State of terrorist threat – Amendment proposal in a joint session of parliament’s defence and national security committees

Budapest, June 3 (MTI) – Amending the constitution to create the conditions to handle a terrorist threat is crucial for fighting terrorism and upholding security, the defence minister said on Friday.

The Hungarian government earlier this year proposed amending the constitution to include a “state of terrorist threat” among instances that mandate the domestic deployment of the armed forces.

Battle procedures, tactical planning and terrorism have evolved and new challenges must be met with new solutions, István Simicskó told reporters after discussing the amendment proposal in a joint session of parliament’s defence and national security committees.

“Everyone must fight terrorism with whatever means they can. This is why the amendment is necessary,” he said.

Simicskó noted that the defence ministry had consulted with parliamentary parties on the bill on several occasions over the past months. The parties submitted their own proposals and most of those were later incorporated in the bill, too, he added.

Asked about potential civil rights restrictions the law may bring with it, the minister said, “There can be no freedom without security”. The government had to find a balance between security and civil liberties and it has made major amendments to the original bill. In its current form, the bill contains the lowest possible number of civil rights restrictions, Simicskó said.

The minister expressed hope that lawmakers would approve both this amendment and the interior ministry’s proposal on counter-terrorism measures.

Members of the two committees, representing the parliamentary parties, were divided on the bill. The leftist opposition argued that the amendment is unnecessary while the radical nationalist Jobbik chose to withhold judgment on it for the time being.