The right-wing nationalist party Jobbik held a demonstration last weekend in front of the luxurious house of the former communist interior minister Biszku Bela. They were protesting against the "luxury pensions for communists". About 100 people participated in the demonstration and lit candles for the people who lost their lives in the communist retaliation after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was crushed. Elod Novak, Jobbik's deputy-leader, said that all former communist officials should be banned from public life and should no longer receive luxurious pensions that they currently receive.
Biszku, 91, lives on a luxurious pension while the majority of people just scrape enough to get by. He has gone unpunished for his crimes against the Hungarian people. Biszku was interior minister from 1957 to 1961 and was responsible for ordering the retribution and punishment against freedom fighters who participated in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It is a well-known fact among Hungarians that many people were executed, tortured and imprisoned by the order of Biszku. He was recently put under house arrest for his "alleged" role in retributions after the revolution. Biszku has denied the charges and maintains his innocence to this very day.
Biszku has also involved himself in revisionist causes by trying to portray the former communist dictatorship in a favourable light. He is one of the last Hungarian communists alive today that held some significant role in the former regime. Many Hungarians are hoping that Biszku will be found guilty for his crimes against the Hungarian people so at least they can have some justice.
István
