Hungary officially opens counterterrorism center

Hungary officially opened a counterterrorism center in Budapest on Wednesday when Interior Minister Sandor Pinter presented the founding document to Police Brigadier General Janos Hajdu, head of the new facility.

The new center is charged with investigating acts of terrorism, kidnappings, and the hijacking or skyjacking of trains, buses, aircraft and other vehicles used in public or cargo transport as well as with protecting the prime minister and president. It is also responsible for analyzing and evaluating the terrorism risk level in Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addressed the first official meeting of personnel at the new center where he emphasized that a well organized, well equipped counterterrorism center with highly qualified personnel was essential to a developed and strong country. He pointed out that with its first independent counterterrorism center, "Hungary had taken another major step towards becoming a strong and modern country able to protect its citizens and gain respect for its interests."

Orban noted that on the eve of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, terrorism had become the world's top security challenge and that no modern nation could ignore it.

The European Union's counterterrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove also spoke, citing both 9/11 and the failed terrorist attack of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day in 2009 as evidence of shortcomings in the information flow among security forces and the need for including private sector data in combating the terrorism threat. He warned of the rise in terrorist groups and the number of radicalized young people, adding that Hungary had been one of the first countries in Europe to recognize the significance of a well structured and efficient organization to combat terrorism and prevent tragedy.

He called the new center a good and promising move in Hungary's preparations to become rotating president of the European Union as of January 2011.

Source: Xinhua