The Hungarian far-right in Bolivia--Eduardo Rózsa-Flores

It didn't quite work out. The Bolivian police, under not entirely clear circumstances, killed three foreign "terrorists" and arrested two. The group is accused of plotting to assassinate Bolivian president Evo Morales. The Bolivian president is convinced that Washington is behind the assassination attempt, but this is highly unlikely given the cast of characters. Unfortunately, most of the news accounts that I read shed little light on the would-be assassins. What, they asked, was the common bond among the five men (names often misspelled) involved in the plot? Perhaps the Balkan wars where at least two of the five fought on Croatia's side against Serbia. My feeling is that Croatia and the Balkan wars have mighty little to do with this case.

The leader of the group, now dead, was Eduardo Rózsa-Flores. He was born in Bolivia but spent his teens and most of his adult life in Hungary. We can find ample information about him and his family on his blog "Sic Semper Tyrannus" (http://eduardorozsaflores.blogspot.com/), roughly translated as "Death to the Tyrant." His father, György Rózsa, was a painter and university professor who left Hungary in 1948 and married Nelly Flores Arias, a Spanish high school teacher. The couple settled in Bolivia, where Eduardo was born in 1960. In 1973 they moved to Chile, but the family left after Pinochet's military coup. For a couple of years they lived in Sweden as political refugees. In 1975 the Rózsa-Flores family moved to Hungary, where Eduardo attended a Budapest high school. He then spent three years at the country's military academy but left without graduating. Two years later he enrolled at ELTE, the Budapest university, from which he subsequently received an M.A. He was the last KISZ (Communist Youth Organization) secretary of ELTE. He later claimed that the only reason he took the job was to show that he could win the post against the wishes of people like Ferenc Gyurcsány. (I suspect that this is revisionist history.) After university he dabbled in journalism, taking advantage of his fluency in Spanish. For example, he wrote articles for La Vanguardia, a Spanish daily. He also supplied news to the BBC's Spanish language radio. He first reported from Croatia as a journalist but later volunteered to serve in the Croatian army. He fought in the battles of Osijek and Vukovár. The Croats appreciated his services and bestowed citizenship on him. President Franjo Tudjman promoted him to the military rank of major. A year later he became a colonel. He was wounded at least three times in different battles. In 1994 he returned to Hungary and published seven volumes of poetry. I didn't manage to find the seven volumes of poetry, but I did find five other books dealing mostly with the Croatian-Serbian war. During his stay in Croatia his name was associated with shady deals involving weapons and drug sales. According to rumors two journalists, one from Switzerland and another from Great Britain, who were investigating these transactions disappeared into thin air. In 2002 Ibolya Fekete made a documentary of his life, "Chico," that won first place in the documentary category at the Thirty-third Hungarian Film Festival. Next Tuesday MTV will air another documentary that is apparently the last testament of Rózsa-Flores. It was made in September before he embarked on his journey to Bolivia. One has to wonder how truthful these recollections are. Here, by the way, is a recent picture of Rózsa-Flores.

In 2003 he converted to Islam and called himself the spokesman for the Independent Iraqi Government, but that flirtation was short-lived and soon enough he showed up in Hungarian far-right circles. Yesterday the Jobbik website mourned his loss. "With deep sorrow we report that our friend and fellow editor, Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, passed away. He died for his country."

And this leads us to two other alleged co-conspirators. One is Árpád Magyarosi who is among the dead and the other is Előd Tóásó who is in Bolivian custody. Both are Transylvanian Hungarians who most likely knew each other for a long time because both attended high school in Sovata (Szováta) in Romania. After finishing high school both moved to Hungary. Magyarosi sounds like a real loser: he kept changing high schools and tried several colleges as well. He had musical ambitions with only scant talent. He organized several rock groups that all failed. And as we can see from this photo, Magyarosi's interests weren't confined to music. The other Transylvanian, Előd Tóásó, was another drifter who never managed to finish any of the colleges he attended. He too was interested in the military and attended the Miklós Zrínyi Military Academy for a while. He speaks Romanian, English, and Spanish in addition to Hungarian. Both men joined a group, founded in 2002, that purported to promote rock climbing, the Székely Légió (Legion Siculus).  In 2006 the group became front page news in Hungarian papers because Ziua, a Bucharest daily, claimed that the Legion was a paramilitary organization planning attacks on Romania in order to establish an autonomous Hungarian (Szekler) area in the middle of Transylvania. The Romanian paper claimed that there were thousands enrolled in the Legion. The leaders of the Legion protested: it is an innocent organization that gives advice to young men and women interested in rock climbing. However, the Legion's internet website talked about survivor trips where the members carried heavy backpacks (20 kg) in addition to "weapons." They were schooled in marksmanship and the ability to detect mines. These don't sound like innocent rock climbing activities.

