radical change in every important field. “After years of chaos, Hungarians want order: security and legality," said Viktor Orbán, adding that in the ‘90s, in the ecstatic state of being liberated from dictatorship the word ‘order’ had a bad connotation, but freedom without order is only a depressing chaos. “It is time to restore order because without legal order there is a growing sense of fear," the prime minister pointed out.

"There is no rational explanation for what happened in the field of law enforcement and home defence in the last eight years in Hungary," stated Viktor Orbán, who also stressed that he agrees with those who blame politics for the present situation. "There was not enough chance to take action against deviant things, in fact these were often covertly or overtly encouraged. In the past eight years, very dangerous processes have begun in society and if they continue, those who adhere to the law should even be ashamed of themselves soon. But the essence of order is the fact that the interest of the community is stronger than any private interest," the prime minister pointed out. "Only order can give security, and legal order and sound security are indispensable assets."

The prime minister underlined: the situation that has developed in the country – the misuse of authority without consequences, circumvention of law and arbitrary acts driven by self-interest – could not leave the Hungarian Defence Forces intact. "At the moment the public’s main concern is the restoration of order, and the Hungarian Defence Forces must be one of the key pillars of that," said Viktor Orbán, according to whom order and security can be established only in a strong country. "Without efficient and – allow me to underline it twice – respected home defence, there is not a strong country," he said, also emphasising the need for putting things in order within the organisation.

The prime minister pointed out that the military the country needs should be capable of protecting the freedom and sovereignty of Hungary and capable of performing its other duties, such as armed protection and the maintenance of legal order and security even in time of peace. Viktor Orbán stressed that it is especially important today, when organised crime and terrorists use the most advanced military equipments and owing to the climate change we must face more and more devastating natural disasters. “I also admire the excellent work done by the HDF in flood protection," he added, and in the name of everyone he thanked the troops for their efficient and brave contribution in recent days.

Viktor Orbán said the defence forces are more than an organisation, for they have to operate as one of the bastions of the System of National Cooperation and if they are capable of performing their duties properly, there is no need for paramilitary organisations, guards either.

Without a misinterpreted compulsion to comply

The prime minister emphasised: when starting the reconstruction of the defence forces, our aim should not be catching up with others in an imaginary race – we need an army Hungary can afford. An army that can resist military threat together with the allies, which is capable of conducting operations under the aegis of NATO. He asked the attendees not to forget to do an honest review of the recent period when, in his opinion, image was often in the forefront but in the meantime society was not aware of the nature and quality of the work done by the defence forces. "Home defence has to be an important issue again," Viktor Orbán pointed out.

“The approach that NATO will protect us is not proper in the case of civilians either, but in the military it is absolutely unacceptable," said the prime minister, who reminded the attendees that it is laid down in the Washington Treaty that the members of the alliance are to organise and develop their own protection in the first place, thereby contributing to joint defence. He asked them not to be offended by the straightforward words and said: the current deployability level of the Hungarian Defence Forces violates the constitution of the Republic of Hungary and the Washington Treaty alike. “At the same time, we have to cooperate with allies along national interests, and not on the basis of some misinterpreted compulsion to comply," he stated.

The head of government also mentioned the role of the defence forces in the system of social mobility, stressing that the organisation has to give physically and intellectually trained, competent people to society, if they decide to leave the organisation. He also spoke about the importance of organising the reservist system by which the social basis of the defence forces can be extended and people with home defence experience can be kept in active service. He said Hungarian defence industry, which has fallen apart, should be restored, for each boots procured from abroad create workplaces abroad and not at home.

"Every society respects and observes the law just as much as lawmakers, leaders do," the prime minister pointed out, also stressing the importance of setting an example and being irreproachable. "These are fundamental requirements," he added. Viktor Orbán underlined that he has confidence in the expertise, experience, morale and commitment of the leaders and the personnel of the defence forces, and on behalf of the cabinet he made a pledge to guarantee the proper legal background and the moral and financial conditions of work. He added: he is aware that the weeks and months to come will be difficult, for the Hungarian economy is in a bad situation, but also stressed that he is counting on the Hungarian Defence Forces in restoring order and security.

"It is never only the number of personnel that determines the power of an army, for the spirit, the level of expertise and preparation also matter," the prime minister closed his speech, emphasising that he expects everyone participating in the reconstruction of the HDF to do their best. "Hungary needs you, Hungary relies on you, and you can also rely on the Hungarian government," said Viktor Orbán.

“Model of humanity, example of valour"

Csaba Hende also emphasised in his address that at the moment the main task is to renew and reconstruct the HDF and to have a strong, powerful, excellently trained and modern army with the spirit of camaraderie. The defence minister said he expects planned, precise, hard and devoted work from everyone and, citing the words of Bálint Balassi, a conduct that is a ’model of humanity, example of valour’.

The defence minister also mentioned the flooding, stressing that he saw organised, disciplined and very efficient work during his visit to soldiers working at the dams. "The whole nation is proud of you," Csaba Hende said, adding: the defence forces will restore their reputation but it cannot be done without the people present. The minister said: while the hussar officers of old times were fathers, priests and teachers for their men, today it is also important that being an officer in the HDF is a vocation. In the spirit of this, he promised the renewal and modernisation of officer training and the training system.

Csaba Hende also spoke about the situation of soldiers on duty thousands of kilometres away from the homeland, stressing that their safety is especially important. He said the conditions of troops serving in Afghanistan are considered a priority issue, and he will pay a visit to the country soon. He promised that the government and the leaders of the military will not let anybody down who is serving with a weapon in his hand, under the red-white-green flag, in any part of the world. “Instead of human resource, we regard soldiers as comrades in arms: people who have offered their knowledge, faith and will to the country, and the homeland must love and respect them for this," the minister said. Csaba Hende emphasised: soldiers should feel that their livelihood is secure, therefore they will modify the remuneration scheme in order to meet current daily requirements as far as possible. He said military families with a family member on duty in a live situation somewhere in the world will be given special attention in this process, too.

The defence minister finally underlined: Hungary’s thousand years of history obliges us, and asked the attendees to be the best possible soldiers and officers in order to make the Hungarian Defence Forces of the future a more deployable and respectable national institution.

The meeting ended with a standing reception where István Simicskó, the state secretary of the ministry proposed a toast.