Krisztina Morvai
Far-right Jobbik MEP Krisztina Morvai has filed a complaint against the police for failure to provide assistance in the case of the West Balkán nightclub, according to a statement released on Sunday.
Three women died and a dozen were injured when a false fire alert at the club in a disused shopping centre on Nyugati tér (square) led to a stampede in January 2011.
Four people were sentenced to prison terms of two years and eight months by Pest Central District Court last Wednesday on counts of gross negligence after allowing up to 3,000 partygoers to attend the Saturday evening event, several times more than capacity. Members of the police were criticised by the judges for their slow response to emergency calls.
Morvai said the criminal responsibility of the policemen on duty should have been examined alongside that of the event’s organisers, because they failed to take measures despite several people phoning during the evening. She said calls included requests for help from people in the club saying things were getting out of hand with fights breaking out, stabbing and several people fainting, but police failed to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.
Transcripts of the phone conversations heard during the trial included a retort by a policeman “not to go partying” in order not to be caught in a crowd of partygoers. National Police communications director László Garamvölgyi denied on Tuesday that there had been professional negligence or misconduct, saying that the sentence had been taken out of context and had continued with the police officer saying he was more interested in the stabbing that was being reported.
Garamvölgyi was speaking a day after National Police chief József Hatala ordered an internal inquiry over the police actions.
Transcripts of the phone conversations heard during the trial included a retort by a policeman “not to go partying” in order not to be caught in a crowd of partygoers (article)
This tragic death of 3 young women was reported in UK media also and is time that not only the Police but everyone takes a closer look on the rules & regulations, wth regards to crowd safety, emergency response, club security and so on.
“Not to go partying” said from the Hungarian member of Rendorseg may seem a good idea if he said it to his own child but life can’t stop, or we would be telling people don’t go out cos a bus might run you over. Another colleague of his in Australia said the same to a group of young women: please dress more sensibly; and it was interpreted as “however they dress is their own business” and no one has the right to attack them!
Beyond this all, The police is there to a job:
- through prevention
- regular checks, assistance, visibility etc
- fast and serious response
Not to judge people and their way of life. As a fan of Hungary and a regular reader of politics/history/lit etc, I’m sure that Magyars will be sensible, not only in this but many other things and quickly catch up and find their rightful place in Central Europe, as it was meant to be.
http://pooralbanianboy.blogspot.co.uk
p/s/ please guys try to find and explore ways to revive Malev, its a huge symbol of Hungary!