Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement

The Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (Hungarian: Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom, HVIM) is a far-right[1] movement originating in Hungary and also present in Romania, Slovakia and Serbia, advocating the unification of all ethnic Hungarians that live outside of Hungary and the revision of the Treaty of Trianon from 1920, which defined the current borders of the Hungarian state. Until 2013 the leader of the 64 Counties Youth Movement was László Toroczkai.[2]

Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement

Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom
LeaderGyörgy Gyula Zagyva, Gábor Barcsa-Turner
IdeologyHungarian nationalism
Hungarian irredentism
Ultranationalism
Political positionFar-right
Website
https://www.hvim.hu/

It is named in memory of Greater Hungary, which was divided into 64 counties - [3] although it is an anachronism, because the Kingdom of Hungary had only 63 counties, but the city of Fiume and its district as a corpus separatum was under Hungarian rule and it was meant as the 64th county by the founders for simplicity.

Ties to other organisations

The HVIM is responsible for organising the yearly Magyar Sziget festival. The youth movement has ties to the Betyársereg ('Army of Outlaws'), a black-clad 'self-defense force' that has a motor club as well. This group is also present at the HVIM youth camps, teaching kids survival skills as well as Hungarian history.[4][5]

Charges on attempted terrorist act

On 1 December 2015, István Beke, a member of the organization, was arrested by the Romanian authorities for planning to detonate an improvised explosive device in Târgu Secuiesc during the Great Union Day parade. Beke was charged with "attempted actions against constitutional order and failure to observe the rules governing the explosive materials regarding the prevention and combat of terrorism".[6][7][8][9]

Zoltán Szőcs, the leader of HVIM's Transylvanian chapter, was also detained. According to the Romanian prosecutor's office, Szőcs had incited Beke and other activists to produce home-made bombs, which would be detonated during the national holiday. [10]

On 1 February 2016, the arrest warrants of the two HVIM members were extended by 30 more days.[11]

On 7 April 2017, Beke and Szőcs were sentenced to 11 months and 10 months imprisonment, respectively.[12] On 4 July 2018, Beke and Szőcs were handed a final sentence of 5 years imprisonment each.[13]

Violence in Serbia

In September 2011, group of 15 Hungarian members of the "Sixty-Four Counties" movement assaulted 5 Serbian men with metal rods who were going back from their friend's birthday party in Temerin.[14] According to the statement of a victim's mother, the attackers were dressed in uniformed Blackshirts and attacked the young men because they were speaking Serbian.[15] As the mother stated, "these children had to be beaten because they are Serbs and because they speak Serbian in Serbia".[15]

See also

References
  1. "Hungarian far-right figure attacked in Serbia". politics.hu. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  2. "Toroczkai László polgármester lett" (in Hungarian). Index.hu. December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  3. Mudde, C. (2005). Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN 9780415355933. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
  4. Betyársereg Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, HVIM
  5. Betyársereg website
  6. http://www.agerpres.ro/english/2015/12/02/terror-plot-suspect-beke-istvan-is-remanded-in-custody-10-22-04
  7. http://www.balkaneu.com/bomb-attack-hungarian-extremists-foiled-romanias-national-day/
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2015-12-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2015-12-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. http://hungarianfreepress.com/2016/01/02/were-hungarian-extremists-planning-a-terrorist-attack-in-romania/
  11. http://www.agerpres.ro/justitie/2016/02/01/extremistii-szocs-zoltan-si-beke-istvan-raman-in-arest-preventiv-18-15-50
  12. "Extremists Szocs Zoltan and Beke Istvan – sentenced to 10 months and 11 months imprisonment". Romania Journal. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  13. "Cei doi extremiști maghiari care voiau să detoneze un dispozitiv exploziv pe 1 decembrie 2015, condamnați la câte 5 ani de închisoare [The 2 Magyar extremists, who intended to detonate an explosive device on 1 December 2015, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment each]" (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  14. Претучени српски младићи у Темерину - РАДИО-ТЕЛЕВИЗИЈА ВОЈВОДИНЕ, Приступљено 17. 4. 2013.
  15. Pretučeni srpski mladići u Temerinu - RADIO-TELEVIZIJA VOJVODINE, Приступљено 17. 4. 2013.
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