The third man who died in the raid is an Irishman called Michael Martin Dwyer who was apparently obsessed by weapons and who is described as a "soldier of fortune," a man obsessed with guns and assassins. According to accounts, he served as a mercenary in the Balkan wars. Rózsa-Flores who is described as the head of the group, might have met Dwyer in Croatia. I found this picture of Dwyer on the internet. As you can see, he is obsessed all right.

And now comes the real bombshell. There is a periodical called Kapu (Gate) http://members.chello.hu/kapu/ The last issue can be downloaded in pdf form. Real right-wing stuff. Rózsa-Flores was an important contributor and a good friend of the editor-in-chief, Zoltán Brády. Brády, after hearing of his friend's death, told MTI (Magyar Távirati Iroda) that it was Rózsa-Flores and he who were responsible for leaking Ferenc Gyurcsány's infamous speech at Balatonőszöd! He didn't reveal from whom they received the transcript or to whom they passed it on. Maybe yes, maybe no. In any case it is intriguing.

Meanwhile Rózsa-Flores, Árpád Magyarosi, and Michael Martin Dwyer are dead. These guys all seemed to be well versed in guerilla warfare. The Hungarian crew, at least, was also involved in far-right activities. Why they went to Bolivia I don't know, but perhaps it's a good thing they went there. The plot was foiled. Can you imagine if they decided to kill, for example, the Hungarian prime minister or the president? I think they would have been capable of it. The Hungarian far right is convinced that there is a communist dictatorship in Hungary and, after all, "sic semper tyrannis."

Comments

[Kryptos]

How DARE you! Eduardo was a great man. Calling him right-wing shows incredible ignorance on your part. I knew him. Eduardo was always anti-authoritarian, a true anarchist. He believed, truly believed that the people are wise enough to run a proper civilisation without having a ruling class. That doesn't quite qualify as right wing, now does it?

Furthermore you mention rumors about drug dealings - yes, they were rumors spread by the Serbians to discredit this hero. Strange, isn't it, that the same lie raises it's ugly head from that part of the Bolivian government, that has it in it's best interest to discredit Eduardo AND not to let Morales become a near-martyr.

Eduardo was an idealist, an honest man. He was prepared to go to war for reasons he honestly, truly felt were noble.

He lived as a hero and died as a hero. I agree with you, offing the bastards in the Hungarian Parliament would have been well within his capability, but the point is that he didn't. That also is a proof that he wasn't a right-wing nut as people would have us believe. Obviously it is in the interest of the supposedly left-wing government to portray him as such. He doesn't deserve it. He was a great man.

May he rest in peace.

[Mike of Yorkshire]

Michael Martin Dwyer "a "soldier of fortune, . . . served as a mercenary in the Balkan wars" -? Just a minute - he's 22 yrs old; are you suggesting he was toting a machine-gun at the age of 8?
If you look at what has been reported of him, including his messages on the web, he comes across as a youth obsessed with the 'romance' of mercenaries and weapons, but he hardly qualifies as an experienced guerilla fighter!
He's even too young to have had experience with the Irish paramilitaries (unless he was with the republican 'ultras' - and that's pretty unlikely). And last time I was there, Oireland was a bit thin on subtropical jungle and altiplano.
I know nothing of Magyarosi and Tóásó - they (and Flores) may well have been 'armed and dangerous'. But I strongly suspect Dwyer was a kid who let his fantasies take him over and get him in way over his head.

[Mike of Yorkshire]

Correction - the websites today quote Dwyer's age as 24. Even so, he would have been 10 when the Serb, Croat and Bosniak wars ended.

Mike of Yorkshire.

[pat]

From What I hear Michael Dwyer only graduated from college last year and only left Ireland in November 08. The first his family heard of anything involving mercenary activities was when his body his dead body with recognisable tattoo ended up in the media. This story doesn't add up at all. He Irish Police had never heard of him and he had no links to Irish subversives. He was an airsoft enthusiast who worked for a security firm.

[Eva S. Balogh]

Pat: "From What I hear Michael Dwyer only graduated from college last year and only left Ireland in November 08."

When I wrote the story about Dwyer very little was known about him. Either BBC or Reuters tried to connect him somehow to Rozsa-Flores. This is how Croatia came into the picture. I'm not going back and correct something I wrote two days ago.

[Mike of Yorkshire]

It does seem there is a link of some kind to Rozsas-Flores - maybe MMD got to know him and got sucked in? Maybe he overstated his knowledge/experience/etc?
ERF sounds an unpleasant kind of person (some far-right folk seem to think he's a hero?) and the original post may well be right to suggest AM and ET are from the same mould. My point was that as soon as MMD's age became known, the suggestion of involvement in the Balkan wars became risible.
And BTW - " . . the people are wise enough to run a proper civilisation without having a ruling class. That doesn't quite qualify as right wing . . " Well, yes, it does. Right-wing libertarianism is quite well known thank you. Look at the US "survivalists" - they are just taking 'small government' to its wacky ultimate. And we've already seen where that led . . .

[Réka]

Dear Eva S. Balogh,

if anybody writes incorrect information, especially if this is offensive for a dead person, I think the least one can do is to make an effort and correct the mistake. Let BBC and Reuters correct themselves and you correct your mistakes.

And I just can't believe the bullshit about Rózsa-Flores and the speech of Gyurcsány that you present here as the big discovery. :-DD

If you really meant it, I THINK YOU ARE OBSESSED at least as much as these poor bastards who ended up shot in Santa Cruz!!

Respect for the dead!

[Eva S. Balogh]

Réka: "if anybody writes incorrect information, especially if this is offensive for a dead person, I think the least one can do is to make an effort and correct the mistake. Let BBC and Reuters correct themselves and you correct your mistakes.

I can't possibly understand what is "offensive to a dead person" in this instance. Moreover, what I wrote was the following: "According to accounts, he served as a mercenary in the Balkan wars."

Indeed, according to accounts appearing on that day that was the case. To change this sentence today would be falsification of history.

[Eva S. Balogh]

Mike: "It does seem there is a link of some kind to Rozsas-Flores - maybe MMD got to know him and got sucked in? Maybe he overstated his knowledge/experience/etc?"

The more I read in Hungarian papers about him the more I think that half of his stories were not quite true. Or at least they were greatly exaggerated. Apparently quite a promising if not brilliant teenager with fantastic linquistic, literary and musical ability but somewhere something went very wrong.

[Bolivia No Es Cuba]

Evo Morales is a narco-terrorist and he gave a order to kill Rozsas because he needed an argue to ask Mr. Obama support his gov. He needs to show to the world as a "victim"

[am]

Bolivia No Es Cuba : AGreed 100%

[Mike of Yorkshire]

What utter tosh from "Bolivia No Es Cuba".

I have been in Bolivia. It is MOST DEFINITELY not Cuba, nor any other kind of so-called communist state. It is bloody poor, and the indigineous people (Quechua, Aymara, etc) are by far the poorest. They need a Government which will give them support rather than help the rich East (and foreign interests) to nick even more money. What's more he most definitely has clear popular support.

Narco-terrorist? Coca is a way of life, and always has been. Even the bloody US Embassy serves coca maté for the altitude (have you walked the streets in La Paz, El Alto, Potosi in the mornings?) I was served dishes with coca leaves as a vegetable in ordinary cafés & restaurants - no buzz, BTW!

I also saw Bolivian police (not the FDA) carrying out anti-cocaine searches; they are trying to control hard drug circulation, almost all of which is made in other countries, not Bolivia.

It's people like you, BNEC, peddling rubbish like this, who give spurious legitimacy to the Pinochets of this world.

[John Maszka]

Hello,

I'm conducting research on how American foreign policy affects popular support for terrorism. I’m particularly interested in incorporating the views of women, non-whites, and people living outside of America and Western Europe, but all responses are invited and welcome. The survey can be accessed at

http://www.johnmaszka.com/SURVEY.html

I would really value your opinion and the opinion of your readers.

Thank you,

John Maszka

[Southamerican]

Michael Martin Dwyer killed in Bolivia had been working for Shell like a securtity guard. He worked to a security company called IRMS. He went to Bolivia after working for Shell in Mayo, but it is not clear whether he was still under contract with IRMS.

At the end of 2007, the majority of security guards employed by Shell at the site of the proposed refinery and production pipeline in Mayo on the west coast of Ireland were replaced by operatives from a company called IRMS. These new security guards were mostly ex-military types, who were much more aggressive in dealing with the many protests against the controversial project.

One local man reported that he had spoken to a security guard from IRMS who had served in the South African army, and was using his time in Ireland as a break between trips to work as a private contractor in Iraq. Many of the security men were former members of the British and Irish armies, but some were obviously young men from Ireland who had backgrounds in the security industry, guarding places like construction sites.

Controversy flared when the security guards based at Glengad on the coast insisted on filming people using the beach, including small children.

The attitude of the security to the local people, protesters, and media was extremely poor, with guards refusing to wear identity tags and ordering people around like soldiers. Many people said they felt that the security were far too aggressive and behaved "like and occupying army".

It now transpires that Michael Dwyer from Tipperary was among the Irish men involved in the security operation.

J1 to indymedia

[juventino]

rozsa was shot, because he wants to kill people, that must be very clear. Media in Bolivia have croatians CEOs so, whatever they will inform unfortunately its suspicius.

[Geo]

Finally a realistic view of Rózsa-Flores.

He was a cold blooded right-wing murderer, he murdered two journalists in Croatia and he recruited Hungarian neo-nazis to murder native Indians in Bolivia.

They served the oligarchs in Bolivia, he could have been set up, maybe a "patsy", but he clearly misled the two young Hungarians from Transylvania.

Hungarians should protest their homegrown neo-nazi groups like the Székely Légió, which recruited these guys... Thanks for the realistic view!!!

[Kirsten Taranto]

I have just come back from a month in Bolivia where my son lives. I completely agree with Michael of Yorkshire. Eduardo Rozsa was nothing but a thug, who doubtless had been paid by right right wingers in the Santa Cruz area who want to secede from the rest of Bolivia so they can keep their thousands of acres of haciendas and keep the rest of the country in the dark ages. K or Richmond, Va.

[Eva S. Balogh]

Kirsten: "I have just come back from a month in Bolivia where my son lives. I completely agree with Michael of Yorkshire. Eduardo Rozsa was nothing but a thug"

Don't think that I think differently.

[Sophie]

This Eva Balogh person is not capable even of laying out a rational statement on her own blog. She spits about with directionless fury like a distempered llama. And she lies like there is no tomorrow.

[Katalin]

Sophie dear, they had enough of you on politics.hu, and you're not needed here either. Byebye.

[Erik the Reader]

You don't have the slightest clue or correct idea about Hungary , Hungarian politics or merely about Hungarians. The images are out of context!
They are from a paintball session.
If I take part in a paintball session am I a terrorist? Rózsa Flores and Magyarosi were executed. This was proofed by official police autopsy of Magyarosi in Hungary,it was in the breaking news. The truth is that they were executed, there was no gunfight, all the bullets were inside the rooms not outside. You even failed to qoute the Hungarian minister of Foreign Office who said that they were the victims of a frameup. Untill now the bolivians could not bring any proof to their claims. Even the operation did not respected Bolivian law, they did not allowed local police to be present.

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[g camacho]

fascinating comments. i cannot opinion on the topic but the comment from Kirsten Taranto i find it wrong.
"...Santa Cruz area who want to secede from the rest of Bolivia so they can keep their thousands of acres of haciendas and keep the rest of the country in the dark ages."
obviously kt has no clue about bolivia and less about its history, cultures and politics.